Margali's Griffin Wood Ranch

[SageHill]

Morning safety email, "Please be very aware of your surroundings, particularly at night. There are reports of coyotes howling at night. 3 individuals were recently bit by coyotes in Arlington." So glad I have Hera now.

I just got a message from a friend who has a friend that just lost a 6 day old colt to coyotes.
Hera is a Godsend for you.

 

[Baymule]

Hera arrived at the right time.

Coyotes biting people is bad, the coyotes have no fear.

 

[farmerjan]

Well, if they pass the law or ordinance or whatever it is in CA, so that you can't use the sticky traps to catch rats... then the coyotes will have even more to eat so they can continue to b reed and add more coyotes to the population... IDIOTS....

 

[Ridgetop]

Got a notice 3 days ago that a cougar took a dog near the high school 5 miles up the road. From there Angeles National Forest feeds into the open Tujunga Wash which comes all the way down near our place. We have cougars around every couple years. The dogs have been barking a LOT and ALL NIGHT. Something is out there. My poor dogs are working hard.

 

[Margali]

I weighed almost everybody tonight. I got Coca, BlueHawk, BlueTail, and BlueButt. I missed Vanilla since she kept ducking under the mamas. I'm mostly happy with the growth rates considering Mocha is the only experienced mom in the lot.


I'm a little worried Shy Lady may not have enough milk for both babies. Should I consider listing BlueButt as registeration in-process bottle lamb?

 

[Margali]

I also worked some on my handling area. I found an old sheet of 1/2" plywood buried in the dirt and made a chute section out of it. I think it will work better than the see thru panels.

 

[Ridgetop]

I'm a little worried Shy Lady may not have enough milk for both babies. Should I consider listing BlueButt as registeration in-process bottle lamb?

Not in my opinion. First you are not allowing enough time to get true daily rate gain figures on your lambs. You cannot figure true daily weight gain averages until at least 2 months or weaning. Most people figure the adjusted average DRGs at weaning for lambs, then start another daily weight gain average after another 3 months or selling date.

Shy Lady is a first freshener and had twins. Her daily rate gains in the lambs are good for first time mothers. Mocha had twins that weighed 3 lbs. more at birth. Their daily rate gain is based on only 7 days and reflects the larger weight at birth. The other 2 sets of lambs are singles and will gain much more in proportion since they have all the milk.

Lambs gain a tremendous amount in the first month when the milk is richest. They continue gaining until weaning since they are getting both milk and other feed. If you pull one of Shy Lady's lambs, her milk production will drop as well to just what one lamb requires. By leaving both on her it encourages her to produce more milk for both lambs. If you want to, you can increase her individual grain ration to see if it ups her milk production. This will be hard to measure though since you are not milking her. I would just leave the ewes to raise their lambs for now and then at one month or so weigh them again to see what the weights are. The less interference with the natural process the better.

Having less milk from their mother, SL's lambs may eat hay/grass and grain faster and actually end up gaining more by weaning age.

I used to weigh lambs every week until it became a big chore as we got more and more lambs being born. I stopped weighing except at birth and weaning. NSIP records average daily gain using birth weight and weaning weight. these are the weights they use to determine dam's and sire's lamb weight production. Then from weaning to butcher age they will do another ADG.

This is the first season for these ewes to lamb. You can't really determine average weight gain production on a ewe's lambs until she has produced at least twice.

 

[farmerjan]

Not in my opinion. First you are not allowing enough time to get true daily rate gain figures on your lambs. You cannot figure true daily weight gain averages until at least 2 months or weaning. Most people figure the adjusted average DRGs at weaning for lambs, then start another daily weight gain average after another 3 months or selling date.

Shy Lady is a first freshener and had twins. Her daily rate gains in the lambs are good for first time mothers. Mocha had twins that weighed 3 lbs. more at birth. Their daily rate gain is based on only 7 days and reflects the larger weight at birth. The other 2 sets of lambs are singles and will gain much more in proportion since they have all the milk.

Lambs gain a tremendous amount in the first month when the milk is richest. They continue gaining until weaning since they are getting both milk and other feed. If you pull one of Shy Lady's lambs, her milk production will drop as well to just what one lamb requires. By leaving both on her it encourages her to produce more milk for both lambs. If you want to, you can increase her individual grain ration to see if it ups her milk production. This will be hard to measure though since you are not milking her. I would just leave the ewes to raise their lambs for now and then at one month or so weigh them again to see what the weights are. The less interference with the natural process the better.

Having less milk from their mother, SL's lambs may eat hay/grass and grain faster and actually end up gaining more by weaning age.

I used to weigh lambs every week until it became a big chore as we got more and more lambs being born. I stopped weighing except at birth and weaning. NSIP records average daily gain using birth weight and weaning weight. these are the weights they use to determine dam's and sire's lamb weight production. Then from weaning to butcher age they will do another ADG.

This is the first season for these ewes to lamb. You can't really determine average weight gain production on a ewe's lambs until she has produced at least twice.

Agree with @Ridgetop ... comparing it to cattle rates of gain... and on top of it.,.. the lambs aren't even 2 weeks old... HOLY COW, I think they are gaining very very good....
You have been fighting mud and rain on top of all that... I would be tickled if the calves gained that fast comparatively....

 

[Margali]

Me try to micromanage and over analyze things, nah, never happens. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed with so many babies at once. Do you like my boy's names?

And I'm hearing Mocha is a tank when it comes to milk production. She twinned as first freshener. Oreo twin raised single last year had ADG at weaning of 0.77lbs/day.

 

[Margali]

Another set of rams.