Scanning my Girls Tomorrow.

[Sheepshape]

I'm every bit as excited as a grandma about my girls being scanned tomorrow. The tups went in on October 15th.

53 (I think) are being scanned, and I'm pretty sure that some of my older girls are in lamb....their behaviour has changed. I'm as sure as I can be that my old girl,Longface (aged 11 or 12) is expecting.....and she usually has 3 or more,so will need some very special attention.

I currently have major ear problems and am awaiting surgery, and am so can only hope I'll be fit enough to be with as many of them as possible.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wishing you a speedy recovery and easy lambings!

 

[goats&moregoats]

Best of luck with the surgery, hoping for a speedy recovery and an easy lambing season for you.

 

[Sheepshape]

Thank you frustratedearthmother, and goats@more goats, kind thoughts.

Well, the scanning is done......a total of 55 scanned.....8 not pregnant, 19 singletons, 26 sets of twins and 2 sets of triplets......totalling 77. One pregnancy looked like an early abortion to the scanner, and he thought it likely that the foetus will be absorbed.

I'm very excited....my ears are ringing....Oh, but that's the tinnitus related to my malfunctioning ears!

Exciting times ahead.

 

[jodief100]

How exciting! We always get our goats ultrasounded but since my vet charges by the hour I don't have him take the time to count. We just get to a yes pregnant and on to the next one.
Good luck to you and happy kidding- oops I mean lambing.

 

[Sheepshape]

It isn't our vet who does the job. Scanman is a local farmer who has bought the equipment and learnt the technique. He is very experienced and very accurate. He charges by the animal....but did comment that mine were much more difficult than most as they were 'a bit spoilt' and did just what they wanted to do! (and that wasn't to rush forward into the head clamp to have their undersides scanned).He earned his money with us.

 

[norseofcourse]

How exciting! I'd love to know how many mine are carrying, but I don't know of anyone who does this and it would probably be cost prohibitive for just a few sheep.

Is Longface expecting? How many? Do you mark them so you know how many each is to have? Do you separate out the ones not pregnant or put them with the ram again?

And best thoughts for your upcoming surgery!

 

[luvmypets]

Sooo. Many lambiessss GL to you

 

[Sheepshape]

Longface is expecting twins....she was most insistent that the ram mated her..... even blocking his path when he tried to go to feed.

Scanman's assistant places red on neck for 'empty', no mark for singleton, one mark on middle of back for twins, two for triplets and a big 4 if there are quads. When we start the feeding with 'ewe nuts', then the non-pregnant are taken out to have silage alone. We than separate off any that will need bigger intakes....triplets, lambs who are pregnant etc. to form a special group. Local farmers separate the ewes who are having singletons from those who are having twins etc, but we don't have enough sheep to do this.

Thank you, norseofcourse, for your kind comments. I'm rather fearful as success from the surgery is not guaranteed, and I may possibly be worse......so, I have to try to tell myself that surgery wouldn't be anticipated if it wasn't thought that it would help.

 

[Sheepshape]

Carefully planned scanning, organised feeding....lambing to be organised? Well, no....I think chaos is going to reign again pretty soon.

Goliath....huge ram has remained with the pregnant ewes as he needs to have a harem to be happy. He'll come out soon when they start to receive pellet food.

The 'dry ewes'...non-pregnant were due to be going along grassy strip to a field where they would stay for a while. The remaining rams are above that strip.

A couple of days ago, when the dry ewes were sent along the strip, I asked hubby to take along a silage feeder for them. OH being OH, he 'couldn't be bothered' to get the quad out to take the feeder along the strip and manually dragged it onto the strip mouth.Sheep being sheep, the dry ewes stayed with the silage....a fence away from the rams.

Yesterday afternoon OH says "Who have you put on the strip?" (short term memory being not his finest point!) "The dry ewes" says I......"Well that's interesting", says he"There's a ewe simulating mating another on the strip". I went to look and a tell-tale bit of fleece adorned the wire and Dave was standing next to a standing ewe on the strip. "Not simulating" I said.....and remembered why sheep are sometimes called 'wooly jumpers'. So....we May be having late lambs yet again....