Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

Teresa has fairly short hair but one of our neighbors used to be a beautician and cuts her when she wants it done.

 

[Baymule]

Don’t feel bad Mike, I haven’t had a haircut in a LONG time!

 

[Mike CHS]

After a lifetime (literally) in or around the military it took me several years to get used to hair touching my ears but once I got used to it not bothering me, it no longer had any impact.

 

[Mike CHS]

We moved the sheep on to fresh grass this afternoon but the new Momma had to be coerced by us carrying her lambs. She had a ram and a ewe but both are smaller than we are used to. One was a little over 5 pounds and the other was 6. The dam was 9 1/2 pounds when she was born as a twin to one of our favorite ewes. We were going to bring them in to the shelter since they weren't very active early on but they are nursing well and have gained strength through the day so we left them with the flock. I'll move all of them again tomorrow since from the way Cooper is acting, some of the ewe lambs are cycling.

 

[Mike CHS]

I went out early this morning and found one of the lambs already gone and the other so feeble that I went ahead and brought him into the house. You could tell they were both severely dehydrated so we spent a considerable amount of time getting him hydrated. The ewe is passing milk so it looks like she wasn't letting them nurse. I wouldn't have bet a penny this morning that he would make it and although he still isn't out of danger, he is acting the way a two day old is expected to act. He is already spoiled and has imprinted with both Teresa and myself. We put up a big dog cage in the living room and he seems to have adjusted very well.

 

[Mike CHS]

The lamb isn't out of the woods yet but 12 hours makes a world of difference. He wasn't able to stand for the first couple of times that we fed and gave a drench. He REALLY doesn't like the drench so we figured out to give him his milk first.

The last couple of feeding have been more like nature meant for it to be.

The picture is his latest feeding.

 

[Baymule]

Awww..... that's too bad about the other lamb. But I know this little guy will thrive under Teresa's care. They are so darn cute, who can resist a bottle lamb? We have only ever had the two we had in February 2021, this year. It seems like a lifetime ago, but Tiny is with Ringo and her triplet sisters now. I let Ringo stay with the ewes until close to lambing time. It keeps him happy.

We sure had fun with those bottle babies. I've seen newborns at auction sell for $50 and up. Ridiculous. I sure wouldn't buy a newborn at auction. But I sure dumped a lot of money in milk and formula in those two. Can't just let them die.

What will you do with the ewe? Is she a first freshener?

 

[Mike CHS]

It definitely isn't cost effective. We have given several orphan lambs to a Mennonite family that has a daughter that loves raising lambs but this one wasn't going to last long without immediate care. He still isn't out of the woods but he let us know twice during the night that he was hungry. Sassy and Lance aren't sure what's going on but they settled right down and leave him alone. We have several ewes that are due so we might try to graft him on one of them.

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm getting more optimistic about the lamb. He finally had a bowel movement and is nursing on his own. We just call him "Little Bit" for now.

 

[Mike CHS]

What will you do with the ewe? Is she a first freshener?

She is a first timer and I would normally let her go but she has a whole lot of good things on her side. Plus she is the only daughter of one of our original ewes