Greenhouse Work

Today was a lovely day to get a little work done in the greenhouse.

The ground ivy was taking over the spinach and lettuce. Usually the chickens won't eat ground ivy, but it's been so long since they had anything green I think they are desperate.
Too bad I can't stay in the greenhouse longer! This is what I return to:

Another Vet Visit

Thank goodness I have such great veterinarians. Ram 3 was doing much better Wednesday night and yesterday, but this morning he seemed to be going backwards. On the plus side he was passing a firmer stool, but seemed more listless and didn't seem to be eating as well.

So back out came the vet. Dr Dickerson was the vet on today and he was great. Ram 3's temp was normal, 102.3f. But he's looking a little dehydrated. The vet gave him an IV with an electrolyte solution and injections of Banamine, Vitamin C and Bo-Se (a selenium/Vitamin E supplement.) The Vitamin C was given to acidify the urine in case the ram has urine crystals. He left me 2 more injections to give for the next two days.

Watching Dr Dickerson giving the IV was very educational and very messy. Oh well, I wanted to wash my barn coat and pants again. It's very interesting to compare veterinary medicine to human medicine.  I learn so much each time the vets come to the barn.

Ram 3 Update

Since Sunday ram 3 has been on penicillin, had two enemas and two tube feedings. Yesterday and today we saw him drink water but he is still not nursing. He strains and appears to be uncomfortable. The vet came out this afternoon to see him. She took a stool sample to check for worms and examined him. His temp was 104.7 (normal is 102-103.) She gave him three injections-a longer acting antibiotic, some Banamine (an NSAID), and some B vitamins. She also told me my dose of 0.4 ml of penicillin was underdosing him and in the future the proper dose would be 0.5-1.0 ml.
He seems to already be feeling better this evening. When I went out to feed he was sacked out and seemed to be sleeping peacefully between his two pals.

He woke up while I was feeding and nibbled at some hay. He is also tasting the sheep mineral and continues to drink water. He has tried to nurse but I don't know if he doesn't have enough energy yet or if there is just too much commotion. I split the big stall like I did for a lambing jug and put ram 3 and his mom alone in there. Maybe they need some alone time to get the nursing going again.

The vet, Dr Orndorff from Oley has been great. This is the third time she has been out since I got the sheep and I always learn so much from her. She left three doses of Banamine for the next three days so we can keep his fever, pain and inflammation down. I hope he is feeling better soon.

Always Something to Worry About

I am finding with the sheep that as soon as I think things are going well something crops up. This morning ram3 was looking like he wasn't feeling well. He was laying down in the corner and was not interested when everyone else was eating.

He has no fever or diarrhea. I gave him a dose of penicillin in case he is brewing an infection and a drench of oil in case he has a bit of bloat (though his stomach is nice and soft but a little tender to palpation.) He has gone outside a few times today but the one time I saw him nurse he only sucked a second or two. His poor mama's udder is getting huge.

If he is not nursing by tomorrow morning I will have to milk her.

When Leda's udder became engorged right before lambing I noticed that her right teat was smaller than the left teat. Now I think I know why.

I didn't know if she had lambed before I bought her. I now think she did and she probably had mastitis in the right side of her udder. She obviously has no milk production going on in the right side. I guess it's a good thing she had a singleton. She may not be able to produce enough milk for more than one lamb.  Now I have to figure out if she will get culled. Her personality is good but she has this ongoing skin issue and now her udder problem.

Final Lambing Statistics

One function of record keeping is to help with future plans for each animal. When deciding which ewe to breed, when to breed, which ram to use, etc past performance can help.  I am not at the point where I need to make decisions about which ewes to keep/breed, but the records I keep now will help me years down the road. And I certainly can't rely on my memory!

So here we go:
Beyla-#112, came to us with 2 day old twin ram lambs. The smaller one, ram2, has never been as healthy as his bigger brother.  Ram2 needed antibiotics for probable joint ill, had problems with hair loss in the right front and back leg, also the legs affected by the joint ill. He has needed multiple treatments, both topical and injection, of ivermectin for mites. However, all the sheep probably had mites when we got them. Ram1 has been healthier than his brother since the first day we had them. He has consistently out weighed his brother.  When they were 66 days old ram1 weighed nearly 10 pounds more than his smaller brother, 35 vs 26 pounds. They are coming up on their 90 day/weaning weigh-ins. Beyla had an abscess on her nose which cultured Staph aureus, not casseous lympadenitis thankfully. Ram1 also had an abscess above his left eye which is healing nicely.

Moose-#102, delivered a huge singleton ram lamb on Jan 21st. I think this may have been her first lambing so I will give her allowance on her single lamb. She certainly has enough milk for this bruiser as he is nearly as large as ram2 while being two months younger. He is also a natural bob tail like his father. Moose did have trouble pushing this big fella out on her own and needed a little pull to help out.

Chloe-#45, delivered twins, a ram and a lamb, at decent weights, 9lbs and 7.5lbs with no assistance. She has been an attentive mother and they are growing well. We'll see how they do on their 60 days weights.

Leda-#105, delivered a singleton ram with a slight bit of assistance secondary to the left leg being pointed back instead of forward. He was an acceptable 10lbs and is growing nicely. Leda is the most attentive mother of our small flock of ewes.

The goal from lambing is a 200% rate. This season I had a 150% rate. I can live with that since I am not sure what nutritional status the ewes were in when they were bred. I am hoping next year I can get closer to 200% with flushing and just healthier conditions all around.

Penn State Sheep Home Study Course

I am taking an online course through Penn State's Ag extension program on improving sheep production. Each module is individualized to your specific situation, whether new or long time or future producer.  The modules themselves aren't offering much new info, it's the interaction with the instructor that is proving valuable.

The first module focused mainly on record keeping. I am woefully poor at record keeping for my property and needed this push to get organized. I know I need a system that is easy or I won't use it. The instructor sent me a link to a list of computerized farm/sheep record keeping programs that look interesting. I have downloaded trials of two programs and am giving them a little test drive.
The two I am looking at currently are FlockFiler and Ranch Manager.  FlockFiler is the cheapest program at $50,  but may not do all the things I might need. Ranch Manager has more options and is more comprehensive, but also more expensive, $149.

The sheep don't seem to care much for programming. They just want to know when they get to eat again.

The current module is on sheep reproduction. Again, not much new info but the Q&A with the instructor should be helpful. There was a picture of someone dipping an umbilical cord into a bottle of iodine and every nurse/midwife cell in my body recoiled with the thought of contaminating an entire bottle of iodine then using it over and over again! I think, I hope, most people pour a small amount of iodine into a smaller container to treat the cord of newborn lambs then dispose of the iodine remaining in the smaller container after use, keeping the labeled bottle clean and uncontaminated.

A Little Green on a Frigid Day!

On Feb 5th I planted my onion seeds, var "Ruby Ring" and "Pontiac". I grew both varieties last year and was very happy with them. They are also good keepers in my basement.  This is what they look like today.

They are almost ready for their first "hair cut."

My seed trays each have 120+ cells so I didn't have enough onion seed. Today I filled in some of the empty cells with leek seeds- var "American Flag." I think the onion/garlic family are some of my favorite veggies to grow.