# Teresa and Mike Lambing Thread Winter 2019 Part2



## Mike CHS

We have been posting most of our happenings in our journal but I'm thinking since reading some posts by my good friend @Baymule (whom we have never met but know so well) that they should  be outside the journal. Our journal was started because we had so much going and that at the time was the only way to keep things together.  That has changed now so we will be doing unrelated farm posts on a different thread.

We are still probably a week or so away from lambing but we are positioning our senior ewes so they are safe and don't have to worry about their lambs when they come.


----------



## Latestarter




----------



## Rammy




----------



## Baymule

It does make it easier to find, if I want to know something I posted about lambing or feeder pigs in a certain year, all I have to do is look at the threads I posted and find what I am looking for.


----------



## Mike CHS

I'll post pictures later but we were off on our lambing calendar. When I opened the curtains to look out at the sheep this morning I can see a ewe off by herself with twin lambs at her side.  I'm pretty sure it's our #122 ewe who has been the perfect ewe since the day we brought her home.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> m pretty sure it's our #122 ewe who has been the perfect ewe since the day we brought her home.


Good girl!


----------



## Baymule

I hope she had ewe lambs! Waiting. On. Pictures!


----------



## Mike CHS

I had the ewe misidentified - The ewe is one of 4 left that were from our originals and was one of the two really wild ones.  She isn't now and never will be tame but she will follow along and doesn't get upset when we handle her twin RAM lambs.  We will get weights later for our records but they are close to 8 pounds each like last time when she had a ewe lamb and a ram lamb.

We don't mind rams at this time since this batch of 8 ewes are timed to lamb for the market and we would just as soon have all rams for this batch which means probably not.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

In this case rams are a good thing. Glad you got what works for you!


----------



## Latestarter

X2  Can't ask for a better outcome than what you got. 2 ram lambs, perfectly timed for market. Grats!


----------



## Mike CHS

On deck is our 122 ewe that I thought was the mama with the lambs this morning.  The spotted ewe we call Mama was that big last lambing and only had a single so who knows.  The 3rd ewe is our #34 ewe aka Wild Thang that I'm only posting a picture because her twin is the #33 ewe that twinned this morning and looked just like 34.  Those two don't even bag up until after they deliver their lambs.

The Black ewe is the daughter of the spotted ewe.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

congratulations


----------



## Baymule

that spotted ewe is eye candy! Congrats on the two ram lambs, they are cuties!


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> that spotted ewe is eye candy! Congrats on the two ram lambs, they are cuties!



She better be carrying twins at least or else she has a huge single in her. She was huge last year and had a single.


----------



## Latestarter

Dang Mike, if that's a single in there she'll be giving birth to a teenager! She's huge! All your animals look great.


----------



## Mike CHS

Joe - she weighed 165 lbs 3 months ago and she isn't as tall as most of our sheep and I can feel movement on both sides of her so we will see soon.  Her daughter is the same way.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

They are beautiful!


----------



## Rammy

I bet its twins.


----------



## Mini Horses

Oh, my, @Rammy, I LOVE your lamb !!!     So cute!


Mike -- good looking boys there.   Your animals are always in such good shape.  Shows all the work you do pays off.   It doesn't happen by chance.

AND -- OMG the spotted is gorgeous and huge and I hope another set of twin rams for you.   Can't imagine that's only ONE.  Can't wait to see.


----------



## Latestarter

Indeed mini... I think we're all anxious to see. Probably not as much as Mike is though    Rammy, that tumbling sheep is cute. You really need to talk with Mike about getting a pair of ram (wethers) lambs to help the cows keep that pasture of yours  groomed for you.   Next fall take one of the sheep and one of the cows to freezer camp and you'll be set with meat for a year!


----------



## Mike CHS

Mini Horses said:


> AND -- OMG the spotted is gorgeous and huge and I hope another set of twin rams for you.   Can't imagine that's only ONE.  Can't wait to see.



I also love that bouncy critter @Rammy has.

We got Mama from a farm in Carthage, TN that we had been to getting our ram.  They run their sheep with cows inside perimeter field fence in pastures subdivided in just netting and two strand poly rope.  Nobody knew her thought process but they witnessed Mama more than once run into and through both electric barriers and would then make a straight run at their commercial garden beds that supplied Knoxville restaurants.  It's like she had figured out that it only hurt for a few seconds if she ran into it fast enough to disconnect both types of temp fencing from the voltage source.  They knew how our fencing was and called to ask if we wanted her (and at a good price) since she was costing them so much money.


----------



## Southern by choice

that would be GW's favorite. She loves the naughty animals!

Congrats on the lambs. Always great when everything goes smoothly!


----------



## Mike CHS

Southern by choice said:


> that would be GW's favorite. She loves the naughty animals!



That has been pretty evident since I have been on here.


----------



## Mini Horses

What a way to get a great animal!   They are SMART...and love fresh veggies.     Goats will "consume" an apple tree!

At my other farm  (20 yrs ago)  a group of goats got out & into neighbors garden of collards one week before Thanksgiving!  That sure cost me!   Also ate all the pansies -- dessert??


----------



## Rammy

http://www.sherv.net/happy.sheep-emoticon-5625.htm
I got it on here. Was looking for a moving baby sheep, but this is all I could find.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

Cute ram lambs! 

Wonder if you’ll end up with any spotted or black lambs this year? I like variety.


----------



## Mike CHS

Wehner Homestead said:


> Cute ram lambs!
> 
> Wonder if you’ll end up with any spotted or black lambs this year? I like variety.



The spotted ewe throws solid black or almost solid with a white patch or two.  I'm not sure what her solid black daughter will throw but I'm assuming solid black also.  Most of the others have some brown spots that fades out as they mature except for two of them.


----------



## Baymule

So, she is not only beautiful, eye candy, but SMART too! gotta love one like that!


----------



## Mike CHS

I was sorting some pictures last night and came across a picture of Thor's sire Buford.  He is a massive boy and one of several Akbash dogs on his home farm.  They have a heavy coyote presence in the area but they rarely try to go after sheep.


----------



## Rammy

You keep posting pics like this and Im gonna have to get sheep so I can get an Akbash, dangit!


----------



## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> I was sorting some pictures last night and came across a picture of Thor's sire Buford.  He is a massive boy and one of several Akbash dogs on his home farm.  They have a heavy coyote presence in the area but they rarely try to go after sheep.
> 
> 
> View attachment 57206


He's a handsome dog!


----------



## RollingAcres

Mike CHS said:


> I had the ewe misidentified - The ewe is one of 4 left that were from our originals and was one of the two really wild ones.  She isn't now and never will be tame but she will follow along and doesn't get upset when we handle her twin RAM lambs.  We will get weights later for our records but they are close to 8 pounds each like last time when she had a ewe lamb and a ram lamb.
> 
> We don't mind rams at this time since this batch of 8 ewes are timed to lamb for the market and we would just as soon have all rams for this batch which means probably not.  View attachment 57139 View attachment 57140


Are these 2 ram lambs #41 & #42 that you mentioned in LS's kidding thread? They are cute!!!


----------



## Mike CHS

RollingAcres said:


> Are these 2 ram lambs #41 & #42 that you mentioned in LS's kidding thread? They are cute!!!



Those are the ones.


----------



## Mike CHS

The 8 senior ewes are settled in to the nursery paddock but it has always been the most comfortable even when the whole herd is in there.  With just 8 they have plenty of cover if they decide to use it in both the hoop house in the field or in the shop stall that is 32' x 12' at the end of the shop.  We stretched a tarp on the fence that is outside of the stall and I built a quick rack to put a heat lamp in the corner in case the ewes decide to lamb when it's down in the 20's in the next few days. It's one of the safe heat lamps in case anyone wonders.


----------



## goatgurl

your 'smart' ewe reminds me of an arab mare that I used to have.  she also figured out that the electric fence only hurt for a second or two and would dive head first into my garden and wait there patiently for me to get home from work to let her out. after she had destroyed everything that horses like to eat.  lol.  had her for 27 years until she fell while playing and bucking in the ice and snow and broke her hip.  broke my heart.
congrats on the new little rams.  they look great but then all your critters always do.


----------



## Mike CHS

We had another set of twins born right at noon. I'll post more and a picture or two later on since I need to go out and feed so we can go into town.


----------



## Mike CHS

Our #8 ewe had one ewe and one ram long legged lambs.  She had an almost 12 ram lamb last March as a FF.

The second picture is the ewe that lambed the other day and the new lambs are in the rear.


----------



## Rammy

Cuteness overload.......


----------



## Baymule

Yay for more TWINS!!!


----------



## Latestarter

Yay for another ram lamb!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

You’ve started a trend of twinning! Yay for what looks to be a productive year!


----------



## Mike CHS

Wehner Homestead said:


> You’ve started a trend of twinning! Yay for what looks to be a productive year!



Thank you.  This first group are our 2 & 3 year olds.  I'm curious to see how the bigger group that are up next does as they are all first timers.


----------



## Mike CHS

We still are on lamb watch.  I also don't know what I was looking at with the last set of twins.  We were putting on ear tags this afternoon and when I turned the lambs over, they are both ewe lambs instead of one each.


----------



## farmerjan

Don't think you are the only one who has ever done that.... Had a calf that looked like a little bull from a few feet away... turned out to be a heifer that had  little fatty legs and long hair and looked like a bull.  We never tag anything anymore until we do the "feel" test... And I really like to see them pee... that's pretty definitive


----------



## CntryBoy777

One thing is for sure....they are all Beautiful animals, irregardless of their gender.....


----------



## Mike CHS

Thanks Fred.  The lambs so far are much tamer than the previous seasons but I assume it is because the dams are all really docile now.  The lambs aren't learning that it's best to run when those mean people approach you.  Our first lambing we had to catch them before two days old but now they just walk up and let you pick them up.


----------



## farmerjan

It's the same way with some of our cattle.  The calves out of the first calf heifers that we raised are so much easier to be around.  The momma's aren't skittish, so the babies aren't.  They will come up and sniff and be curious much more so than any from bought animals.


----------



## Baymule

I love baby watch!


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Wehner Homestead

I keep expecting Mike to announce that five or six ewes lambed at the same time or one right after the other!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

I like baby watch also....when it's  at someone  elses place, lol
When it's  here i go crazy with the waiting....


----------



## Mike CHS

There are three of them that when you run your hand down their bellies it feels like lambs are already running.


----------



## Mike CHS

The ewe we call Wild Thang had a single lamb about an hour ago.  I had to go out and run off one ewe that was trying to adopt her lamb.  I'll get pictures later but his one is probably a long legged 11 pounds or so.


----------



## Mike CHS

She has a 10.3 pound ram lamb.  You can't tell at this point but based on his build we may record him and sell as a commercial ram rather than send him to market.  We'll see in about 5 months either way.  The ewes moved around enough to all be in the same frame so I went ahead and took the picture.  

The last picture is our spotted ewe we just call Mama.  I like to think she's ready to pop but she is just peacefully laying there.


----------



## Mike CHS

I took a picture of GeGe also (sh'e the closest in the frame).  She is the ewe we bought back in September that has had parasite problems.  Her fecal a few days ago was really good and she is starting to put weight back on.  Whenever I go out to feed the dogs I always take a feed bucket and she gets it all by herself.


----------



## RollingAcres

Cuteness overload!


----------



## Mike CHS

Two of the ewes are showing signs they are due any moment especially the spotted ewe.  Of course, now that I've made it public, they will tuck it back in and wait for another day.


----------



## Mike CHS

No more posts about lambing until I see the next lamb.

We noticed our scale wasn't zeroed out when we were putting it up so went down and weighed the ram lamb - he weighs 12.7 pounds.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

I love when you post your lamb pictures....if we had more acreage  i would love a few , thank you for sharing the pictures


----------



## Mike CHS

Thank You!  We love our sheep and really enjoy showing them.


----------



## Mike CHS

We went down to do the ear tag on the ram lamb this afternoon and encountered something we had not considered since it had never been an issue.  I went out and picked up the lamb and Wild Thang followed right along as expected without seeming the least bit stressed.  I had already handled her lamb several times and she never reacted at all.  We got the lamb ready for the tag and I handed him to Teresa so I could put in the tag (the applicator is too large for her hands).  Luckily I was watching the ewe out of the corner of my eye because as soon as Teresa got the lamb in her hands the ewe reared back to do a head butt.  I put my hand down in front of her and put my other hand on her lamb and she settled down.  We had to have Teresa hold the ear while I put in the tag but I had to keep my free hand on the lamb so she didn't react again.

She weighs close to 180 and has the power to go with the size.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Nice save Mike...that could of been real ugly !


----------



## Rammy

Mike CHS said:


> I took a picture of GeGe also (sh'e the closest in the frame).  She is the ewe we bought back in September that has had parasite problems.  Her fecal a few days ago was really good and she is starting to put weight back on.  Whenever I go out to feed the dogs I always take a feed bucket and she gets it all by herself.
> 
> View attachment 57461


Not playing favorites are we?


----------



## goatgurl

so its ok for you to man handle wild thangs lamb but Teresa can't touch him.  picky old hide isn't she.  and that picture of mama 'laying peacefully' looks to me like she has little lamb feet trying to poke their way outside.  hope she lambs soon or you'll be able to here the POP clear from my house.  as always mike they look really good.


----------



## Mike CHS

goatgurl said:


> so its ok for you to man handle wild thangs lamb but Teresa can't touch him.  picky old hide isn't she.  and that picture of mama 'laying peacefully' looks to me like she has little lamb feet trying to poke their way outside.  hope she lambs soon or you'll be able to here the POP clear from my house.  as always mike they look really good.



I can't help it Rammy.  She is one of the sweetest girls we have.  She was a show lamb her first few months so she has had a lot of handling and also expects it.

This ewe has no fear of anyone but she only lets me get close and apparently that applies to her lamb also so we shall keep that in mind from now on.


----------



## Latestarter

It's funny how these animals attach to individuals. I handle all the babies but when my grands were here, the does were really skittish about letting them anywhere near their kids. Good catch on the corner of the eye thing! That could have been really painful.


----------



## Baymule

Just as we have favorites, so do our animals. For the longest time, I could call the sheep and they would start yelling and fun to me as fast as their legs could carry them. My husband? They didn't even raise their heads. 

As always, beautiful sheep.


----------



## Rammy

I think its great when one or several animals like someone over another. It even happens with our household pets. I used to have a cockatiel that loved me but hated my husband. 
Im just glad Mike knew to keep an eye out and Teresa didnt get hurt. Its too bad we cant make them understand that we arent going to hurt them. Earning trust is just one way we can.


----------



## Mike CHS

We have a long legged black ewe lamb that was just born about an hour ago that should weigh in at 12 pounds or better.  We went out and watched for awhile since it didn't seem like she was nursing. The dam kept pulling it under her and finally seemed like she latched on.  The ewe is the daughter of our spotted ewe.


----------



## Baymule

Baa Baa Black Sheep! 

Congrats on another beautiful little girl! Whatcha gonna name her? With that black color and that white forehead, I'd call her Starry Midnight. Is she registerable? Or grade? Either way, she is a gorgeous gal.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> Baa Baa Black Sheep!
> 
> Congrats on another beautiful little girl! Whatcha gonna name her? With that black color and that white forehead, I'd call her Starry Midnight. Is she registerable? Or grade? Either way, she is a gorgeous gal.



Her name is 47.    She can be recorded and will probably be a replacement ewe depending how she grows out.  This whole batch was intended for the market but several so far are looking better than any lambs we have had to date so that plan is changing.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

You can name her baaaa ba ra ...I would be honored


----------



## Mike CHS

B&B Happy goats said:


> You can name her baaaa ba ra ...I would be honored



I have enough trouble remembering what I had for lunch yesterday and since we have had as many as 50 sheep at a time, that's a challenge I'm not going to try.


----------



## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> Her name is 47.


----------



## Mike CHS

There was another set of ewe twin lambs in the shelter this morning, 8.5 and 8.75 pounds.  The mama was a bottle lamb so she is comfortable in the shop shelter and that just happens to be where the heat lamp is that they are laying under.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Well then just call me #47 lol, is this #48 &#49 ?.... they sure are cute little things


----------



## Baymule

Congrats on twins! They are cuties!


----------



## Mike CHS

They are 48 & 49.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> They are 48 & 49.


Wahoo im #47 then


----------



## farmerjan

If only I could be 47 again......


----------



## Mike CHS

One of my favorite ewes headed out to a far corner about dark and delivered a set of twins.  It's supposed to get down in the teens tonight so I went out and picked up the lambs to bring her back to the shelter with heat lamps. They are twin rams  around 10 and 8 pounds.


----------



## Baymule

Yay! More babies!


----------



## Mike CHS

It looks like our black ewe was doing more than trying to get her lamb to nurse. We couldn't figure out why she kept making the lamb get up every time it lay down for the first several hours it was in the field.  

When we had them up tonight bringing the latest lambs up for some heat, we noticed that the black ewe was walking on her pasterns so it looks like some floppy tendons there. We will get a closer look at how she is doing tomorrow and see how doing splints on her forelegs might work.  We may have to put her down but she doesn't seem to be in any pain and since the ewe worked so hard to get it to walk, we'll give her a chance.


----------



## Baymule

I think it was @Sheepshape that had a lamb with that problem and she put splints on it and it strengthened it's legs and was just fine. Don't give up on her yet.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> I think it was @Sheepshape that had a lamb with that problem and she put splints on it and it strengthened it's legs and was just fine. Don't give up on her yet.



We didn't notice it when we checked her over. Evidently her dam knew something was wrong and kept making her walk so she will get her chance.  We just talked to a big producer friend and he said to just bring them in so we can have access to them and just tape it with horse tape for a couple of days. You can't leave it on long since they grow so fast.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike, if she doesn't  get better and she can survive as a pet sheep only, i would be more than happy to come and buy her from you and give her a home here with us and the goats....the trip should be around 12 hour I believe  (one way) but can be done with little effort


----------



## Southern by choice

Mike our vet when we had some Kikos born that were down on their feet told us to take oatmeal (1-2 cups cooked) cooked add molasses (2T) and Sea kelp (1-2tspn)- feed to the dam and to do it for 2-3 days and the kids will get the nutrients an d be up. I was hesitant. It worked.
Our vet uses this on her sheep and goats.  The other thought is they may need selenium. Around here people give selenium to the sheep at birth pretty much.
Anyway- just a thought- don't know if it is useful but I thought I'd mention it.


----------



## Mike CHS

Thank you both.  The lamb is up and getting around just fine but I'm afraid she will damage her tendons if we let it go much longer so we will splint in the morning.  We have a lot of contacts and most all of them say to splint and give BOSE and then some say to let it go and they will be fine.  I will definitely file the oatmeal recipe away for any that can't get up.

@B&B Happy goats - I have already decided you are an amazing person but that offer was above and beyond.  I hope you believe me but I do everything I can for our animals and only put them down when it's in their favor.  We have several sheep that are well beyond their $$ value.


----------



## Mini Horses

farmerjan said:


> If only I could be 47 again......



You can be 47 -- I'll send you an ear tag!!


----------



## Mike CHS

Mini Horses said:


> You can be 47 -- I'll send you an ear tag!!



Thank you for the laugh as we get ready to go down to check lambs and then go to bed.


----------



## Mini Horses

Mike, do you tag one ear for ewe and another for ram lambs?

Years back a TX goat breeder told me she did so to be able to quickly determine buck/doe .   She further said does had their tag in the RIGHT ear, because girls were always right.    Cute way to remember -- and you can see, it woks. 

Do you also tattoo?  Or just those who get registered?  My Boer goats were for registration and it helped with parentage, identity, etc.  Then also had microchips for some, especially bucks or show stock.


----------



## Mike CHS

Mini Horses said:


> Mike, do you tag one ear for ewe and another for ram lambs?
> 
> Years back a TX goat breeder told me she did so to be able to quickly determine buck/doe .   She further said does had their tag in the RIGHT ear, because girls were always right.    Cute way to remember -- and you can see, it woks.
> 
> Do you also tattoo?  Or just those who get registered?  My Boer goats were for registration and it helped with parentage, identity, etc.  Then also had microchips for some, especially bucks or show stock.



We don't tatoo but we do the same with ear tags - ewes get right ear and rams get left ear. Our registered sheep get DNA tests also but not till they are around 150 days old to make sure that they should be good enough to be registered


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> Thank you both.  The lamb is up and getting around just fine but I'm afraid she will damage her tendons if we let it go much longer so we will splint in the morning.  We have a lot of contacts and most all of them say to splint and give BOSE and then some say to let it go and they will be fine.  I will definitely file the oatmeal recipe away for any that can't get up.
> 
> @B&B Happy goats - I have already decided you are an amazing person but that offer was above and beyond.  I hope you believe me but I do everything I can for our animals and only put them down when it's in their favor.  We have several sheep that are well beyond their $$ value.



Oh mike i didnt  mean any insult as i know you are  fantastic and would do everything possible  to save a animal..that was NEVER a question... (i have also put down when needed) just ment if  she was in need of a pet home, i would like to buy her and bring here here....twelve hours is not a unheard  road trip for me, when I am on a mission  the offer stays open if one ever needs a pet home...no breeding no eating...promise


----------



## Mike CHS

No insult was taken and I know exactly where your heart is so enough said about that.  

If she becomes needing a pet home I will bring her to you as a gift to her and hot me.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> No insult was taken and I know exactly where your heart is so enough said about that.
> 
> If she becomes needing a pet home I will bring her to you as a gift to her and hot me.


that was beyond touching, thank you...I am honored you feel that way...you are a amazing person


----------



## Southern by choice

You know we have had goats kid where there was a litter. LOL You know how it goes with Nigerians- 4-5... sometimes if a kid is crammed in there they may have feet/leg issue just from position. One litter of 4 or 5 I can't remember had one that had all four legs wonky and I mean wonky. They got better but took a while the rest were fine. 
Kind of freaky when you have any lamb/kid that is n't the norm on your farm.

Do you all do the BoSE?  Here pretty much every sheep breeder has to after lambing. Cattle folk do too. We just give it before breeding.


----------



## Sheepshape

Baymule said:


> I think it was @Sheepshape that had a lamb with that problem and she put splints on it and it strengthened it's legs and was just fine. Don't give up on her yet.


It wasn't me, but I have had the problem....a great big ram lamb last year. He just walked with what looked like long feet...well, I say walked, but he was the fastest mover of all the flock. It never was a problem to him. Truth is, we didn't notice his 'flat feet' until he went out into the pasture, and, as he was so obviously unhindered we left him. Splinting or tight strapping changed regularly to allow for growth should fix it. B vitamin and selenium deficiencies (suggested by Southern) can affect ligaments, so worth correcting.

I've splinted a lamb (tongue depressors and vet tape) who had her leg broken by momma> The end result was excellent as you tissues heal so well.

B&B you are a saint......Heart of gold! Sounds like you're a bigger Softie than me with my 'Rejects group'...Minnie and Bella....old ewes with a wrecked udders, Becky....brain damaged and visually impaired, Titch....how can a ewe be this small?, Flower....such an awful example of her breed, thin, small and fit as a fiddle. None of these are allowed within fields of the ram and are of no commercial value.



Mini Horses said:


> You can be 47 -- I'll send you an ear tag!!


Owwwwww! Just reminds me of those YouTube videos (take a look if you haven't seen them) of some well-oiled lads, one group from Germany and another from nearby here(!) who use the ear tagger on each other......Make sure that you clean the tagger first.....though anyone who wants to get 'tagged' has 'Mad Cow Disease' by definition.

As many lamb pics as you Like Mike CHS.


----------



## Rammy

Hope your new baby gets better soon. Im sure the taping or splints your going to do will help alot. Its interesting that your ewe knew something was wrong and made her baby keep standing. She knows it will help strengthen her tendons. Smart sheep!


----------



## Mike CHS

We are going get some BoSE this morning but none of the farms around us that we talked to indicated that they used it.  She is getting around like there is nothing wrong but we will take care of her and see where it goes.


----------



## RollingAcres

I'm behind on this thread and some other ones as well. Congrats on more lambs Mike! 
I like the black one. 


Mike CHS said:


> Her name is 47.


Or you can be like @Latestarter , just call her Blackie.


----------



## Baymule

This little lamb couldn't have been born in a better place than with Mike and Teresa.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike, thank you for the  home alarm suggestion,  we talked about it today, and IF we can find a company that has a system we like...we will get one for sure. We only have cell phones here and would want one that doesn't  depend on internet .....  so some research to see what is available is on my  list.


----------



## Mike CHS

B&B Happy goats said:


> Mike, thank you for the  home alarm suggestion,  we talked about it today, and IF we can find a company that has a system we like...we will get one for sure. We only have cell phones here and would want one that doesn't  depend on internet .....  so some research to see what is available is on my  list.



Our cameras are cell phone based and separate from our alarm but our alarm system is Simplisafe because they have no contracts but I don't know if they have a cell based system.


----------



## Mike CHS

Ashlyn 2.0 (the black lamb) looks to be getting some improvement.  We went to the vet to get some BoSE and after talking to him we decided not to splint or to wrap it.

In case any wonders where the name came from, it comes from the DIL.  When they were visiting she asked if we would name the black ewe after her since she had been one (a black sheep) when she was younger. So her lamb became Ashlyn 2.0.    We only have a few critters that have names.  I named our problem ewe GeGe because she reminds me of the oldest daughter.  The grandsons gave Thor his name because he reminded them of our SIL whose name isn't Thor but he is big like the Viking ancestors he has so the boys called him Thor.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> Our cameras are cell phone based and separate from our alarm but our alarm system is Simplisafe because they have no contracts but I don't know if they have a cell based system.



We don't  even have a land line for phone, cable tv isn't  even out in our area, lol....did look up for local security system companies around here...none so far....so I don't  know if we should look at some of the DIY sets or what. I would like something like ADT so i could push a button if help was needed..... we can't  depend on a cell system here, very little signal  available. ....   maby  someone knows of a system ? Our neighbor has a land line so i know we could get one installed here...just need to find security system...


----------



## Mike CHS

Simplisafe is a DIY and can be monitored by them with links to Fire Department and Police or you can do self monitoriing where the system sends alerts to your phone.


----------



## Mike CHS

We got caught up with ear tags this afternoon.  These pictures are of the twin ram lambs that were born yesterday. One is going to be pretty independent it looks like so far. The black lamb became 51 in the process of tagging since we just tagged lambs in the order they were caught.  The black ewe lamb is fast.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> Simplisafe is a DIY and can be monitored by them with links to Fire Department and Police or you can do self monitoriing where the system sends alerts to your phone.


Looking at it now, thank you Mike


----------



## B&B Happy goats

looking at your lamb pictures is ALMOST  making me want to........naw,... can't  give up my goats.  I will continue watching and enjoying yours .......


----------



## Mike CHS

I wanted to post these pictures to show how hard a sheep mama works for their babies.  The one picture doesn't show it real well but in both pictures the ewe is making her lamb stay on its feet.  This is before we knew of the pastern problem with the lamb but every time the lamb would lay down, the ewe would hook her hoof under it or over it to make it stay upright.  That behavior is why we called them in to check it out as normally we leave them alone for a day or two before stressing them out but it seemed like the ewe was wearing the lamb out.  The vet said today that is why she is probably healing so fast and just smiled when we showed him the picture of the ewe.  She is a first timer but has great instincts.


----------



## Rammy

Anyone who says animals are stupid needs to see this pic.


----------



## Mike CHS

Rammy said:


> Anyone who says animals are stupid needs to see this pic.



Sheep have a reputation for being dumb but we are always amazed at how smart they are.


----------



## Rammy

It just seems to me that is one smart sheep to know that keeping her baby standing would help strengthen her legs. Thats amazing.


----------



## Mike CHS

Rammy said:


> It just seems to me that is one smart sheep to know that keeping her baby standing would help strengthen her legs. Thats amazing.




I know but this ewe is the daughter of the ewe that figured out she could run through an electric fence because she figured out that it wouldn't hurt for very long.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> I know but this ewe is the daughter of the ewe that figured out she could run through an electric fence because she figured out that it wouldn't hurt for very long.


  sounds like my kinda  ewe !


----------



## Baymule

That's one smart Momma!


----------



## Rammy

Baymule said:


> That's one smart Momma!


X2. Smarts seem to run in the family. If thats the case, these babies are going to keep you on your toes!


----------



## Mike CHS

Rammy said:


> X2. Smarts seem to run in the family. If thats the case, these babies are going to keep you on your toes!



Our sheep seem to constantly be teaching us what we need to know.   They are almost as good teachers as our LGDs.


----------



## Mike CHS

Our calming influence in the herd Notag had twins sometime during the night so our spotted ewe is the last one in this group.  It will be a month or so before the bigger group starts to lamb.


----------



## Baymule

What a nice surprise to wake up to! I live it! Congrats on more twins.


----------



## Mike CHS

I stand corrected.  I went out to check on Notags' lambs and looked over and saw the spotted ewe Mama, sliding out the second of her twins.  Sorry I didn't have the camera.  She has thrown almost solid black lambs until this time as these are almost all white.


----------



## Baymule

Awww..... can't wait to see pics of them!


----------



## RollingAcres

Congrats!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

You sure got the twin thing going on...hope it keeps up.....


----------



## Mike CHS

B&B Happy goats said:


> You sure got the twin thing going on...hope it keeps up.....



Me too.  

Here is shot of Mama and her twins.  She doesn't have them all cleaned up yet so I just took a zoom picture.  If I go out there they expect food and forget about their babies.  It is 17 degrees out there and not a single one of them is inside where the heat lamp is.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Well if we were closer I would have to come give them some hugs, scratches  and lovin....I have a bad case of  lamb admiration ...... 
It is 19 degrees  and I just brought Lilly to Rocky for doin the wild thing, hope they keep busy and get some body heat going..."cuz baby it's  cold  here in Florida too "


----------



## Angelina Hood

Im new here. And I read through this thread. Very interested in all the lambing pictures .
So I made what I call my nursery stalls. For mama's and babies.  But I'm seeing that is not nessessary. Which does make sense as the flock grows. I only have 3 ewes and a new Ram Lamb.
 Im in the south its rarely in the 20's here. We may have a handful of days in the teens over the entire winter. So I guess my question is ..is there ever any reason to separate the ewes and their lambs from the flock?


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> Me too.
> 
> Here is shot of Mama and her twins.  She doesn't have them all cleaned up yet so I just took a zoom picture.  If I go out there they expect food and forget about their babies.  It is 17 degrees out there and not a single one of them is inside where the heat lamp is.



Congrats on all your new lambs, they do look like a good crop and some good color too. We have had kids with weird legs and a lamb with fallen 
pasterns after about a week they straighten up...for us anyhow they did. Maggie had fallen pasterns she took about 3 weeks to straighten out but hers were complicated with a broken leg.

It's awesome you are getting the best stock you have had, means your doing it right. I'm sure you will have plenty of boys and culls to sell.

What is the Boy/girl % so far?


----------



## misfitmorgan

Angelina Hood said:


> Im new here. And I read through this thread. Very interested in all the lambing pictures .
> So I made what I call my nursery stalls. For mama's and babies.  But I'm seeing that is not nessessary. Which does make sense as the flock grows. I only have 3 ewes and a new Ram Lamb.
> Im in the south its rarely in the 20's here. We may have a handful of days in the teens over the entire winter. So I guess my question is ..is there ever any reason to separate the ewes and their lambs from the flock?



If you have a very small area/ dry lot you might want to yes. Very cold/wet weather or if you get a weak lamb. Sometimes a ewe will try to reject a lamb so need to be tied and penned with her lamb until she accepts it. Many reasons really, it is is a good idea to have a stall or area you can close off.


----------



## Mike CHS

Angelina Hood said:


> Im new here. And I read through this thread. Very interested in all the lambing pictures .
> So I made what I call my nursery stalls. For mama's and babies.  But I'm seeing that is not nessessary. Which does make sense as the flock grows. I only have 3 ewes and a new Ram Lamb.
> Im in the south its rarely in the 20's here. We may have a handful of days in the teens over the entire winter. So I guess my question is ..is there ever any reason to separate the ewes and their lambs from the flock?



We lambed inside the barn our first time lambing but we were on a dry lot situation then and it was easier on us to manage.  Last year we lambed in our big field where we had little if any control of the sheep.  This season we struck what we feel is a happy medium and are lambing in a two acre paddock that has access to plenty of cover and shelter if they desire to have it.  The shelter is where they have all been since they were born and is adjacent to our handling area.  All we have to do us open the door and the sheep are all there with us whether it is to feed them or work them. Any sheep that didn't already come in will come when we call,   No stress on them and easier for us.

We always have stalls available but unless we literally put the sheep in them, they rarely use them. We have only had to confine a couple of sheep in three years but if you need it, it's easier to already have it. We have less than half our herd lambing now but we use part of our handling area as their home base where they get their feed so it's easier to have them already feeling secure there. Of the 8 that just lambed, all but one of them had their lambs in the field.  The one that had hers in the shelter only did so because one of the other ewes was head butting her and you could tell she was due any minute so we brought her in for her own safety.

There is a whole lot of right ways to set up your system and we found several wrong ways but what we have now is working great.


----------



## Mike CHS

misfitmorgan said:


> What is the Boy/girl % so far?



This group of eight ewes had two singles and the rest were twins.  There have been 6 ram lambs and 8 ewe lambs with both of the singles coming from ewes that always lamb singles, but huge single.  The two singles look 3 weeks older than the rest of the lambs and none of them were under 8 pounds when they were born.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Those are good numbers so far. Are you planning to cull out the ones who give singletons?


----------



## Mike CHS

misfitmorgan said:


> Those are good numbers so far. Are you planning to cull out the ones who give singletons?



We have culled all the others that had singles but these two produce lambs that bring a premium due to their size.  Both of their ram lambs last time sold at ram prices rather than meat at 90 days old.


----------



## RollingAcres

Mike CHS said:


> It is 17 degrees out there and not a single one of them is inside where the heat lamp is.


Sometimes you wonder what they're thinking...I know I'd rather be inside where it's warm when it's 17 degrees outside. 
My cows are the same way, they have a barn they can go in for shelter but sometimes I see them covered in icicles.


----------



## Mike CHS

Just some random pictures and then I'll give this thread a rest till the next batch starts lambing.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Way too cute babies  ....


----------



## Rammy

You should submit these for picture of the week. That first one is way to cute.


----------



## Mike CHS

I meant to mention with that last set of pictures that the third picture is the spotted ram lamb and his sibling ewe.  He weighed 11 1/2 pounds and the ewe lamb weighed 10 3/4.  That is a whole lot of lambs in one stubby ewe.  

The dam of those two lambs was a single that weighed 14.3 pounds.


----------



## Baymule

You have a real nice flock. Nice ewes and cute lambs.


----------



## Mike CHS

We had our creep feeder attached to a T-post but the ewes kept turning it over.  I mounted it to a plywood platform and the lambs took about 30 seconds to get used to it.  A couple of the single ram lambs won't be able to use it for very long since they are growing so fast.  A couple of the ewes have overly long tongues so they can get a piece or two but that's about it.


----------



## shp123

Being newbies with raising sheep, we are ecstatic with our lambing experience.  We bought 3 ewes and 1 ram just before xmas.  All 3 ewes turned out to be bred.  The two younger ewes gave birth to single.  They both looked strong but we didn't think to weigh it at birth.  The third older ewe gave birth to twins.  We are very happy that our flock double in size in matters of weeks.  Our goal for flock size is about twelve as we only have 2 acres divided in 2 paddock at present.  

All lambs are ewe lambs, 4 out of 4.  What is the odds of that?  We were actually hoping to get at least one ram lamb so we can harvest him in the fall.  Would it be a wasteful to harvest a ewe?  what do people do?


----------



## Mike CHS

shp123 said:


> All lambs are ewe lambs, 4 out of 4.  What is the odds of that?  We were actually hoping to get at least one ram lamb so we can harvest him in the fall.  Would it be a wasteful to harvest a ewe?  what do people do?



We haven't harvested any of our ewes since we have had plenty of rams to fill the need for us plus some sales.  I don't know if my bride would let me slaughter one of our ewes but we do sell to the market and to private buyers to keep our numbers down.  We went from 10 to over 50 in a fairly short time but we can only keep that many during the few prime grass months so our over winter numbers are between 20-30.


----------



## Baymule

If all 4 ewe lambs grow off and are fine animals, keep them. If there is one or two that doesn't make the cut, eat them.

Breed the best, eat the rest.

We started with 4 bred ewes. I have sold or sent to slaughter the lambs that didn't meet my standards. Most of the ewe lambs I kept, but not all. We have 9 ewes now.


----------



## farmerjan

Harvesting a ewe is not any different than a ram.  Watch how they grow, if one is a little slower, or smaller, or isn't as thrifty, or needs worming more often, that is the one you want to finish and eat.  We will eat a heifer just as easily as a steer in the cattle.  They take a little longer to finish, and will be a little lighter, but are good eating.

One thing, make sure the ram is not with the ewe lambs by the time they hit 2-3 months old.  Although the females don't get  sexually active quite as quick as the ram lambs, you do not want them bred too young.


----------



## Mike CHS

We are two weeks away before the younger ewes start to lamb.  We have one that doesn't feel in as good condition as the rest so we went out to the field and got hold of here to pull a fecal sample.  I love being able to walk up to them to do what needs to be done.  We are on moving the older bunch out of the nursery pen and then move this group in.


----------



## Mike CHS

I was going out to feed Maisy this morning and saw one of the ewes in labor.  I didn't get a good picture but I didn't want to disturb her yet.  I'm hoping this group will go fast but I know there may be as much as a month or more gap.


----------



## Baymule

Awww......a new baby!


----------



## Mike CHS

This one doesn't seem too thrifty but mom is feeding and staying with her so we shall see.


----------



## Baymule

I have two little runts. Their moms love them, nurture them and are as proud of their runts as a big strapping healthy lamb. First time mothers, I'm thinking their next lambing will go better. Both runts are twins, one set, both lived. The other set, the bigger lamb was dead, still in the sac.


----------



## Mike CHS

I'll take a closer look when I go out to feed but there is a set of twins (one black spotted) and another single in the field this morning.


----------



## Mike CHS

Make that two sets of twins and one single.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> Make that two sets of twins and one single.


Overnight population explosion!  Congrats!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

Sheep math! I love spring!!!! 

We went and visited a friend that has wool show sheep. The kids loved it! DD1 has asked to show sheep and we will be going to a few open shows this year so she can practice showmanship. They had a wee lamb that DH really liked! I was shocked! He’s always been completely anti-sheep. I think our Old McDonald’s farm is going to gain another specie in the foreseeable future!


----------



## Mike CHS

We know several people that now have sheep that didn't before.
We have a bit of a mystery going on with the latest lambs.  When I was out doing a head count a pair of lambs were way off by themselves.  I scooped them up and wandered about trying to get one of the ewes to lay a claim but none did.  I can tell by the hair that the momma is one of two of our Sand Mountain ewes that had obviously lambed in the last couple of hours.  Both lambs were clean and dry and had nursed at least some.  I jugged the ewes and spent the next hour or so trying to graft to the ewes but they weren't having any of it.

The mystery may have been solved when Maisy kept running the other ewes off whenever they got close to the lambs which hints that Maisy may have claimed them at some point.  Both of these lambs can be registered so we'll find out by sending in DNA samples.

The spotted lamb on the right is a ram lamb and the other is a ewe lamb.


----------



## Mike CHS

We had no desire for bottle lambs but it is what it is.  They seem to be thriving


----------



## Mike CHS

We now have a third bottle lamb but we don't think this one will make it. @Baymule saw one of the new twins walking "off" and it looks like she has some spinal cord damage either from being stepped on or possible head butted but she probably isn't going to make it.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

Not the updates that I was hoping to see. Glad the two bottle baby sibs seem to be doing well. Hate that there’s something up with the third bottle baby.

How’s Maisy doing on her own? Is it more stressful for her without a partner?


----------



## Mike CHS

The first two lambs are now "my" babies and doing well.  The injured one took her bottle this morning and seems more alert.  She doesn't seem to be in any pain but we will keep an eye on her to see if she has any future.
@Baymule and BJ just pulled out of the driveway with Ringo on the way to Texas. It took all that Jay, Teresa and I had to lift him up into the bed of the truck.  I can't remember when I had a  better visit and it seems like we have known them for a lifetime rather than less than 48 hours.


----------



## Rammy

Yeah, when i was there, it was funny when Mike walked away to go into the kitchen, and both those cutie pie lambs ran after him with feet just going pitty pat on the floor. He's thier Daddy and they know it!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

@Rammy you've been on my mind for three days! I was going to post on your thread and just haven’t gotten it done. I’m overjoyed to hear from you. I hope that things are going as well as possible. Sending !


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Mike CHS

We rigged up our dog kennel with tarps on three sides to block the north wind and hung some heat lamps for the bottle lambs so even though it was cold out today they were at least able to get some exercise and act like lambs. We brought them back in to the kennel cages for the night so they can get their late feedings.  The one that was injured is doing surprisingly well since I fully expected to have to put her down today.  She spent the day with the other two outside and she is getting much better so we shall see.  She is about as docile as any lamb that I have seen.


----------



## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> I can't remember when I had a  better visit and it seems like we have known them for a lifetime rather than less than 48 hours.


We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it felt like we were visiting old friends. BJ really liked the both of you and if y'all want to move next door to us, it's ok with us! LOL Thank y'all for the hospitality, the meals were delicious, the camaraderie with kindred souls will long be treasured. Mike, BJ got such a kick out of watching you cuddle and feed the baby lambs and taking them outside to potty. You guys might try to fool us into thinking that y'all are big strong guys, But Teresa and I both know that the men we love are softies. 

Uhhh…….correction......that pretty spotty "ram" lamb squatted to pee, remember?


----------



## Mike CHS

I have nothing to say.


----------



## Rammy

Mike CHS said:


> We rigged up our dog kennel with tarps on three sides to block the north wind and hung some heat lamps for the bottle lambs so even though it was cold out today they were at least able to get some exercise and act like lambs. We brought them back in to the kennel cages for the night so they can get their late feedings.  The one that was injured is doing surprisingly well since I fully expected to have to put her down today.  She spent the day with the other two outside and she is getting much better so we shall see.  She is about as docile as any lamb that I have seen.


Yay! for Lambalina!


----------



## misfitmorgan

Baymule said:


> We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it felt like we were visiting old friends. BJ really liked the both of you and if y'all want to move next door to us, it's ok with us! LOL Thank y'all for the hospitality, the meals were delicious, the camaraderie with kindred souls will long be treasured. Mike, BJ got such a kick out of watching you cuddle and feed the baby lambs and taking them outside to potty. You guys might try to fool us into thinking that y'all are big strong guys, But Teresa and I both know that the men we love are softies.
> 
> Uhhh…….correction......that pretty spotty "ram" lamb squatted to pee, remember?



So the spotted lamb is not a ram? If so don't feel bad Mike, the joke in house is that Duke heard us talking about 4h and meat sales and his boy parts just fell right off and he became a girl.


----------



## Mike CHS

Her sibling is a ram lamb and I guess I got them mixed up before we had to bring the ewe lamb in.  I'm curious how her coloring changes as she grows because right now she has a really pretty pattern.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> Her sibling is a ram lamb and I guess I got them mixed up before we had to bring the ewe lamb in.  I'm curious how her coloring changes as she grows because right now she has a really pretty pattern.



I agree I love her pattern


----------



## Mike CHS

The bottle lambs are growing fast and doing well.


----------



## Rammy

So Lambalina is doing better?


----------



## Mike CHS

I have been massaging her neck when we feed her and can barely feel that joint like it was before.  She has been running with the other two whenever we let them out in the yard and she's eating normally so the prognosis is good so far.  At this point she is in no danger of being put down.


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Baymule

That is good news! We are glad that she is doing so much better.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> That is good news! We are glad that she is doing so much better.



Truth be told, there is no way she will be put down unless she appears to be in pain and she is raising her head normally now.  The pressure massages seems to have put everything back in place.   I need to get Teresa to take a picture of the three of them following me around coming back in the house at night.  We haven't had bottle lambs until now so I'm curious about their personalities as they mature.


----------



## Baymule

That pretty marked little girl looks like she has her Maybelline make up on.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

So glad to hear good news on little Lambalina!

For once the cute one is the female offspring! Seems like it’s always the males on BYH!


----------



## misfitmorgan

I'm glad the lamb is doing better. The personality of a bottle lamb is much different then dam raised. They will forever be in your pocket, with the females it's great with the males it can get annoying during breeding season but otherwise it's pretty nice. As bottle fed males age they can become more and more pushy and have no fear/respect of humans often. Big boy was a bottle kid and is already being pushy at about 2yrs old but he has no horns so he isnt so bad. Captain our smaller ram was a bottle lamb and can be pushy for attention but is never outright mean or aggressive and he is 3 or 4yrs old now.



Wehner Homestead said:


> So glad to hear good news on little Lambalina!
> 
> For once the cute one is the female offspring! Seems like it’s always the males on BYH!



No kidding!!! x2

Also Mike I contacted bioworma and they said they only have the one US supplier atm but have several applications for other sellers that should be approved in the coming weeks. The new suppliers will be announced in their newsletter when their applications are approved so the price will likely be cheaper from other suppliers. As we all know premier1 has good stuff but its all pretty pricey. So you might keep an eye out for that and see if a better price comes up that makes it possible for you(us) to use bioworma.

Also if you do buy bioworma and enter your details of purchase into their site you get a free fecal egg test kit, not sure whats in it but might be worthwhile.
https://www.bioworma.com/livamol-with-bioworma.html#Faecal-Egg-Kit


----------



## Mike CHS

Thank you very much on the bioworma.  I would like to give it a look see but when we crunched the numbers, the cost of that is a bit over what we sell for.    I will keep an eye on it though since it should come down.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> Thank you very much on the bioworma.  I would like to give it a look see but when we crunched the numbers, the cost of that is a bit over what we sell for.    I will keep an eye on it though since it should come down.



Not a problem, we are interested in it as well....at a lower price point. All total we have about the same number of ruminants as you do now.


----------



## Mike CHS

The pretty girl had to have a name so she is now Taffy.  We haven't raised bottle lambs before and if given a choice I would rather not.  That being said, it is amazing having these little guys follow your every move and start calling as soon as we come out the door.  We are still putting them on the porch in kennels at night after their last feeding but it has been nice enough during the day to use the big dog kennel as a base plus we go out to let them run quite often.  We switched them over to  a milk recipe that @Baymule told us about and they love it.  The milk replacer wasn't doing good things on their stomachs but it's better now.  I'm not quite sure how to integrate them with the others but I'll ask that question when it gets closer to the time.  Right now I'm planning on putting them with the other lambs about the time they are due to be weaned so it should be fairly simple (but simple doesn't seem to be the norm right now).


----------



## Baymule

I'll let you and Teresa blaze the trail on bottle lambs. Y'all can keep making the updates on their progress. Then if I ever get bottle lambs, I will know what to do. LOL LOL

I like the name Taffy. She is getting a real name! Not just a tag number.


----------



## Mike CHS

The lambs get moved out to the outside kennel tonight.  Taffy is growing so fast that she isn't enjoying sharing the cage with the other one.  They like to all lay in a pile like siblings outside so it works well.


----------



## Mike CHS

We had another set of twins born this morning.  Our routine has gotten out of whack with this bunch so we are going to bring them in this afternoon and try to figure out which lamb(s) belongs to which ewes and put in ear tags.  If the remaining 6 have all singles, we will be around 53 head.


----------



## Mike CHS

The twins that were born this morning are one ewe and one ram lamb.

We put the bottle lambs into one of the holding pens that gives them lots of rain and it is adjacent to the othe


 r group of sheep with their lambs.


----------



## misfitmorgan

I just love Taffy!


----------



## Mike CHS

We put ear tags on all of the lambs except one single that was born as we were tagging the rest of those so now we just have 5 ewes left to lamb.  We will do the tags on the bottle lambs tomorrow when we go down and do the single that was just born.

We had one ram lamb that must have been miserable since it appears his baby poop dried up on him and he was just about plugged up.  Third shower for today took place right after getting him cleaned up and working right.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> We had one ram lamb that must have been miserable since it appears his baby poop dried up on him and he was just about plugged up.


It can be like unblocking a dam when you get that plug off....


----------



## Rammy

Oh, the visual......


----------



## misfitmorgan

We have had that happen before....it's not fun.

Congrats on getting ear tags on. Do you find the tags weigh down their ears and sort of deform it even as adults?

I have noticed some sheep that seem to have one slanty/saggy ear and it is always the tagged one. It just hangs a little different. I dont know if it is from the tags or just from them itching the tagged ear a lot or what.


----------



## Mike CHS

Up until now the ears were big enough that they didn't get weighed down.  For some reason (and it may be my imagination) the ears on most seem to be a bit smaller.


----------



## Baymule

Taffy and friends will be ready to join the flock and be sheep in a short time. Is Spunky able to raise her head now? 

If Maisy was in with the babies, she would have taken care of that plugged up butt for you. AND you would have a LOT more bottle babies.


----------



## Mike CHS

Spunky is able to raise her head but she still isn't "right". We are feeding from the nipple bucket and she just can't get enough that way so she will have to be bottle fed.  We will not use her as a breeder so Teresa said she will try to find her a pet home first and then see what her alternatives might be.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> Spunky is able to raise her head but she still isn't "right". We are feeding from the nipple bucket and she just can't get enough that way so she will have to be bottle fed.  We will not use her as a breeder so Teresa said she will try to find her a pet home first and then see what her alternatives might be.



Our one white boy we lost had an issue with his head/neck too. When i first found him i thought he had possibly gotten kicked or stepping on because he would stand up and kind of fall over following his head and he could not nurse even if we put him right on the teat he still couldnt do it. DH said he believes it was actually neurological and after watching him for a bit i agreed it did look that way. We lost that boy when we had to go down to see my mom in the hospital which was for the better for the poor guy.


----------



## Mike CHS

This one is nursing the bottle good but I doubt she will ever be 100%.  We did find her a home already so we are down to two bottle lambs and once they start eating feed they will go in with the herd that is lambing now. We will supplement with bottles a couple of times a day plus they are already nibbling grass.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> This one is nursing the bottle good but I doubt she will ever be 100%.  We did find her a home already so we are down to two bottle lambs and once they start eating feed they will go in with the herd that is lambing now. We will supplement with bottles a couple of times a day plus they are already nibbling grass.



He may have taken a bottle as well, we just simply were not there and didnt think about it when we got the call mom was going in an ambulance downstate. Life sometimes. I am really glad she found herself a home so fast, that's always good


----------



## Baymule

I'm glad you found her a home.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> I'm glad you found her a home.



She deserves a chance. I love the pictures of Ringo you have been sending Teresa


----------



## Baymule

BJ just grins at me, "You're really spoiling him aren't you?" Only one thing to say to that....DUH!


----------



## Mike CHS

There was another single born during the night but I'm not sure yet who it belongs to yet for a total of 9 so far.  When I put the feed out this morning our #30 ewe was already in the process of having a lamb but she didn't bother acknowledging her state until she got her fill of the feed.  The rest of the herd left the stall and 30 lay down to finish bringing her lamb into the world.  Once again a perfect time to have a camera but I didn't have it with me.  She had a quick labor and did it on her own although the lamb is big and she is one of our smallest ewes.  The lamb is solid black except for a white star on its head.  I haven't figured out where Ringo was hiding all of this color since the last three cycles have all produced all white sheep except for one (and that was from our spotted ewe).  I have lost track but I think there are two left to lamb from this group.


----------



## Baymule

You know Mike, there are PHONES that take PICTURES! WOW! What a concept! Who woulda thunk that? If you ever got one, you would wonder how you ever lived without it. BJ was clinging to his old phone with the tenacity of a Pit Bull, but he was dragged kicking and screaming all the way, to the modern world. Now he is happily clicking away, taking videos and texting, sending pictures and RECIEVING pictures of the grands (which he loves). It ain't bad, maybe you ought to try it...….


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> There was another single born during the night but I'm not sure yet who it belongs to yet for a total of 9 so far.  When I put the feed out this morning our #30 ewe was already in the process of having a lamb but she didn't bother acknowledging her state until she got her fill of the feed.  The rest of the herd left the stall and 30 lay down to finish bringing her lamb into the world.  Once again a perfect time to have a camera but I didn't have it with me.  She had a quick labor and did it on her own although the lamb is big and she is one of our smallest ewes.  The lamb is solid black except for a white star on its head.  I haven't figured out where Ringo was hiding all of this color since the last three cycles have all produced all white sheep except for one (and that was from our spotted ewe).  I have lost track but I think there are two left to lamb from this group.



I think Ringo just made some parting gifts for you since he knew you wanted some color in your herd.


----------



## Mike CHS

I never carry the phone I have now and am seriously considering getting rid of it.


----------



## Mike CHS

The lamb born this morning isn't as dark colored as I originally thought but I'm not sure what you would call this color scheme. I need to take a class in genetics to try and figure out where this color is coming from, using the same ram as last time and they were all white.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

How cool!  I love the color.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> I never carry the phone I have now and am seriously considering getting rid of it.



But we would get so many more awesome pictures


----------



## Baymule

A black horse with white roaning hair is called a blue roan. So I would call your lamb a blue roan. Sure is a pretty lamb!


----------



## Mike CHS

I just went out to put poison on the ant mounds and checked the lamb while I was out.  It's a ram lamb a little over 9 pounds.


----------



## Mike CHS

And just a couple of "just because" pictures.  Princess and Taffy are a week old today and started eating a bit of feed yesterday.


----------



## Roving Jacobs

Mike CHS said:


> The lamb born this morning isn't as dark colored as I originally thought but I'm not sure what you would call this color scheme. I need to take a class in genetics to try and figure out where this color is coming from, using the same ram as last time and they were all white.



In romeldales at least he would be a light blue, Albl, although they often have white on the butt in romeldales and romneys. He probably has another agouti gene influencing how it presents. It's one of the recessive agouti patterns so your sheep just have it "hiding" under their Awt gene. Super cute!


----------



## Mike CHS

Thank you @Roving Jacobs.  I just find it odd that every other lamb that Ringo has sired was white with the occasional brown spot that faded as they matured.  I was starting to think we had a midnight visitor helping Ringo take care of the girls.


----------



## Baymule

That black spot on Ringo's ears just sorta spread out on this lamb. 

Love the pics of Teresa and the lambs!


----------



## Mike CHS

We put in a fairly full day today. We moved the senior ewes and their lambs from their field so we could check them out and give the last CDT shot to their lambs.  We moved the ewes on to some fresh grass that has been idle for a couple of months and moved the lambs to a holding pen for a couple of weeks to get the ewes to start drying up.  I think most of the ewes were ready to wean since they haven't called for the lambs hardly at all.  The lambs on the other hand are loud enough that we already called the neighbor at the top of the hill to let them know we weren't torturing our sheep.  Most of the lambs are in really good condition but we will fatten them up for the next couple of weeks and then take the rams to market.  A few of the ewe lambs are going to be culled at the same time.


----------



## goatgurl

love that blue lamb.


----------



## Mike CHS

Teresa was updating our files with the latest lamb weights.  The smallest (youngest) is 54 pounds and the remainder are from 55 to 78 pounds with most being a little over 65 days old. The biggest ram lamb is out of Wild Thang and is the 78 pounder.  He was 13.7 pounds when he was born so we are thinking of offering him as a commercial ram. He is going to be huge.


----------



## Baymule

We had a day of rest today. We are keeping the 2and 4 year old grand daughters today and tomorrow. It rained all day so all we’ve done is play with them.

Those are some impressive weaning weights.


----------



## misfitmorgan

My only thought for so many colored lambs this year is because you bred back to Ringo with his daughters. As far as the senior ewes throwing colors no idea. I know white is dom and color is ress.
So if Ringo is W(white Dom) c(color recessive)
and the Senior Ewe was WW(white Dom)
Which looks like this




50% White lambs
50% White lambs with recessive color gene
So then you breed Ringo to his daughters and it looks like this



25% White lambs
50% White lambs with recessive color gene
25% colored lambs

So basically you are winning the lamb lottery this year. There are other factors though like dilute genes(aka most "blue" animals carry a dilute gene) but this is the general idea of what is happening. Also if you breed those cc lambs to a Wc ram you will get this



50% White with recessive color gene
50% colored lambs
If you breed to a WW ram...



100% White with recessive color gene

So lets hope Max is Wc 

Wild things ram lamb should be a cc(he was colored if i recall right?)


----------



## Baymule

Mike posted a picture of Maxwell and he has brown spots. Next years lambs ought to be some spotty babies!


----------



## Roving Jacobs

White spotting is different than the color patterns, just to make things even more confusing. My jacobs are technically dominant black with white spots, not agouti white with black spots. You can have a patterned sheep but not be able to see it because of all the white spotting they have. Also most sheep (jacobs excluded) don't have dilute blue, they have dilute brown aka moorit. "Blue" sheep are agouti pattern blue. Genetics is fun!


----------



## misfitmorgan

Baymule said:


> Mike posted a picture of Maxwell and he has brown spots. Next years lambs ought to be some spotty babies!



Awesome that means he will have the double recessive and which will make all lambs get one recessive color gene....actually ringo has that black spot so he should be cc.
Ringo cc
Ewe WW
would be 100% White with recessive color
Ringo cc
Ewe Wc
would be 50/50 colored and white w/color gene
Senior ewes could be either, but any lamb that shows color should be cc which means further breeding with Max a cc would produce all colored lambs from any colored ewe.



Roving Jacobs said:


> White spotting is different than the color patterns, just to make things even more confusing. My jacobs are technically dominant black with white spots, not agouti white with black spots. You can have a patterned sheep but not be able to see it because of all the white spotting they have. Also most sheep (jacobs excluded) don't have dilute blue, they have dilute brown aka moorit. "Blue" sheep are agouti pattern blue. Genetics is fun!



 I was trying to save Mike from agoti or spotting since those throw a snag in the whole works.


----------



## Baymule

Mike should be home tonight with Maxwell!


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> Mike should be home tonight with Maxwell!



I just got in.  The farm that Max came from has mostly solid colored lambs with blue, red,  brown and a couple I couldn't come up with a name for and all of those come from white ewes.  It was a long day and the 9 hour trip took almost 12 hours.  I don't know the DOT budget for road repairs in Illinois and Kentucky but it isn't big enough.  I had to drop it down to 55 MPH to keep from throwing the poor ram all over the trailer.


----------



## Baymule

We are glad that you and Maxwell got home safe. I bet you are tired after that trip. Now you can start spoiling that boy!


----------



## Mike CHS

He is pretty calm but has had  very little hands on so it's up to him how far we go and how fast.  There has been so much rain in the last couple of days that I may have to drop the trailer and then hook it up to the tractor to be able to get it to the field he is going to be in.  I crashed last night right after I posted plus I had to get him settled in for the night.  Rather than try and move him in the dark, I made sure he had plenty of feed and water and a light in the trailer.


----------



## Baymule

That was the best thing that you could have done. You had a hard trip, made worse by bad roads. When we left with Ringo, BJ drove it hard, but we were on interstate all the way. That's why we wanted to load up so early, so we could get home before dark and get him unloaded. We were pretty wiped out the next day.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Glad you made it back safe Mike. Hope you got some good rest last night.


----------



## Mike CHS

It has been busy enough that I have been remiss with lambing info.  There are now 14 lambs on the ground in this group with three ewes left to lamb and 14 lambs in the dry lot being weaned and fattened from the first group.  If the last three have singles, we will be at 52 head total.


----------



## Rammy

Ringo sure left you one heck of a bunch of nice lambs.


----------



## misfitmorgan

No shortage of lambs there! Congrats on all the healthy lambs.


----------



## animalmom

Yes....... but where are the pictures?


----------



## Rammy

Yes, where are the pictures? You know how we loves pics of baby anything!


----------



## Mike CHS

My #21 ewe is about as close to being pet tame as any of our sheep.  I was down in the stall to put some feed out and I noticed her sack was hanging and she came over and lay down beside where I was sitting on the door stoop and her water broke.  She had a single lamb which I'm good with since she is one of our smaller ewes (or at least she was when she got bred). I'll get more pictures later but the first one is of her in labor.

Pepper is the next one due to lamb and isn't far behind 21 in the tame department.  Every time I sit with them while they are feeding, she comes up for some scratches. 

The picture with the ewe that looks terrible in her shedding but her winter coat was several inches thick and is shedding in clumps. She was a year old in early March which we planned since the ewe has to be at least a year old when they lamb for lambs to be registered.  We bought her and four others last year from Sand Mountain Katahdins in east Alabama.

And last is a picture of a few of the lambs playing around the creep feeder.


----------



## Mike CHS

The ewe lamb born to 21 this morning is a hair under 9 1/2 pounds and showed us something new.  We always do ear tags in the first couple of days after they are born since they don't have any fear of humans yet and they are easy to catch.  This ewe lamb had only been on her feet for 20 or 30 minutes and it took some effort to catch her just to weigh her.  They all tame down after a few days because their dams aren't afraid but this is the first time I have seen one that skittish so soon after birth.  Especially since her dam is the tamest ewe we have.


----------



## Baymule

How sweet that she came to you and presented you with her lamb. She may be tame, but that is the result of being a good shepherd. Congrats on all the beautiful lambs.


----------



## Mike CHS

I got woke up by a bawling ewe around 4:30.  She was laying in the little pen outside the spare bedroom.  I got dressed to see if she might need help but she finally had a single lamb.  She cleaned it off but this one doesn't seem as strong as it should be.  I'll spend some time with them and see how things really are.  One left to go and we can merge all of the groups and take the 10 week old rams to market.  We need to take a close look at the ewes and ewe lambs since we need to get our numbers down in the next couple of months.


----------



## Baymule

With the 4 ewe lambs that I am keeping, I will have 13 ewes. I'll be taking a serious look at mine too. I don't think I can ever let go of my first 3 original ewes. Even if I finally wind up with a flock of registered ewes, I'll still have my 3 mutts. May not be good business sense, but some business comes from the heart.


----------



## Mike CHS

We still have 4 of our original ewes but they all have some of the most beautiful lambs and haven't needed worming in over a year so that goes along with their personalities.   We are seriously talking about culling based on parasite history since we have so many that have excellent fecal results and about the right number that did not to make our numbers fit.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> We still have 4 of our original ewes but they all have some of the most beautiful lambs and haven't needed worming in over a year so that goes along with their personalities.   We are seriously talking about culling based on parasite history since we have so many that have excellent fecal results and about the right number that did not to make our numbers fit.



Sounds like a good plan, don't forget though all of the lambs will be half Maxwell too or whatever new ram you have next time. A lot of people locally just focus on the ewes and forget half of all the lambs is also the ram. This ewe 4yrs old had a weak single two years in a row....but you get your "new" ram two years ago, what was her performance before that? Only mention it because a lot of people overlook things like that and seem to always blame the females.

Another one is blaming the "poor" livestock when you really have poor management(i am guilty of this one) and seeming to only ever find "badly bred" livestock who end up with the same issues. Not that I am saying you manage your sheep poorly, quite the opposite. You have some of the best management/care I have ever seen for sheep.


----------



## Mike CHS

I know what you mean. Parasite hardiness is one of the reasons I drove an almost 1400 mile round trip to get Max the new ram.  He has a background similar to the ram (Ringo) @Baymule has now. He came out of the ram lamb parasite hardiness program at Virginia Tech. The new ram Max, came out of a similar program ran by the USDA in conjunction with Arkansas State U.  There are literally thousands of rams available in Tennessee but not with that kind of background.  Ringo had a zero egg count when he headed south and Max had a zero egg count when he headed this way.  We test the lambs fecals as much as the ewes until we get a history of those we plan on keeping.


----------



## Baymule

Rams worth driving for!


----------



## misfitmorgan

Mike CHS said:


> I know what you mean. Parasite hardiness is one of the reasons I drove an almost 1400 mile round trip to get Max the new ram.  He has a background similar to the ram (Ringo) @Baymule has now. He came out of the ram lamb parasite hardiness program at Virginia Tech. The new ram Max, came out of a similar program ran by the USDA in conjunction with Arkansas State U.  There are literally thousands of rams available in Tennessee but not with that kind of background.  Ringo had a zero egg count when he headed south and Max had a zero egg count when he headed this way.  We test the lambs fecals as much as the ewes until we get a history of those we plan on keeping.



Excellent, i figured Max had to be pretty special for that kind of a drive. I was pretty sure you had everything covered but never hurts to mention things not everyone thinks about.


----------



## Mike CHS

We are officially finished with lambing.  It seems that the area I have been feeding in next to the house seems to be the lambing spot of choice this winter.  This little lamb was born about an hour ago.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Congrats!!


----------



## Baymule

Congrats on the new and last lamb!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Adorable  little lamb....congratulations


----------



## Mike CHS

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not but this group of 12 ewes are all yearlings aged 13-15 months old.

While I was feeding I checked the lamb that was born this morning and it is a ram lamb and weighs 11.1 pounds born to the smallest ewe we have in this group.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> 11.1 pounds born to the smallest ewe we have in this group


Wowzers!


----------



## misfitmorgan

Thats a big lamb...congrats on all your lambs this year!


----------



## Mike CHS

This thread is about to shut down since we are finished lambing but I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the two bottle lambs. The third one that we found a home for is doing great.  She went to a Mennonite family that has a daughter that has a flock of misfits and evidently a knack for bringing marginal animals into a healthy life. 

Princess and Taffy are more independent than the rest of the lambs so they are going to be put in the nursing pen with the others in a few days and we can go out and provide their milk a few times a day.  They are only feeding 3 times a day now and are eating the feed and grazing like big girls.  We will give them the option of staying out with the others or coming back to their beds at night.  They have learned that they are faster than we are (even at just 2 1/2 weeks old) so they are likely to get themselves in trouble since they think there is nothing to fear.


----------



## Baymule

Princess and Taffy are beautiful young ladies!


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> Princess and Taffy are beautiful young ladies!



Bottle lambs are another experience that is nowhere near as hard as what you read about. 

There was no getting up at night and they got fed on our schedule and they have done great.  Your recipe for the milk worked great by the way and they are thriving.


----------



## misfitmorgan

They are so gorgeous



Mike CHS said:


> Bottle lambs are another experience that is nowhere near as hard as what you read about.
> 
> There was no getting up at night and they got fed on our schedule and they have done great.  Your recipe for the milk worked great by the way and they are thriving.



Thats how we do ours too, the first few days can be noisy but they settle into the schedule quickly. We usually do one feeding at 5am, one at 3pm, and one at 10pm, and make sure they always have water, hay and grain.


----------



## Mike CHS

We went down to put ear tags on the latest 3 lambs but could only find two of them.  Teresa started going through the list and then Pepper came up looking for a treat.  I looked down to give her some scratches and also at a very wide body that obviously still had lamb(s) in there.  We have two girls that are identical and somehow got them listed wrong on the note sheet so there is still one ewe left to lamb.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Ahhhh and  so lambing season continues .....


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Ridgetop

At least you found the missing lambs and they were safe!      Of course ear tagging was harder . . . .

So, questions about your electric netting . . . Is the 1000' of electric net fencing from Premier? Do you like it?  It is as easy to install as the video makes it look (our old netting was not that easy, but it did not have the extra stabilizing verticals.  It was the original netting 30 years ago.  Your ground is probably softer, more level, and and better land than our steep hard clay and shale too, so maybe it works better for you.  Although the pos/neg and drive in posts (new to Premier since we bought our first netting) sound sturdier.  We are super dry here and super hard rocky dirt.  I was looking at the middle range temporary fencing, pos/neg with drive in posts, and using additional drive in support posts at the corners and ends of the runs to help support it.  I would have to weed whack a path to put the fencing up on since the mustard is so tall - 5' in areas.  I would need about 800 feet to enclose the entire 200' x 200' area we need grazed completely down along the field next to the buildings.  That area is in the large field and we need to confine the sheep to eat everything otherwise they are picky and leave the area to get better stuff.  LOL  When they don't get it completely grazed down, we have to weed whack which is the reason we have the sheep!  That would take 8 100' rolls to do the entire 4000sf at once.  Too much money, so maybe get 4 rolls and do 100' X 100' at a time and move the fence 3 times.  Shipping at the moment is free and we have an older Premier solar charger. 

One side of the area is bordered by an old chain link fence so instead of running the netting in a complete rectangle maybe I could run 3 sides and connect the electricity in the fences by running standoffs and electric tape along the existing chain link fencing.   The electric tape connected to the netting would complete the circuit, right?


----------



## Baymule

Ridgetop said:


> At least you found the missing lambs and they were safe!      Of course ear tagging was harder . . . .


----------



## Mike CHS

Premier1 has a chart that shows a good rotation using 4 of their 162' nets but doing a quick search I didn't find it but I'll try again tomorrow.   Their short rolls are 82' and the longer nets are 162'.  We use more of the long nets and find the shorter sections give us a lot of flexibility.  We also have several of their 21' netting gates (which we just bought) which you can also use with T-Posts.  We ran a long section of poly rope last summer that even the cows respect but it is a pain to set up.  The cows don't challenge the netting either so that works for us.

Our setup works fairly easy since we planned on using netting to start with and had hot wire above or low on all of our fences.  The alligator clips makes any fence we want to be hot.

We have clay soil also and most of it is anything but flat.  The posts go in fairly easy in most cases when you rock back and forth while it's going in.  We use a BUNCH of the TSC step in post for angles and turns plus a little bailing twine to attach the netting corners.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


>



I consider you a good friend now so I won't comment on my counting error.    We have more than 50 of those critters out there now so I can admit to memory loss.


----------



## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> I consider you a good friend now so I won't comment on my counting error.    We have more than 50 of those critters out there now so I can admit to memory loss.


I was laughing at the thought of you trying to ear tag unborn lambs.


----------



## Ridgetop

You would not believe my lambing and weighing chart - so many cross outs and corrections!  I have to recopy and make new ones at least once during the season.  God forbid the darn critters lose an ear tag!  I have to round everybody up and write down all the remaining numbers to figure out which one will have to be retagged, or just listed as "No tag"!  LOL


----------



## Mike CHS

Ridgetop said:


> or just listed as "No tag"!  LOL




My favorite ewe that will never leave this farm is named NoTag.


----------



## Ridgetop




----------



## misfitmorgan

That's really funny, poor pepper had her identity stolen. Now are you for sure pepper is the last one?

We have premier1 netting too. We have electronet 167' double spike for $135. Our old place was almost 100% clay and the new place is mostly sand...it worked fine in either as far as staying up(our critters pushed it over a lot because of fencer issues) We put in t-posts at all corners and used twine to hold tension on the fence because we go up/down hills, over bumps, and around trees/bushes. If you have a good fencer the livestock respect i don't think you will have any problems.


----------



## Mike CHS

We went through all three groups this morning to make sure we haven't missed any more.  

This morning I over seeded some Red River Crab grass on the paddock that we just moved the larger group of ewes off of.  I'm going to pick up a load of lime this afternoon and get it broadcast if the rain will hold off long enough. Other than that, Teresa set up a target range so we can go out and do some hand gun practice.


----------



## Ridgetop

*misfitmorgan *That is good to know, thanks. 

*Mike CHS*


----------



## Ridgetop

That is nice to know that you can have your private firing range.  We would love to have something like that.


----------



## Mike CHS

I didn't turn the sheep into the rye grass this morning since Pepper is acting like she is going to lamb really soon.


----------



## Mike CHS

I'm going out to do afternoon chores because we have to leave in an hour or so but Teresa is down at the shop watching Pepper since she hasn't witnessed any births of the lambs before.  Peppers' water broke about twenty minutes ago and at least once lamb is started to poke its nose out.


----------



## Mike CHS

I can't tell if she is finished or not but there is a long legged single so far.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Awesome , can't  wait to find out the results, one, two, ram, ewe ???


----------



## Baymule

B&B Happy goats said:


> Awesome , can't  wait to find out the results, one, two, ram, ewe ???



And he leaves you hanging....


----------



## Mike CHS

She had a second lamb that was dead on arrival and since she was stressed out and defensive of her live lamb,  we didn't mess with it or her.  The first lamb is a big one whatever the sex but we'll find out in the morning.

We didn't weigh the dead lamb but it has to be over 10 pounds and I'm estimating the other one will top 12 pounds.  That is a lot of lamb for a yearling ewe.


----------



## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> And he leaves you hanging....



We just got home a few minutes ago.  We had the classroom portion for our CWPs tonight and the range tomorrow morning so we need to get started early with the chores.


----------



## Baymule

That is a lot of lamb, especially for a FF ewe. Sorry about the one you lost, but at least you still have one. that's what I tell myself...….


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Sorry for the loss Mike.....
.so lambing season is now over ?  And what is he grand tally, ewes and rams


----------



## Mike CHS

Peppers' lamb is a long legged ram that weighed in at 13.2 so it should have been just under 13 pounds when it was born.  We have a total lamb count of 30 here plus the injured ewe that we gave away for 31 born.   The break out is 14 ram lambs and 16 ewe lambs.


----------



## Baymule

Y'all have had a good lambing!


----------



## Mike CHS

Teresa did the math earlier today and our increase is a little over 150% which we are pleased with since 12 of the 20 ewes are yearling first timers.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Congratulations  on a good season


----------



## Mike CHS

What is the minimum time I need to keep lambs away from their dams before I can put the ewe lambs back with the ewes without them going back to nursing?


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> What is the minimum time I need to keep lambs away from their dams before I can put the ewe lambs back with the ewes without



I just tried finding a direct answer on the internet for you....no direct answer was available  sorry Mike


----------



## Mike CHS

I know.  I spent quite a bit of time looking but found answers all over the place.  We are taking the ram lambs to market tomorrow even though it is at the bottom but I have several places I can put the ewe lambs temporarily since they follow me so well.


----------



## CntryBoy777

Sure wish I could make a trip up to get one of those in a cooler..............I still plan on getting back up there, one day.....long as I keep breathing, anyway....


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> I know.  I spent quite a bit of time looking but found answers all over the place.  We are taking the ram lambs to market tomorrow even though it is at the bottom but I have several places I can put the ewe lambs temporarily since they follow me so well.



I sure hope you can get it worked out...i guess afterwards you will have the answer to that question !


----------



## Hens and Roos

With our goats we have seen does that self wean their doeling(s) and that is the end of the kid nursing and we have 1 doe that will let her doeling(s) continue to nurse.  We ran into problems last year as this doe let her doelings from the year before nurse, only way we found to solve that was to sell the doelings.  We had even separated them for several weeks and it didn't work.  Good luck


----------



## Mike CHS

I guess there was a reason I fenced in all of the smaller holding pens.  

I felt all of the udders on the senior ewes this afternoon and they are drying up so I'll just keep the ewe lambs separate until they are gone.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

With the cattle, we maintain separation for at least two months before we will put them back together. Usually we have them separated for longer but that’s our minimum. Our setup is conducive to that.

I think I did three months on this last set of goats that I weaned. I really need to do some more...


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Mike CHS said:


> I guess there was a reason I fenced in all of the smaller holding pens.
> 
> I felt all of the udders on the senior ewes this afternoon and they are drying up so I'll just keep the ewe lambs separate until they are gone.


----------



## Mike CHS

I never thought about it till today but I guess this is another reason to be hands on with your ewes.  I probably spent an hour and a half pulling out clumps of hair off of the ewes.  They patiently waited their turn until I got around to them but they are mostly clean coated now plus I was able to check out their udders while I was getting rid of their itches.


----------



## Rammy

Mike CHS said:


> I never thought about it till today but I guess this is another reason to be hands on with your ewes.  I probably spent an hour and a half pulling out clumps of hair off of the ewes.  They patiently waited their turn until I got around to them but they are mostly clean coated now plus I was able to check out their udders while I was getting rid of their itches.


Just like a man to cop a feel whenever he gets the chance......


----------



## Baymule

That's a good question. I know it takes about 3 weeks for the ewes to dry up. But I bet if their babies could get to momma again, they sure would nurse and make the milk flow again.


----------



## Mike CHS

We just brought the oldest group of lambs down to the shop stall to get them sorted.  The market is the pits right now but it will be 7 months before the youngest lambs (still nursing) can be bred and another 4 months before the oldest lambs can be bred so the rams have to go.  When we wean the younger lambs we will put them in the dry lost for a bit to get them used to being handled then rinse and repeat with the remaining ram lambs.


----------



## Baymule

I don't have the room to keep ram lambs separate, so they lose their nuts. The ram lambs are some humping little stinkers, aren't they?


----------



## Mike CHS

They can be a pain but we will band a couple to butcher.  The market was actually up this week so we did fairly good.  Our first born ram was 80 days old and weighed in at 85 pounds.  He is good looking enough that he actually sold as a ram rather than market ram lamb.


----------



## Ridgetop

Mike CHS said:


> Teresa did the math earlier today and our increase is a little over 150% which we are pleased with since 12 of the 20 ewes are yearling first timers.


150% is excellent lambing percentage with the number you have to lamb out.  Especially since you said you have a lot of FF ewes.  Normally young FF  ewes have singles.



Mike CHS said:


> They can be a pain but we will band a couple to butcher. The market was actually up this week so we did fairly good. Our first born ram was 80 days old and weighed in at 85 pounds. He is good looking enough that he actually sold as a ram rather than market ram lamb.


80 days and 85 lbs!  Congratulations.  Terrific gain.  Your hair sheep must be a lot bigger than the ones I have seen here in California.  What is the desired slaughter weight for your lambs?  Are they for the ethnic market?  I heard that ethnic market buyers want smaller lambs (BBQ size) around 80 lbs.  Here I have to raise to over 100 lbs.  My buyers don't want BBQ lambs - they want them cut and wrapped for the freezer.  I would love to be able sell smaller size lambs and get my ewes breeding back sooner.


----------



## Mike CHS

The best market size here is 35 - 50 lbs but the best $ for the seller is 75-95.  The larger sheep sell for about 10 cents a pound less but of course there is a whole lot more pounds. 

There is a large ethnic market north and east of us which is where the larger buyers were from today.  The largest ram lamb that we sold today went to a local farm. We sell a lot of year old and older sheep locally for the same reason as you do - the buyers want more meat and there is very little difference in cost to raise.

Several of our ewes were 140-165 pounds but most are in the 105-125 pound range.


----------



## Ridgetop

Incredible rate of gain.  Do you supplement or creep feed at all?


----------



## Mike CHS

Ridgetop said:


> Incredible rate of gain.  Do you supplement or creep feed at all?



I creep feed the lambs at about 3/4 of a pound a day each until they are weaned.  That adds about 7 dollars each to the cost but we can move them out so much faster doing it that way.


----------



## Ridgetop

Agreed.  Creep feeding lambs when they are young means higher ADG early.  Trying to put weight on later when the lambs are older costs more per lb. to put on.

Took our 3 lambs to the butcher this am.  Heaviest lamb was the youngest at 4.7 months - a single wether weighing 118 lb.  The other 2 were 4.9 months - twins weighing 112 and 116 lbs.  Our butcher is 3rd  generation and liked what he saw.  He will evaluate the carcasses for me and let me know how they look.  I showed him a picture of the ram I used and he had me email it to him to show the 4-H kids what they should be looking for in lambs.  He buys a lot of lambs from the youth auctions and does all the butchering for 4 or 5 fairs in the surrounding 3 counties. He has been doing our lambs for the past 5 years.

I am just floating on a cloud now because he told me that I do the best job finishing lambs that he has seen in several years!   

      

He also said that us losing our lambs last year to the coyotes was not surprising.  The fire hit through the 2 counties north of us as well and he said the beef producers all around were losing calves to coyotes.  Packs of 15 or more were pulling the calves away as the cow was giving birth and killing the newborn calves.  For 2 months he did not have to dispose of any offal since the ranchers were picking up boxes of it to make bait piles and shooting the coyotes.  In one week they got 45 coyotes!  Litters will be large this year since the rains have brought such luxuriant forage.  Lots of food this year for them to raise pups.  Last year with all the burned areas there were too many coyotes having to relocate to survive, and no prey.  I am hoping with all the rabbits I have seen and the new growth that some of the packs have relocated back to their old grounds.


----------



## Baymule

That is some great weights on your lambs!


----------



## Ridgetop

Thanks.  This is our first year with the new breed.  I can't wait to hear what Kent says about the carcass quality.


----------

