BrownSheep- It's been a while

[BrownSheep]

I went to a necropsy clinic today with the fish and game state vet. He only had a couple of specimens so we brought our own.
I actually took a stillborn lamb that I found last week. We ended lambing about 6 or 7 weeks ago so it was a real shocker. It was a tiny lamb. A little smaller than half the size of a regular lamb. Mom was a smaller yearling ewe.

There was seven of us and only 6 specimens so I shared the lamb with another girl. There was also a bunny ( pygmy or adolecent...The bag wasn't labeled when she took it from the freezer at school), two robins, a ground squirrel, and a RIPE rock chuck.

The lamb mainly served as a comparison of a "healthy" sample .

I did learn the lamb did breath at one point but its lungs never fully expanded. Vet and I figured that it got a sniff as the nose exited the vagina but it died before being fully delivered. We figured the ewe didn't have a whole lot of nutrition the rear end of her pregnancy. Not too surprising as we switched to some feeder hay about 4-5 weeks ago. It is still alfalfa but not as good as our usual stuff. She is also a smaller ewe who probably couldn't compete against the older sheep. It kind of bugged me but the ewe looks to be in good condition so there is really only so much I can do.
The lamb also had a good amount of fat around the heart and kidneys.
I asked if it was possible if the ewe was butted and he said it was possible.

I really enjoyed this clinic and the vet also geared stuff towards livestock even though he is a wildlife vet. I might be doing home necropsies in the future now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing

 

[BrownSheep]

I one of my turkeys hatched out 9 poults this week. It was originally 11 but she lost two by most likely sitting on them. About half are chocolate phenotypes. They could be genotypes as well since I have quite a few chocolate toms. And the other half are phenotypically black with some chocolate genes in there.

 

[BrownSheep]

Well, I'm throughly annoyed with the hen. She is down to 2 chicks. She either steps on them or doesn't keep them under her. It is her first hatch so I'm trying not to be too furious.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhh, that's a shame. Maybe consider pulling them? Good luck with the last two- hope they make it!

 

[Hens and Roos]

sorry to hear about the turkey chicks, I agree with @frustratedearthmother

 

[jodief100]

The clinic sounded really interesting. I would love to be able to do something like that. Sorry about the poults.

 

[BrownSheep]

Luckily she has kept those two poults alive. Pulling them wasn't really an option since I'm not home.

I am, however, in the two week countdown with school. Dead week this week, finals next week, and then I'm done!

I talked with the vet this morning and I'll be starting the 11th and working mornings. 7:30- to 12-3 ish. His words not mine. I think it just depends on when the morning schedule ends up ending. I'm pretty excited.

Another student stopped me today to ask advice about vet school aplications and the like. At first I felt like saying "honey if your asking me you really are in trouble" but the more she asked and the more I was able to answer I realised I do have a fairly good grasp on it.

I'm looking for AI classes. I found a couple earlier in the year but of course during school. All of the classes I've seen are 3-5 days and include the oppertunity to be certified. I'm not really looking at AI as a career path but just another handy skill to slap on my resume`.

Us college kids are all about building up resume`s.

 

[BrownSheep]

Almost done with school! None of my finals are cummalative thank goodness! Thanks to that I'm not overly stressed about this up coming week.

I'll be home Wednesday which I'm excited about. I need to get my sheep sheared, and my yaks combed, and so much more.

One of my cousins is coming from Washington to get a little starting herd in June. I think its a little crazy to drive all the way down here for them but prehaps there just aren't too many (wool) sheep available in Washington. When I posted my rams on craigslist I had 3 people from Washington call interested in them.

I'm working on getting us registered with the International Yak Association. One of the other yak ranchs in the area is bringing in a lady for a workshop in June that I'm hoping to go to. I'll probably have to get work off but I don't think that should be a problem.

 

[BrownSheep]

I'm out of school for summer, hallelujah!

Wen't to bed at 1 a.m. work up at 5:30 am with the sun in my window. Sheep started baa-ing at 6 so I went outside. I noticed one of the turkey hens who had hatched 2 chicks yesterday was out and about. SHOOT! Usually, I have a day or two before they try to leave the nest.

She of course lost the two babies. I went in to check two other hens. And one was dead! Stupid raccoons got her and all but 2 of her eggs. I'm still deciding if I want to wage war with them or not. They typically don't cause problems.

I couldn't take anymore turkey heartbreak today so I took the chicks from the other hen ( hatched 5 the day before) and put all of the eggs in the incubator. So, I have 5 poults and about 30 eggs in the incubator. I don't think they'll hatch but we'll see.

The yak calves relized that they could get into the feild surrounded by the electric fence where the sheep are. They started chasing them ( What fun!). Go the calves out and checked on Princess.

If you remember Princess the lamb is the one who snapped her femur back in March. She just got back yesterday from my aunts and has a noticable limp. So I was afraid she got trampled or caught up by the calves. She is fine though.

She was pretty pampered at my aunt's. Laying down and standing up made her uncomfortable so they picked her up and layed her down for her . So, she experiencing some tough love here. I thinking using her legs will help resolve her limp.

The chick I told you about is still a sheep. It's name ( besides sheep chicken) is Chicky Ba Ba. It grazes with them, sleeps on them, and runs away with yaks with them. When we told my mom about the yak calf hordes that attacked the first thing she asked about was Princess and Sheep Chicken.

 

[norseofcourse]

Sorry about the turkey losses

Glad Princess is doing so well, and I think we need pictures of Sheep Chicken!!