purplequeenvt - Ivy Knoll Farm

[purplequeenvt]

I don't know much about Shetlands, do ya have to shear them or do they shed (a type of hair sheep)? Lol, I guess I figured all Shetlands are fluffy all the time, but logically they can't be!

They are wool sheep and need to be sheared, although there are some that "roo" or shed their wool. I wish they could be fluffy all the time (and stay little baby size)!

 

[purplequeenvt]

Oh gosh they are SO cute, I can't wait for my Shetland Cinnamon to have babies! She looks like she has a furry basketball for an udder at this point. Cinnamon is a reddish color, what do you call that color?

Nigel looks healthy and happy, too!

Cinnamon is a moorit. All Shetlands are either black or moorit, it's the other genes, the agouti, spotting, and modifying genes, that determine the how that base color shows up. Little Kitty is a moorit, but she also has the Ag or grey gene along with one Aa (no pattern) gene. This means that her fleece will turn grey making her a musket. Her mother, Bridget is also a moorit (Ag/Aa), but she has modifying genes that turn her a light honey color or mioget. The color genetics are very confusing and yet very simple at the same time. And very fascinating too!

 

[CocoNUT]

You had me until you started talking about LOUD noises! My Suffolk bottle lamb screams this high-pitched scream! Drives me nuts! But those lambs sure are adorable....

 

[purplequeenvt]

I got some better pictures of the girls this evening.

Breeja

Kitty

This kind of shows the size difference between the sisters.

And now something not as cute....we have a few lambs with sore mouth so I thought I'd share a picture for those of you who haven't seen it before.
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Sore mouth can vary a bit in severity, but in general this is what it looks like. Ewes can also get the sores on their udder. I know some people that worry about sore mouth, but in most cases it is not a big deal (similar to chicken pox). I actually like the lambs to get it now rather then during show season. I also think that the mothers build an immunity to it and pass that immunity on. We used to have sore mouth go through all the lambs every year, but several years ago the number of lambs that got it went down. Now we seem to get 2-5 lambs with it each year. So far we have 4, we'll see how many more pick it up in the next few days. No more kissing the lambies though!

Lyd and I had to work on a ewe's udder this evening. I had noticed that her lambs didn't look very full this morning and then I noticed this evening that her bag was huge. Turns out she has a bit of an infection near her teat. Not mastitis, she either got bit or it is a sore mouth scab that got infected. We got her all cleaned up and gave her antibiotics, but we'll have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she's letting the lambs nurse.

 

[Queen Mum]

OUCH! It looks painful... OW OW OW.

 

[purplequeenvt]

OUCH! It looks painful... OW OW OW.

It can be painful, especially if they have it really bad.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Sheep

The lambs seem to have a very mild strain of sore mouth. The few that have it, it's either already gone or significantly better than when we first spotted it. Yay!

Goats

Nigel will only drink his milk if it is BELOW human body temperature.......he refused to drink his milk this morning until it had cooled down (it couldn't have been considered hot - I dripped some on my wrist to check and I could barely feel it). I brought him cool milk this evening and he sucked it down. Why do I collect all the strange creatures????

Llamas

My big sweetheart Rikki has a hurt foot. The inside toe on her right front foot is swollen. I'm not sure if it is an infection or injury at this point. I don't know what she could have hurt herself on in this paddock though. I soaked her foot in warm soapy water so that I could get a better sense of what was up and gave her antibiotic. She was so well behaved. She let me scrub and poke and prod without any fuss. Normally she's pretty jumpy about her feet.

I think the plan of attack for now is warm water soaks, maybe with Epsom salts, a couple times a day and antibiotics. The warm water will help if it is infection or injury.

 

[Bridgemoof]

Sorry about the sore mouth outbreak. Can you do anything to treat it? Or make it feel better?

The lambs are so cute! Cinnamon is still hanging in there. So she is moorit, and she was bred to the chocolate Finn, so it will be interesting to see what color the babies are. They will be so cute no matter what! My other two Shetlands are black heads and gray silvery fleeces. Those color genetics are confusing to me.

So your last ewe that is due is a Shetland, too? What color is she?

Hope your Llama is doing better.

 

[elevan]

for your llama.

I sure miss mine.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Sorry about the sore mouth outbreak. Can you do anything to treat it? Or make it feel better?

The lambs are so cute! Cinnamon is still hanging in there. So she is moorit, and she was bred to the chocolate Finn, so it will be interesting to see what color the babies are. They will be so cute no matter what! My other two Shetlands are black heads and gray silvery fleeces. Those color genetics are confusing to me.

So your last ewe that is due is a Shetland, too? What color is she?

Hope your Llama is doing better.

There isn't anything you can do for the sore mouth. It's like chicken pox, you just have to let it run it's course.

Your other Shetlands are black with the grey gene (what color are their lips?). I really enjoy the color genetics. It's like a big puzzle!

Ingrid is a Shetland and she is a grey katmoget. She may also have had spots as a baby that faded.

Rikki isn't any better. Her foot is just as swollen and painful. I can't find any sort of wound. I'm going to continue with the antibiotics and soaks until Monday and then we'll see where she's at and if she needs a vet. I put her in a pen in the barn so that she can have food and water right in front of her (and so the piggy sheep won't steal).