Margali
Herd Master
I would file a fraud case with the PD local to mechanic before your tractor “disappears”.
Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
- Thread starter Ridgetop
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #4,462
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Today was warmer and all the jugs are FULL so we decided we needed to make the mama pasture and creeo PRONTO. DS1 said to turn the side barn into a giant mama barn and creep. DS1 said since the barn is emptying, we can move the jugs into that side. He also wanted to finish the lights in the barn. He decided that if he hung the lights crosswise they would provde better light. DS1 is a planner but is flexible and adjusts as he goes. Lucky to have him. Left him and DH discussing their electrical plans for the day.
Another ewe had lambed. So sweet, she had her lamb outside. No, she had both lambs outside. Wait that was another ewe that had lambed. Both OR9 and GR38 had ewe lambs. Inside the barn 332 had newborn twins and a dead triplet. The triplet had not broken through the sac. Triplet ram lambs. 332 is the ewe that tripled last year and lost the first 2 lambs due to mastitis. We pulled the ewe amb and bottle fed her until a tragic accident took her. No sign of mastitis this year, mothering and feeding the remaining twins perfectly. I found my can of marking spray and marked GR38's ewe lamb so I would know which ewe lamb belonged to which mama. Ram lambs were no problem. Fed all the jugs. No need to feed the 3 new moms, theywere already gobbling hay off the stack in the pen with their lambs sleeping in the sun. We decided not to turn the sheep out since it would be hard to keep the new mamas in while the rest of the flock stampeded out. Avoiding trouble was better. After all, we could change the fences, tag and vaccinate, etc. and move the sheep before dinner.
Soooo optimistic!
DS1 and DH arrived while I was feeding and decided that we should change around the fences so we could turn out the mamas and lambs. First we had to dock the ewe lambs, tag and vaccinate. We also had to vaccinate the ewes and worm them. Natal hormones wake up any sleeping worm eggs and cause them to bloom big. Before we can do that we have to have somewhere to turn them out into as we go pen to pen with the docking, tagging, etc. First job, move the rams forward into the front garden pen. They were currently occupying all 3 pens - the garden, the middle and the rear pens on the house side. DH moved them forward and shut them in while DS1 started taking apart the Red River panels. They are 7 bar rodeo arena panels and have wire on the bottom 2' so the babies cannot walk out. He moved them over and reassembled them to close off the hay rolls from the barn yard. This now made a larger area for the ewes to graze and the lambs to run and play. DH helped him pin them together. Then they brought over a 12' panel and a 10' walk through gate panel to use on the new creep.
My heroes pinning 2 panels together. These panels have seen a lot of wear so the pin holders don't always line up right thus the hammer in DH's right hand. 
Once that was finished we came inside to decide how to layout the new jugs. DS1 said we would tag, etc. tonight ready for moving sheep tomorrow. He also decided that any more electrical work would be easier after the jugs were removed. I pulled up 28 syringes of CDT, 5 of Tetanus (for the ewe lambs to be docked), and got out the drench gun. I had ordered it after our worming adventure last summer which left us covered with sheep slobber and drench.
DS1 said he had not tried to use it since he coudn't figure out how to attach it to the smaller bottle of wormer. I put it all together and tested it on the sink. It worked fine so we were set. Back to the barn we went then we had to decide who to do first. Since we needed 3 jugs for the new mamas, we decided to do the ewes with older lambs in jugs in the big barn first. Just as we finished with BL14, BL16 and their lambs, Payton showed up to move the hay bales. He still wasn't feeling very well. I tried to call DH who had stayed in the house but no response, so I went to open the gates and let him in. While I told him where to put the bales, DS1 moved the 12' panel into the barn to make an extra pen for the 3 new moms. Finally I got hold of DH who came out to take care of the gates, etc. Payton finished and left WITHOUT HIS BROWNIES!
It was now too late to finish any more we and we had to get the new mamas into jugs. DS1 and I moved all 3 ewes and 4 lambs into the new pen where 332 proceeded to beat up any lamb except her own. Now we needed to divide the 18' of pen into 3 pens. I found some 4' and 5' pieces of stock panel which we could use. DS1 had used two of the black panels to close off the pen. They were a little low and Iwas worried about the ee jumping out but since her lambs were brand new we decided it would be ok for the night. Then we had to feed and water. We had hoped to ove everyone out to new locations so the buckets were low. DS1 brought over buckets of water for the 3 new pens, and we added some water to the almost empty buckets. We decided since we would be moving BL14 and BL16 out the next day to put them in one of the new pens. I played Ring-around-the-rosy with OR9 and BL16 and their lambs to transfer them. Same thing wth BL16. Finally we finished with the new pen, held together by hay rope. The jugs were stacked 2 deep. Sheep were fed, now for the other barn. No grain for anyone tonight - too much confusion and too difficult to try to fight my way through the loose sheep still inside the barn.
Tomorrow we will begin with tagging, vaccinations, docking ewe lambs, etc. As we finish with each ewe and her lambs she can go out into the brand new barnyard pasture. Then we will move the existing jugs into the big barn, and convert the side barn into a mama and lamb creep. We will move the feeders from California over and use them to grain the ewes since they have a grain tray on the bottom. No need to carry hay since they have 2 new bales in the field. (We will have to carry hay to any new lambing mamas in the jugs.) DS1 will take one of the 12' Priefert gates we are using for a side panel and install it on the side barn so we can lock them up at night. That way I can grain in the morning before I let them out to escape being trampled by dainty sheep hooves. 11 ewes in the side barn jugs, and another 9 in the jugs in the big barn. Lost count of the number of lambs.
I wonder how many ewes will take a look at the jugs and figure that not only is there no room at the inn (side barn), but we are also running out of room in the stable! Still a lot of ewes walking around with huge bellies and udders.
Another ewe had lambed. So sweet, she had her lamb outside. No, she had both lambs outside. Wait that was another ewe that had lambed. Both OR9 and GR38 had ewe lambs. Inside the barn 332 had newborn twins and a dead triplet. The triplet had not broken through the sac. Triplet ram lambs. 332 is the ewe that tripled last year and lost the first 2 lambs due to mastitis. We pulled the ewe amb and bottle fed her until a tragic accident took her. No sign of mastitis this year, mothering and feeding the remaining twins perfectly. I found my can of marking spray and marked GR38's ewe lamb so I would know which ewe lamb belonged to which mama. Ram lambs were no problem. Fed all the jugs. No need to feed the 3 new moms, theywere already gobbling hay off the stack in the pen with their lambs sleeping in the sun. We decided not to turn the sheep out since it would be hard to keep the new mamas in while the rest of the flock stampeded out. Avoiding trouble was better. After all, we could change the fences, tag and vaccinate, etc. and move the sheep before dinner.
Soooo optimistic! DS1 and DH arrived while I was feeding and decided that we should change around the fences so we could turn out the mamas and lambs. First we had to dock the ewe lambs, tag and vaccinate. We also had to vaccinate the ewes and worm them. Natal hormones wake up any sleeping worm eggs and cause them to bloom big. Before we can do that we have to have somewhere to turn them out into as we go pen to pen with the docking, tagging, etc. First job, move the rams forward into the front garden pen. They were currently occupying all 3 pens - the garden, the middle and the rear pens on the house side. DH moved them forward and shut them in while DS1 started taking apart the Red River panels. They are 7 bar rodeo arena panels and have wire on the bottom 2' so the babies cannot walk out. He moved them over and reassembled them to close off the hay rolls from the barn yard. This now made a larger area for the ewes to graze and the lambs to run and play. DH helped him pin them together. Then they brought over a 12' panel and a 10' walk through gate panel to use on the new creep.
My heroes pinning 2 panels together. These panels have seen a lot of wear so the pin holders don't always line up right thus the hammer in DH's right hand. Once that was finished we came inside to decide how to layout the new jugs. DS1 said we would tag, etc. tonight ready for moving sheep tomorrow. He also decided that any more electrical work would be easier after the jugs were removed. I pulled up 28 syringes of CDT, 5 of Tetanus (for the ewe lambs to be docked), and got out the drench gun. I had ordered it after our worming adventure last summer which left us covered with sheep slobber and drench.
DS1 said he had not tried to use it since he coudn't figure out how to attach it to the smaller bottle of wormer. I put it all together and tested it on the sink. It worked fine so we were set. Back to the barn we went then we had to decide who to do first. Since we needed 3 jugs for the new mamas, we decided to do the ewes with older lambs in jugs in the big barn first. Just as we finished with BL14, BL16 and their lambs, Payton showed up to move the hay bales. He still wasn't feeling very well. I tried to call DH who had stayed in the house but no response, so I went to open the gates and let him in. While I told him where to put the bales, DS1 moved the 12' panel into the barn to make an extra pen for the 3 new moms. Finally I got hold of DH who came out to take care of the gates, etc. Payton finished and left WITHOUT HIS BROWNIES! It was now too late to finish any more we and we had to get the new mamas into jugs. DS1 and I moved all 3 ewes and 4 lambs into the new pen where 332 proceeded to beat up any lamb except her own.
Now we needed to divide the 18' of pen into 3 pens. I found some 4' and 5' pieces of stock panel which we could use. DS1 had used two of the black panels to close off the pen. They were a little low and Iwas worried about the ee jumping out but since her lambs were brand new we decided it would be ok for the night. Then we had to feed and water. We had hoped to ove everyone out to new locations so the buckets were low. DS1 brought over buckets of water for the 3 new pens, and we added some water to the almost empty buckets. We decided since we would be moving BL14 and BL16 out the next day to put them in one of the new pens. I played Ring-around-the-rosy with OR9 and BL16 and their lambs to transfer them. Same thing wth BL16. Finally we finished with the new pen, held together by hay rope. The jugs were stacked 2 deep. Sheep were fed, now for the other barn. No grain for anyone tonight - too much confusion and too difficult to try to fight my way through the loose sheep still inside the barn. Tomorrow we will begin with tagging, vaccinations, docking ewe lambs, etc. As we finish with each ewe and her lambs she can go out into the brand new barnyard pasture. Then we will move the existing jugs into the big barn, and convert the side barn into a mama and lamb creep. We will move the feeders from California over and use them to grain the ewes since they have a grain tray on the bottom. No need to carry hay since they have 2 new bales in the field. (We will have to carry hay to any new lambing mamas in the jugs.) DS1 will take one of the 12' Priefert gates we are using for a side panel and install it on the side barn so we can lock them up at night. That way I can grain in the morning before I let them out to escape being trampled by dainty sheep hooves. 11 ewes in the side barn jugs, and another 9 in the jugs in the big barn. Lost count of the number of lambs. I wonder how many ewes will take a look at the jugs and figure that not only is there no room at the inn (side barn), but we are also running out of room in the stable! Still a lot of ewes walking around with huge bellies and udders.
- Thread starter
- #4,463
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Two days ago I got fed up with trying to keep the water buckets attached to the pens with bits of hay rope. In California I used the leads from showing the boer goats to attach them to avoid active lamb from overturning them. I used to have about a dozen of the leads (also sold for ridiculous amounts as "traffic leads"). I gave a lot of them away to a friend when the children graduated from 4-H. I found 4 of them and used them for bucket ties, and made another. Traffic leads are about $20-30 and I was not goig to pay that. I looked bucket straps up on line and found them for $5 to 10 each. Instead I had a lot of 1" webbing so DS1 ordered the strap clips (also known as bridle clips) an I made my own. The snaps came in a pack of 10 for $12 with free shipping. For $1.20 each and half an hour of my time I made my own.
I started with a simple loop design, then tried it another way with a twist which seems to hang better.
So much easier to unclip the bucket handle to wash out buckets or dump them. With activ ambs and small jugs, sooner or later the buckets get dumped over and the jug is saturated. I don't like wet pens, so this keeps the bucket in an upright position. Since they are made of nylon webbing they last a long time and can be washed if they get nasty. Once lambing is over and the jugs are collapsed and put away, the strap can be collected and stored with the grain or water buckets. They can be made longer for different size pens by using longer lengths of webbing. I have enough webbing for another 4.
Now Ijust have to figure out how to keep the 8 quart grain buckets from being dislodged from the rails when they are empty. The larger 12 quart buckets have longer hangers which seems to keep thm in position better. They are more than twice as much $$$ though. I will think about how to keep them secure. I could attach them permanently but I need to remove them to fill them in the feed room and bring them back to the jugs.
I started with a simple loop design, then tried it another way with a twist which seems to hang better. So much easier to unclip the bucket handle to wash out buckets or dump them. With activ ambs and small jugs, sooner or later the buckets get dumped over and the jug is saturated. I don't like wet pens, so this keeps the bucket in an upright position. Since they are made of nylon webbing they last a long time and can be washed if they get nasty. Once lambing is over and the jugs are collapsed and put away, the strap can be collected and stored with the grain or water buckets. They can be made longer for different size pens by using longer lengths of webbing. I have enough webbing for another 4. Now Ijust have to figure out how to keep the 8 quart grain buckets from being dislodged from the rails when they are empty. The larger 12 quart buckets have longer hangers which seems to keep thm in position better. They are more than twice as much $$$ though. I will think about how to keep them secure. I could attach them permanently but I need to remove them to fill them in the feed room and bring them back to the jugs.
Baymule
Herd Master
All I can think about while reading this is… that big beautiful BARN! What a blessing. All your activities are made possible by that big old barn. She is an old lady in her PRIME, brought back to life and useful again, sheltering sheep, the core of the farm.
There is the main part of the barn, the added on wings, the feed room, all combined to make life easier for you.
The Barn Lady is not only being brought back to life again, but is being spruced up with electricity and water. Lights! Water spigots! Lambs playing and running! And repairs! Loose tin being nailed down, rusty pieces replaced, leaks plugged, pens built.
The Barn Lady is happy. The Barn Lady is smiling. The heart of the farm is alive again.
There is the main part of the barn, the added on wings, the feed room, all combined to make life easier for you.
The Barn Lady is not only being brought back to life again, but is being spruced up with electricity and water. Lights! Water spigots! Lambs playing and running! And repairs! Loose tin being nailed down, rusty pieces replaced, leaks plugged, pens built.
The Barn Lady is happy. The Barn Lady is smiling. The heart of the farm is alive again.
- Thread starter
- #4,465
Ridgetop
Herd Master
I do love our barn. It was the main thing that encouraged me to buy here on this highway. Since thwn I have sartd to really enjoy this house. I hope to add on a mudrooom off the back though. And enlarge the patio. Miss Joyce (former owner) told me that she wanted a larger one also. When they built this house (the old one burned down) she told her husband she wanted a larger back patio and he wouldn't give it to her. I feel it is my duty to her spirit to see it done. LOL
This morning several black buzzards were flying around and a whole bunch of gunshots were heard from the south neighbor. Obviously they had found the sheep carcasses. I hoped the neighbor had taken out most of them. A ewe had lambed with twin ewe lambs!
Unfortunately I wrote her number down and left it in the barn in the pail of vaccinations, used needles, etc. I left the paper on which I had written the tag numbers of the lambs as well. My bad.
Today DS1 announced he was going to take down all the jugs and put them back up in the big barn. Properly.
He has not been a fan of my jug plan. Another ewe lambed this morning with twins. Nowhere to put her so she stayed in the barn while DS1 ran the other sheep out onto the pasture. (So much easier with fewer ewes.)
Before we could implement DS1's Master Plan we had to remove all the lambs and ewes from the current jugs in the side barn. We had fenced off the trailer yesterday. The dog X-pens worked perfectly. That 5th wheel can't escape now!
We worked our way down the line of jugs tagging, vaccinating, worming and docking. There are a couple ram lambs that are really nice so we docked them too. As we finished with the ewe and lambs in each jug DS1 disassembled them. Easy to do with the pin together Sydel and Shaul panels. Pandemonium reigned in the yard as the lambs experienced the big world outside for the first time! Mamas called to lambs, lambs shrieked back. Anyone wanting to raise sheep should really learn American sign language because all you can see is mouths moving - you can't hear anything over the cacophony of sheep and lambs.
This little lamb was actually trying out the grass! Only a week old.
We worked all day after the ewes were out of the side barn. We had to move BL14 and BL16 out of the barn first. Their lambs are large and about a week old so they went out to join the restof the mamas and lambs. Then we had a double line of ewes and lambs to go through in the big barn and transfer into the new pens as they were built. DS1 did most of the work, I cleaned out the feed pans in the side barn and toted out the water buckets. DH rinsed them out and filled them for the new line of jugs. DH and I brought panels, held panels, pinned and tied up panels where DS1 told us. We hoped to beat the rain. Ewes escaped and had to be IDed to their lambs using my records. A couple of mamas, freed from the demands of motherhood as they escaped into the pasture, refused to come back to the pleadings of their lambs left in the jugs. Much loud "discussions" were heard, blame was assigned and denied, it was a typical Ridgetop work party. A good time was had by all.
In the afternoon I noticed that a small ewe OR27 was in labor at the back of the barn. I opened the gate into the jugs and partitioned off a section for her. She came in and this evening when we finished for the day I checked her. No lamb, and she was all hunched up. Obviously in discomfort with a small bubble of blood. DS1 held her while I checked her. The only part presenting was a tail.
This is one of the worst positions for lambing. The butt is stuck in the opening like a cork in a bottle. The ewe was small, the lamb was large. On this position the birth canal does not widen naturally. I would need to turn this lamb round - too big not happening. Or - and this was the route I took - find the rear feet and deliver her backwards. I could hardly get my hand inside her. When I did I was very worried since the rear legs were drawn up in front of the lamb and the back was pushing on the cervix. I pushed the lamb as hard as I could back into the ewe who pushed it as hard as she could back at me. Stop that! I fished around until I found a rear leg. Now to pull it up, bend it and p
ull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
ull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
This morning several black buzzards were flying around and a whole bunch of gunshots were heard from the south neighbor. Obviously they had found the sheep carcasses. I hoped the neighbor had taken out most of them. A ewe had lambed with twin ewe lambs!
Unfortunately I wrote her number down and left it in the barn in the pail of vaccinations, used needles, etc. I left the paper on which I had written the tag numbers of the lambs as well. My bad. Today DS1 announced he was going to take down all the jugs and put them back up in the big barn. Properly.
He has not been a fan of my jug plan.
Another ewe lambed this morning with twins. Nowhere to put her so she stayed in the barn while DS1 ran the other sheep out onto the pasture. (So much easier with fewer ewes.) Before we could implement DS1's Master Plan we had to remove all the lambs and ewes from the current jugs in the side barn. We had fenced off the trailer yesterday. The dog X-pens worked perfectly. That 5th wheel can't escape now!
We worked our way down the line of jugs tagging, vaccinating, worming and docking. There are a couple ram lambs that are really nice so we docked them too. As we finished with the ewe and lambs in each jug DS1 disassembled them. Easy to do with the pin together Sydel and Shaul panels. Pandemonium reigned in the yard as the lambs experienced the big world outside for the first time! Mamas called to lambs, lambs shrieked back. Anyone wanting to raise sheep should really learn American sign language because all you can see is mouths moving - you can't hear anything over the cacophony of sheep and lambs.
This little lamb was actually trying out the grass! Only a week old.We worked all day after the ewes were out of the side barn. We had to move BL14 and BL16 out of the barn first. Their lambs are large and about a week old so they went out to join the restof the mamas and lambs. Then we had a double line of ewes and lambs to go through in the big barn and transfer into the new pens as they were built. DS1 did most of the work, I cleaned out the feed pans in the side barn and toted out the water buckets. DH rinsed them out and filled them for the new line of jugs. DH and I brought panels, held panels, pinned and tied up panels where DS1 told us. We hoped to beat the rain. Ewes escaped and had to be IDed to their lambs using my records. A couple of mamas, freed from the demands of motherhood as they escaped into the pasture, refused to come back to the pleadings of their lambs left in the jugs. Much loud "discussions" were heard, blame was assigned and denied, it was a typical Ridgetop work party. A good time was had by all.
In the afternoon I noticed that a small ewe OR27 was in labor at the back of the barn. I opened the gate into the jugs and partitioned off a section for her. She came in and this evening when we finished for the day I checked her. No lamb, and she was all hunched up. Obviously in discomfort with a small bubble of blood. DS1 held her while I checked her. The only part presenting was a tail.
This is one of the worst positions for lambing. The butt is stuck in the opening like a cork in a bottle. The ewe was small, the lamb was large. On this position the birth canal does not widen naturally. I would need to turn this lamb round - too big not happening. Or - and this was the route I took - find the rear feet and deliver her backwards. I could hardly get my hand inside her. When I did I was very worried since the rear legs were drawn up in front of the lamb and the back was pushing on the cervix. I pushed the lamb as hard as I could back into the ewe who pushed it as hard as she could back at me. Stop that! I fished around until I found a rear leg. Now to pull it up, bend it and pull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
ull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
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Baymule
Herd Master
Sorry you lost the lamb, but you saved the ewe.
Moving jugs and sheep around is great work for your HEROES! And having that big barn to work in is even better!
Moving jugs and sheep around is great work for your HEROES! And having that big barn to work in is even better!
Sorry you lost the lamb.I do love our barn. It was the main thing that encouraged me to buy here on this highway. Since thwn I have sartd to really enjoy this house. I hope to add on a mudrooom off the back though. And enlarge the patio. Miss Joyce (former owner) told me that she wanted a larger one also. When they built this house (the old one burned down) she told her husband she wanted a larger back patio and he wouldn't give it to her. I feel it is my duty to her spirit to see it done. LOL
This morning several black buzzards were flying around and a whole bunch of gunshots were heard from the south neighbor. Obviously they had found the sheep carcasses. I hoped the neighbor had taken out most of them. A ewe had lambed with twin ewe lambs!
Today DS1 announced he was going to take down all the jugs and put them back up in the big barn. Properly.
He has not been a fan of my jug plan.
Before we could implement DS1's Master Plan we had to remove all the lambs and ewes from the current jugs in the side barn. We had fenced off the trailer yesterday. The dog X-pens worked perfectly. That 5th wheel can't escape now!
View attachment 114599
We worked our way down the line of jugs tagging, vaccinating, worming and docking. There are a couple ram lambs that are really nice so we docked them too. As we finished with the ewe and lambs in each jug DS1 disassembled them. Easy to do with the pin together Sydel and Shaul panels. Pandemonium reigned in the yard as the lambs experienced the big world outside for the first time! Mamas called to lambs, lambs shrieked back. Anyone wanting to raise sheep should really learn American sign language because all you can see is mouths moving - you can't hear anything over the cacophony of sheep and lambs.
View attachment 114597 View attachment 114598 This little lamb was actually trying out the grass! Only a week old.
We worked all day after the ewes were out of the side barn. We had to move BL14 and BL16 out of the barn first. Their lambs are large and about a week old so they went out to join the restof the mamas and lambs. Then we had a double line of ewes and lambs to go through in the big barn and transfer into the new pens as they were built. DS1 did most of the work, I cleaned out the feed pans in the side barn and toted out the water buckets. DH rinsed them out and filled them for the new line of jugs. DH and I brought panels, held panels, pinned and tied up panels where DS1 told us. We hoped to beat the rain. Ewes escaped and had to be IDed to their lambs using my records. A couple of mamas, freed from the demands of motherhood as they escaped into the pasture, refused to come back to the pleadings of their lambs left in the jugs. Much loud "discussions" were heard, blame was assigned and denied, it was a typical Ridgetop work party. A good time was had by all.
In the afternoon I noticed that a small ewe OR27 was in labor at the back of the barn. I opened the gate into the jugs and partitioned off a section for her. She came in and this evening when we finished for the day I checked her. No lamb, and she was all hunched up. Obviously in discomfort with a small bubble of blood. DS1 held her while I checked her. The only part presenting was a tail.
ull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
ull the hoof out. No room! This lamb's leg was so long that I couldn't get the hoof over the pelvic bones. At one point I told DS1 that maybe we should just shoot her. It would be a last resort if I couldn't deliver the lamb. Finally I got one hoof up and out. That was a large hoof and a long leg. This lamb was BIG! With one leg sharing the small pelvic opening I had even less room to work. And I couldn't find the other rear leg. Unlike pulling a lamb with the head and one leg out, this lamb HAD TO HAVE both rear feet out to pull it out. Taking a chance I shoved the leg back in up to the hoof and switched hands to feel for the other leg. Finally found it and again it was drawn up with the hoof trapped under the pelvic bone. I tried and tried to get it folded up enough to move it past the bony girdle trapping it. The lamb was obviously dead and I debated if I had the strength to break the leg in order to get it out. Finally, I shoved the lamb back in again and this time i felt the hoof shift just a smidge. Another shove and the hoof was able to be pulled up and out. However it wasn't over yet. In spite of constant applications of soap the lamb was no longer slippery enough to slide through. It was stuck at the ribcage. I worked the vagina over the body until finally with DS1 pulling forward and me pulling backward the lamb slid out. Along with a lot of really nasty liquid and some poop from the ewe. The lamb, a huge ewe lamb, was definitely dead. Probably drowned in placental fluid during the long and unsuccessful labor process. OR27 survived though. Time will tell if she can deliver another lamb next year. Tomorrow she will get a big dose of antibiotics.
Tomorrow we have to finish the barn. Luckily if it rains we will be under cover. DS1 said he is not satisfied with the layout and plans to redo it tomorrow.
In the photo I see a ewe with what looks like a fleece rug on her back. Was she shorn that way?
- Thread starter
- #4,468
Ridgetop
Herd Master
No, she just did not shed out completely like some of the others. Dorpers carry wool mixed with hair so the wool is no good commercially. Different from straight hair sheep that way. The good ones shed everything off during the summer, others may carry a "Mohawk" strip down the spine. Some shed out completely but the shed fleece stays stuck to the hair underneath and yu have to remove it. We don't usually bother since the Mohaw protects the sheep from sunburn in summer and the wool protects them from winter rain. The reason Dorpers are not a competely hair sheep is that in South Africa where they were developed they have a lot of thorny, spiny plants (think Honey Locust on steroids.) The wool helps protect their skin from those thorns and shedding out the old wool takes away any thorns embedded in the light fleece. The goatskins are even more valuable to the South Affrican sheep industry as the meat. They don't carry any wool on their legs, under their bellies, etc. This year we plan to shear some of the heavier fleeces since they are uually just hanging on lightly. We could just pull the wool off, but for some reason the sheep don't like that. LOL
Anyway, another exhausting day has just about kicked my b**t. Out early to finish building more jugs. DS1 came in and said there was an enormous lamb out in the pen. It hadn't been cleaned off but he identified mama (P25) by the trailing afterbirth. Mama was off eating while lambkin wandered around calling for her. When DH went out the lamb had gotten out of the pen and was trying to suck Skittles (horse) tail. Lucky she did not get kicked or stomped. DS1 moved mama to the new jug he had just finished and by now another lamb was on the ground - this one belonging to BL31. Both went into the jug until another one could be constructed.
DS1 found that the clamp on hinge pin holders for gate hinges fit the pins for the jugs. Instead of tying the panels together when they butt up against pipe framed panels, he put the hinge pin holders on the pipe panels and pinned the jug panels to them.
Much sturdier than hay ropes since the sheep seem to have learned how to untie those knots. LOL He ran out of the holders so went out and found some still on the Priefert gate panels that DH and I had bought last year and put together as portable fence panels.
Double row of jugs with a walkway between them on the other side. 11 jugs with some room for another d=couple althrugh we are rumming out of 5' panels again. Got 3033 vaccinated and wormed. She ecaped yesterday when we were doing all the ewes but we were able to get her back to her lambs after several hours grazing. We had tagged her lambs.
Sadly OR27 did not make it. She prolapsed over night and looked to have bled out internally. It as a really rough birth and I was worried about her condition after I got the lamb out. Her daughter, BL31, was one that lambed this morning. I gave BL1 a cleanout shot this evening since she still had some placenta hanging out buthadnot passed the afterbirth. Her lamb was a tiny ram so I hope I don't find a dead second lamb in the morning. P25 was reunited with her huge lamb and belatedly started to clean it off. It was a nice ewe lamp and full of bounce. Yesterday's twin ewe lambs were delivered by P21.
DH sai today that not graining the ewes and letting them just graze until just before lambing was working much better for us. Only 3 ewes needed help with very large lambs, and nothing would have helped poor OR27. A butt presentatio is the worst type. I have been able to move butt presentations and deliver live kids in dairy goats, but those does were bigger and very deep bodied with multiple kids. More room to work.
Once we got the sheep moved around and i fed the jugs, DS1 decided we needed to clean and rearrange the barn. We had tractor equipment, pallets, and all kinds of other equipment stacked everywhere. A lot of it I couldn't move when I was putting up the first jugs - too heavy. We moved everything around and put stuff away. DS1 moved a pallet over to the side of the barn where there was a large hole. Our LGDs like to dig holes to curl up in for warmth. This hole had been there for a year. after putting the pallet over the hole DS1 moved the supplement tubs over onto it in a double stack them we moved the sacks of feed onto the top of that. We are not going throught the supplement tubs as fast as we were in the summer. We have mineral salt blocks out and with feeding a grain supplement they are not relying on the tubs as much.
After we finished with the barn you could walk through it without falling over stuff and it looked a lot bigger!
DS1 and DH's butt alaong with the rear half of Hazine in the newly cleaned barn. The corner of the old freezer shows on the far right. DH uses it to store his horse grain. Next job - the tack room. It actually needs to be rebuiotwhich we will do this summer. We will also bring back our empty industrial shelves from California top ut in it. Once the men finish the electrical I can move the little apartment fridge into it with sheep meds. Running back and forth to the house for medications is tiring and takes a lot of time. Speaking of which, the ewe that hadtriplets last year and this year is not doing well. She is very depressed and seems really thin and weak. I gave her antibiotics, vitamin B, and womed her. Her lambs are ok, but unless she perks up they may need supplemental bottles.
We all came inside in late afternoon to get some stuff we needed. DH decided to stay in and have coffee, he was tired. DS1 and I went back out to finish and Hazine had found my lambing book and shredded it!
I need to dry out the pages, tape them together and recopy the entries into a new lambing book. Lamb stew in the Instapot tonight. Then the football game. I finished my 1000 piece puzzle so I will get another one out. It is nice to do in the evenings while the guys watch TV.
SageHill
Herd Master
Dang about the ewe. It seems to me that there are more losses this year across the board. Just seems strange, or perhaps we've all got some aging out?!?
Any way - it sure sounds like you all are hitting your stride and settling in to your Texas ranch!
Just seems strange, or perhaps we've all got some aging out?!?Any way - it sure sounds like you all are hitting your stride and settling in to your Texas ranch!
- Thread starter
- #4,470
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Yes, quite a few losses. Upside is hardly any oversized lambs having to be pulled. I am wondering about a lack of selenium in the ewes. Haven't had any white muscle symptoms in lambs, but have had some unusual symptoms in ewes. Also the malpresentation, and a couple of lamb deaths combined with so many singles this year may be a result of selenium deficiency. On the other hand, the many singles could also be explained by using a new untried ram this year. We re getting twins more frequently now, later in the lambing season. I didn't give any Bo-Se before breeding this year because I was not here (busy getting a new knee). I also haven't done any soil tests on my hayfield and pastures. I think I will give some orl selenium to a couple of the ewes that are looking off. Have already given antibiotics and vitamin B. The selenium & vita E paste is pretty low dose.
One thing I forgot to report on is my new 12.5 ml auto syringe for worming. LOVE IT! It attaches to the large bottle of wormer and automatically sucks up the correct dose. The drench nozzle is steel and attaches much more securely than the hand drench guns I have used. It is also a little longer so I get the dose further down the throat - less spitting it back out. Just slide it in along the inside of the lips and squeeze. No more prying the jaws open and ending up with wormer and sheep spit all over us. No more broken syringes or hand drenchers. It did take a while to figure out how to attach all the parts - the instructions were poor. And then at first it wouldn' tsuck the wormer into the dispensing measure but I figured out that by hanging the bottle higher than the ewe it refilled better. Works perfectly now. Have wormed all the ewes whose lambs we have tagged and vaccinatedwith Cydectin for Brber pole. Will worm in 2 with Ivermectin for tapeworm etc. We vaccinate our ewes after they lamb since we breed to lamb every 8-9 months. They're in the jugs nd interested in their new lambs so it is eay to catch them and do all medical procedures then. I would be interested in using it to vaccinate, but I don't think it would work as well on the little lambs. For them I use a fine, hort needle. I used to order the pig needles - 3/4" in length - but they got hard to find so now I use the 1" 25 ga needle on a disposable 3cc syringe. That is a good all purpose size. I buy them in boxes of 100 from Jeffers. I will go through at least an entire box during lambing. And the lambs will need a booster in 4 weeks. I need to order a box each of 6cc and 12 cc now since I need those for antibiotics and vita B. The ones for antibiotics have to have larger needles because some antibiotics are slightly thicker.
Tomorrow more work in the barn - DS1 is installing more lights and heat lamps. I loved our barn in California which was small - 24' x 36', but really love this much larger barn since we are lambing about 40 ewes this year. Once we have water in the barn and electricity it will be so much easier to do sheep chores. Once lambing season is over, I plan to set up a chute and we can go through all the ewes and lambs and decide which ones are good enough to keep for sale. We also will have to trim hooves an shear off their Mohawks for the summer.
One thing I forgot to report on is my new 12.5 ml auto syringe for worming. LOVE IT! It attaches to the large bottle of wormer and automatically sucks up the correct dose. The drench nozzle is steel and attaches much more securely than the hand drench guns I have used. It is also a little longer so I get the dose further down the throat - less spitting it back out. Just slide it in along the inside of the lips and squeeze. No more prying the jaws open and ending up with wormer and sheep spit all over us. No more broken syringes or hand drenchers. It did take a while to figure out how to attach all the parts - the instructions were poor. And then at first it wouldn' tsuck the wormer into the dispensing measure but I figured out that by hanging the bottle higher than the ewe it refilled better. Works perfectly now. Have wormed all the ewes whose lambs we have tagged and vaccinatedwith Cydectin for Brber pole. Will worm in 2 with Ivermectin for tapeworm etc. We vaccinate our ewes after they lamb since we breed to lamb every 8-9 months. They're in the jugs nd interested in their new lambs so it is eay to catch them and do all medical procedures then. I would be interested in using it to vaccinate, but I don't think it would work as well on the little lambs. For them I use a fine, hort needle. I used to order the pig needles - 3/4" in length - but they got hard to find so now I use the 1" 25 ga needle on a disposable 3cc syringe. That is a good all purpose size. I buy them in boxes of 100 from Jeffers. I will go through at least an entire box during lambing. And the lambs will need a booster in 4 weeks. I need to order a box each of 6cc and 12 cc now since I need those for antibiotics and vita B. The ones for antibiotics have to have larger needles because some antibiotics are slightly thicker.
Tomorrow more work in the barn - DS1 is installing more lights and heat lamps. I loved our barn in California which was small - 24' x 36', but really love this much larger barn since we are lambing about 40 ewes this year. Once we have water in the barn and electricity it will be so much easier to do sheep chores. Once lambing season is over, I plan to set up a chute and we can go through all the ewes and lambs and decide which ones are good enough to keep for sale. We also will have to trim hooves an shear off their Mohawks for the summer.
