My Sheep Journal~ I'm a grandma! Black Betty had twins!!!

[ksalvagno]

What adorable puppies. Makes me want to get some!

I have no idea about the fly bots but there are things that only work as a preventative and doesn't work once they have the problem. The only example I have is Meningeal Worm in alpacas. Ivomec works to prevent it but Safeguard works when they have it. I guess all you can do is try it and see if it works.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes...I was thinking the same thing. I will definitely document results. I just need to wait until next week for my muscle to get here so I can strong arm these sheep into submission and treatment.

Got Shane today and she is bigger, more quiet and sweeter than her brother. I think this one will turn out to be MY dog.

She rode quietly in the seat beside me and snuggled up to me and slept when we got home. She ate like a pig, was very aggressive about hogging the food bowl and then went right back to sleep.

Didn't like her bath but cleaned up nicely...she is certainly a beautiful dog.

 

[Beekissed]

Well...had to put down my dear friend, Lucy, today so that she wouldn't be in pain any longer. The Earth is short one great LGD today.

Her companion, Jake, is sad and still....still for the first time in his life. The new pups try to make him play but he is not in the mood for fun.

Placed the sheeples in the winter pen today and they aren't a bit happy about it. They do love their new sheeple breezeway that I constructed from cattle panels and tarps...it ain't pretty but they sure do love it. Will post pics tomorrow, maybe.

I still don't have a lamb and I'm wondering if this sheep is even pregnant. If not, why did neither young ewes get bred by this 2 yr. old ram? He has many, many fine offspring to his credit, so he is proven. Actually, I own one of his daughters right now and she is a great sheep.

On a happy note, the treatment I did on the sheeples for extreme snotty noses has been a success.....no messy noses yet. Just the old standby of unpastuerized ACV and garlic~really upped the dose of garlic this time~ drench and then I flushed out nostrils with normal saline and applied Vicks up inside each nostril.

Trimmed hooves and checked eyelids against the FAMACHA color chart and all is well. The fall fescue has done its magic and the sheeples are fat as ticks going into the winter. The hay is arranged for self-feeding with minimal wasting and heated water bucket is in place and full.

Will be storing crates of apples and many pumpkins in the broody pen for winter feeding.

The new generation of LGD have been installed in the "big dog" shed, along with Jake. They will be learning the laws of livestock guarding from a good teacher....not quite as good as Lucy about watching for hawks but still a stone cold killer on four legs.

The new generation...yeah, I know they ain't the typical LGD breed but I think they can provide some level of protection in their own way. We only have an acre of fenced land to defend!

 

[ksalvagno]

The pups are really growing. Always hard to say why females don't get pregnant. It is sounding more and more like she may not have been pregnant but who knows.

I'm sorry about Lucy. Sounds like she was a wonderful dog and had a wonderful life with you.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'm sorry about Lucy.


I'm guessing maybe your girls didn't cycle when they were in with the ram. I've read several things saying they're non-seasonal breeders, but I've also read some things saying they're long seasonal breeders. Maybe it was just the wrong time. Though I do have a friend that had a katahdin (or dorper, can't remember) ewe breed in July for Thanksgiving babies.

 

[Beekissed]

I am getting a ram in here near the last of this month and I'm hoping they take then....I can't imagine another year without lambs.

Thanks, guys, for the hugs....Lucy was a grand dog! She never let me down, was always cheerful and loving, ever vigilant and ready for action. I loved her so much.

We found her on a farm where someone had moved away and left her tied on a 5 ft. chain to a dog box. The neighbors were stopping by to feed her. She already had teeth worn down in the front even then, so we had no way of knowing how old she really was....if I had to guess I would have said around 5 or 6 years.

We have had her now for 8 years and there will be a huge empty place in our lives with her gone. I used to take her to work with me and all the old people loved her! Lucy loved to travel and loved all people....never got enough petting to suit her and you had to continue if you started it at all....she would nudge your hand and make you!

She wasn't just a LGD to us...before there was that, she was just a friend, family member, a confidant and a warm place to lay down your troubles, spend some extra love and for company when you were down. She was at our side on trips, on work days, on days by the fire and when we laid out under the stars.

We had such a love! Some people and some animals just leave their mark when they pass through this world. I've been lucky enough to have had two such dogs in my life....angels in fur, watching over me and my heart, ready to serve, ready to soothe.

How blessed am I?

Old Lucy and her shadow, Jake:

 

[goodhors]

What is the other half on the puppies? I have met a number of Nefies and they were all bark, then quite friendly. Big enough to handle predators, but not sure if they would be inclined that way.

Photos of pups are sure cute!! Always nice to have a dog you don't have to bend over to pet!!

Not sure if you have read up on the latest in dog nutrition, but bigger breeds often need extra calcium for the big bones. Our family used dry milk on the dog food, to gain the extra calcium. Our breed choices of German Shepherd, Bouvier, all had lovely teeth and strong bones as grown dogs. We have added the dried milk both as liquids or just the powder on dry food. We also fed them like puppies (Purina Puppy Chow) beyond recommended time of one year. Bigger dogs take longer to grow up! Most were fed as puppies until about 20 months, but your Newfies will be even larger dogs than mine.

Some breeds don't do well on milk in diets, so you might need to experiment a bit, or ask Vet about Calcium pills as a supplement. Needed to do that pill addition with one female with puppies. She didn't like the milk, so would not eat enough to replace her calcium while nursing. She actually got wobbly, from calcium loss! Vet advised the calcium pills at that time. Just popped them down her throat each day until pups were sold. Years ago when my mom first started the dry milk it was a fairly cheap additive, not so much now. Still a good product, does a great job on fast-growing puppies! I should have my current dog smile for you, great teeth!

Sorry about Lucy, but a new puppy or two is a great distraction for you. Takes your mind off your loss. Young pups are SO CUTE and yours look like they are really high on the cuteness scale!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Awww, I just want to hug her!

 

[Beekissed]

I've been feeding these pups on pup chow and buttermilk, with the occasional raw egg thrown in for added protein. They love the buttermilk and it hasn't upset their digestion any so far, so I will continue to do so for a good while. The cultures will be good for their digestion also, I would think.

They will be getting some addition of raw meat to their diets this winter as I thin my layer flock and if hunting season goes well.

The other half of these pups is Visla, a Hungarian bird hunting breed. So my Newfies might not get to the normal Newfie size due to Mom's smaller stature.

 

[goodhors]

Well that is not a cross you run into often! I would expect leggy, but maybe not the bulk of straight Newfie. Probably good movers with the bird dog action.

The buttermilk sounds excellent, especially if you have it on hand. We were city dwellers when we started the dry milk, so much cheaper then, than liquid store milk. Even us kids drank dry milk, the price spread was so big. We ALSO have very good teeth!!

The meat and puppy chow are a good plan. We heard of other German Shepherd dogs with digestive problems on milk. None of our own dogs ever had problems with milk in their diets. I think some extra cultures, eggs in feeding are usually a good addition to puppy diet. We fed meat as well back then, scraps from the butcher shop. As fast growing as big puppies are, they use the protien well.