bethh Life on the Funny Farm

[bethh]

Bottom line on babies is this: You can't keep them all.

Even when you keep some, further culling may be necessary. If you are breeding for the improvement and betterment of the breed, there will always be individuals that don't measure up and will need to be sold.

Then there are the boys. You don't need a bunch of boys. Sadly, boys are expendable. They are sold as herd sires in their own right or neutered and sold as pets or meat. This is one of the truths that people wrestle with, but it is fact and must be faced.

I used to castrate all my boys and name them Dinner. They went to slaughter and I had a decent business of selling the lamb meat for $10 per pound. Then along came Covid and getting a slaughter date jumped to a year away. Last year we took some to auction and were pleased with the results. So now I skip the castration and we will take them to the auction as rams and the ewe lambs that I don't keep also go.

We had 2 bottle lambs this year a ram and a ewe lamb. The ram lamb will be banded and kept as a wether as company for the ram and the ewe lamb will join the flock. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just can't let them ALL go! LOL LOL

I am selling 6 of my ewes after I wean lambs. These are ewes that I raised, they have names and are pets. It will be hard but to move forward with my flock, I have to let them go. I am keeping 6 ewe lambs from better ewes and may further cull them as they grow out and/or lamb with their own babies. I want to buy registered ewes so I can keep a registered ram from my ram. I don't want to let his bloodlines get away from me. So I will probably wind up with a registered flock and a commercial flock. LOL Sheep math!

So this is the part of raising sheep and goats that nobody wants to talk about. Sorry to have to slap you up the side of the head with reality, but if you breed your goats, the offspring has to go somewhere. The babies are adorable and it is heart wrenching to let them go, but unless you have LOTS of room and LOTS of money to feed them, you have to let them go. Love them, hold them, cuddle them and find them homes.

After trying to bottle feed everyone to make sure they were taking in enough, I was ready to kiss them good bye and wish them well but not really.

 

[bethh]

Rest In Peace Marshmallow. You were a sweet girl.

 

[bethh]

What’s her coloring called?

 

[bethh]

Is the tan called Cou Clair?

 

[bethh]

After trying to bottle feed everyone to make sure they were taking in enough, I was ready to kiss them good bye and wish them well but not really.

Laugh, I’m serious, lol. They are struggling with the bottle. Mom is missing them. It sucks. But I need to make sure these 2 are growing like they are supposed to be. I tried leaving them with mom but I think it was confusing the situation even more. Hopefully the necropsy results come back quickly so that if I need to make adjustments I can.

 

[Baymule]

The joys far outweigh the sadness. It is so hard to take the losses, but I’ll take it every time, because I would miss the precious moments with our granddaughters, I would miss the huge smiles my sheep give me, the BAA BAA BAAS of them screaming at me every time I walk outside and all the goofy things they do.

I am sorry for the loss of your little one. Big hugs.

 

[GardnerHomestead]

Sorry about your baby, its so hard to lose them. Ive learned to watch for frequent nursing sessions and feel for full bellies often because i had a doe not feeding her buckling and he went downhill quickly. i was able to get him back but because i cant be out there 24/7 i figured i was just missing her nursing him. upon further inspection she was caring for him but not letting him nurse. With three she might have had a hard time keeping up especially if she was a FF, or if that baby was weaker to begin with and wasnt able to fight for a teat.

 

[GardnerHomestead]

View attachment 82917
Is the tan called Cou Clair?

also the tan looks like chamoisee

 

[GardnerHomestead]

View attachment 82915
What’s her coloring called?View attachment 82916

This cutie is buckskin with random white and white poll

 

[bethh]

Preliminary necropsy report, nothing showing cause of death. I requested liver study to check mineral levels. That could be a couple of weeks out. They said it could have been hypoglycemia but that doesn’t show up on a necropsy.