Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

Our last ewe had a set of very small twins about an hour ago. We couldn't tell for sure that she was still pregnant and thought she might have aborted. We decided to take our numbers down in the opposite direction of where we have been heading and our winter count will be closer to 15 instead of 30. Our fecal numbers from yesterday was the highest that we have seen since starting with sheep so we are going to regroup and see where we really want to go.

 

[Mike CHS]

We are frustrated with our sheep progress but after sitting here watching the news and seeing the devastation across the state of Tennessee, we don't have any problems. Our prayers are up for everyone involved with the storms. Some of the damage is in the area that @Rammy lives in if anyone has heard from her. We haven't heard from her in quite awhile but we still have concern.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

We are frustrated with our sheep progress but after sitting here watching the news and seeing the devastation across the state of Tennessee, we don't have any problems. Our prayers are up for everyone involved with the storms. Some of the damage is in the area that @Rammy lives in if anyone has heard from her. We haven't heard from her in quite awhile but we still have concern.

@Rammy and I stay in touch and I heard from her this last weekend. Will text her now and post any updates, just got a text from @AmberLops this morning also....she's ok

 

[Bruce]

Yeah, heard about the tornadoes in TN, one right in Nashville

Any idea why the fecals are so high now? Unusually warm or wet this winter maybe?

 

[Bruce]

Say hi to Amber for us!!! I just PMed Rammy on BYC.

 

[Mike CHS]

Yeah, heard about the tornadoes in TN, one right in Nashville

Any idea why the fecals are so high now? Unusually warm or wet this winter maybe?

There is almost always a bloom of parasites after lambing but it has been unusually mild and extremely wet which is ideal for Barber Pole. The reason we lamb in winter is to use it in our favor but it didn't work this year.

 

[farmerjan]

The extreme wet the last 2 years here, and where you are @Mike CHS, is not something that you can use as a good guide for culling etc. My son sold quite a few sheep last year, partly due to the wet weather and all the worm and feet problems he was having, plus just not having enough time to do things the way they should be with the way we were changing what/how we were managing our cattle and keeping weaned calves and such. Plus, the market for the rams has really decreased. With his breaking his hip, and all the scrambling we did to get things put together to do feeding and all, it is a good thing the sheep numbers are down. We are still seeing problems with worms and the feet, and it is still very difficult for him to try to do feet trimming. Maybe by next year he will be back to his strength to do things better.
We have had a couple of nights in the 20's, now 40's and days are supposed to be in the 60's, then 40's , then back up. Worst weather for them. May just dry lot them and feed hay for a bit, so that they aren't picking up and managing to ingest worm eggs or even larvae that might hatch in this crazy "winter" that isn't really a winter. You are further south so probably will have an earlier spring than us.
I think your worming program is very good and you can only do so much while having this crazy weather. Maybe cutting back will help, but I think that it might only cut into the "income side" of your sheep since you get good prices for the lambs. I am not sure that reducing the numbers on the land will help the worm problems so much with this wet weather. You have some really nice looking ewes, and get very good growth on the lambs. Maybe just doing a little more frequent worming- which I know you are trying to breed more resistant ones - and keeping your numbers up where you are getting a good return until the weather gets to a more normal pattern. The weather will change, we might be getting into a warmer pattern, but remember not 20 years ago the severe droughts in Texas, and the droughts out in the midwest just a few years ago.
Hate to see you sell too many and lose the progress you are making.

 

[Baymule]

Words of wisdom from @farmerjan. As usual, she keep us firmly grounded in a reality check and boosts us up when we get down. What would we do without her?

 

[Mike CHS]

Thanks to you both but our reasons for cutting back isn't just the parasite situation as we can manage that. We have been doing a reality check already over the last couple of months. When we started with sheep we knew that was going to control our lives for at least one of us all of the time. With reduced numbers, we can have a life along with having sheep. With just 20 head they pretty much paid for themselves without a lot of profit but they paid for themselves which is all we wanted. We aren't firm on numbers yet but what we are doing now is just too intensive and even with the larger number of lambs, that will be mostly eaten up due to the increased need for hay. Our pastures are such that even with 70 head through the major grass growth months, I'm still going to wind up cutting grass but not a lot. We have had a fairly good idea about who was going to be culled this spring even before breeding them. When it gets down to it, Teresa and I really enjoy each others company but we haven't gotten a lot of that over the last several months.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sometimes you've gotta make those tough decisions, but it sure sounds like you're making 'em for the right reason!