Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Gave another whack of Penn and Oxy to BL31. The placenta will often protect the mother and other lamb from harm if the remaining twin is alive. Several times we have had single lambs born alongside mummified fetuses. Ewe is looking good and lamb is slightly more active.

Update on 332 is not good. Her mastitis is back and udder half is like a rock. A very large rock - more like a boulder. The other side is almost nonexistant. Poor girl is really sick with the mastitis. Tomorrow we will give large dose of antibiotics, and try to dose with Today mastitis treatment. Since this involves inserting a tube into the nipple hole and squeezing the tube of antibiotics into the udder I am not looking forward to it. My dairy goats never liked it and they were used to being milked twice a day. This ewe has a sore udder and is not very docile nomally. I can only hope she is too sick to complain about it tomorrow. I also have some Banamine I can give her for the pain. Will have to pull the the twin ram lambs and put them on bottles. If a couple other ewes lamb with singles maybe I could try fostering these over to them but unlikely to work. I have a nice daughter from 332 but she had special bloodlines and I was hopeful to get something special from her this time. I would be less upset about bottle lambs if they were ewe lambs. These little rams will go to auction asap. So will 332 and another ewe whose udder is not good.

God is good, but sometimes life sucks.

 

[farmerjan]

The antibiotics in 332 will have you holding her for at least 30 days...

 

[Baymule]

Yeah, sometimes it sucks. When losses start piling up, it sure makes you wonder why.

 

[Ridgetop]

Had a bad night last night with charley horses in the backs of my thighs. Kept waing me up and had to jump out of bed to stretch them out. Not drinking enough water.

The losses we have suffered in dead sheep had one "benefit". DH said to keepall the ewe lambs. LOL We have had mostly ram lambs so not that many to hang on to for a while. Some are special and would have stayed ayway. A couple of the ram lambs are really nice and can be sold as junior herd sires with some ewes.

To cheer me up here are the finished pictures of the side barn with the light in the new position (turning it gives much more light) and the heat lamps (red glow) at the end of the barn where the creep will be set up. Today putting up lights in the main barn.

 

[SageHill]

Had a bad night last night with charley horses in the backs of my thighs. Kept waing me up and had to jump out of bed to stretch them out. Not drinking enough water.

The losses we have suffered in dead sheep had one "benefit". DH said to keepall the ewe lambs. LOL We have had mostly ram lambs so not that many to hang on to for a while. Some are special and would have stayed ayway. A couple of the ram lambs are really nice and can be sold as junior herd sires with some ewes.

To cheer me up here are the finished pictures of the side barn with the light in the new position (turning it gives much more light) and the heat lamps (red glow) at the end of the barn where the creep will be set up. Today putting up lights in the main barn.

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Looks great!!!

 

[murphysranch]

Your son is amazing! Bravo for him to be such a good partner in this biz of yours.

 

[Ridgetop]

GR39 lambed this morning with spit twins. We vaxed, docked, wormed and moved 3 ewes with week old lambs out to the barnyard pasture with the other ewes and lambs. The oldest lambs are around 2 1/2 weeks old. This gave us a jug for the new mama and her twins, and 2 spare jugs. I might have to use them for the bottle twins. For now I am leaving them with their mama. I can't find my Today tubes. I remember packing them but can't find them now. I am also missing a box of 6cc syringes. Probably all in a safe place. Worst comes to worst, I will run over to the vet and pick up some.

DS1 is currently in the large barn hooking up the first light out there. He plans to install a couple others and a small one over the feed/tack room. He is a wonderful son and can do anything just like his daddy. DH taught all our boys how to do all sorts of building like his daddy taught him.

Last night we ran late and I had to feed in the dark. DH held the flashlight until DS took it away from him. DH couldn't understand my compaints that I couldn't see anything when he shone the phone light right in my eyes. LOL In California the first thing we put in the barn after it was buiot were lights. We have been spoiled for years with not only having a barn (unusual in southern Claifornia horse areas) but with having lights and electricity in it. Made it nice for breeding the rabbits all winter, running fans in summer, shaving goats for shows at night, and using the electric milking machines. Not to mention the convenience of having light for kidding/lambing problems. We are spoiled and not ashamed to say so.

The twin ram lambs on the e e with mastitis took a bottle this am. They started off unwillingly and I had to enlarge the nipple hole (the nipple was new). Each one took about 2 ounces +/-. I will feed them again in another couple hours. I started with the homemade formula and will continue unti they are eating well on the bottle before starting to switch them to the purchased formula and goat milk.

DS1 just came in and said one light was installed and hooked up. He will do the others later or tomorrow since he has to get a small light for the feed room. DS1 is my hero!

 

[Baymule]

Oh those barn pictures! Lights! The glow of a heat lamp. That’s purdier than a baby speckled pig! Awesome! The Barn Lady is pleased.

 

[Ridgetop]

Tonight we fed in the barn wth the light on even though we did not need it yet. LOL The lambs took their bottle and I moved them to the empty jug next to their mother. I am not very optimistic about her improvement. DS1 drove over to the vet and picked up a box of mastitis tubes for lactating cattle. I was able to insert the canulas and DS1 had to push the tube plunger for the medicine to go in. The ewe did not struggle, and pus came out of the mastitis side. Put both tubes in - one for each half. She won't get up unless we push her to her feet, then she stands with her head down. She is not eating and the ground under her is wet - she is laying in her own pee. I had such high hopes when i bought this ewe and her mother. Sadly neither one has performed as expected. I don't think her mother settled this year and did not produce lambs last year. If this one survives both she and her mother can go to auction together. However, I have a bad feeling that this ewe will be joining her deceased flock members in the boneyard. I told DS1 and DH that we will have to go out with the tractor before Cody cuts the hayfield and pick up the large bones from the sheep. I think there are about 6 adult sheep carcasses out there this season. Those large bones won't bale well. LOL

With all the vaccinations and meds being given I filled my sharps container. I emptied it into an empty gallon milk bottle. I used one of those in California, put a hap rope through the handle and hung it in the barn. When it was full took it to the pound for disposal. The syringes can go in the trash.

We are getting into a routine as we get our barn and jugs set up to provide a runway with gates. As we go, we are refining the set up tomake things easier on us. We realized that the reason it did not take as long to do chores in California was because we were already set up with pens where we needed them. As soon as we have this place set up things will get easier here too.

Just remembered - soon I have to start my taxes.

 

[Baymule]

Maybe you can dig a hole with Baby Bota and rake the bones in it and cover them up. Bone meal is supposed to be a fertilizer….
Always a smart Alec in the crowd…. But you and I share that twisted humor and can make inappropriate jokes about most any disaster.

Taxes! Evil word!