Sheep Chat Thread

[chooks4life]

If you want to know what breed, seeing the sire and dam would be more relevant probably than seeing their offspring. Some breeds are obvious but others not.

 

[The Farm]

I would like to know what breed you'll think mine is. She is a hair sheep.

 

[WildWestChick]

Hi I'm new to this thread, and I have a question I hope someone here can help me with.

I got 6 bummer lambs yesterday, and one of the little rams has a swollen looking front knee (I can get some pics if that would help) but he seems to be favoring it and not really putting all his weight on it. He has been laying down quite a bit, but will get up to bottle feed (he is eating really well)..and occasionally he jumps and bucks around with the other lambs.

I've had bummers before, but it's been years since I had them last. And I've never had this happen before does anyone out there know what this could be? I'm stumped

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I'm glad lambing is over and all the lambs are born and doing well. Not having to jug moms and provide extra feed/water to the jugs has relieved a lot of extra work. I still have the three bottle babies that I'm keeping (sold the rest). They are fed with the bucket, and I also go around with a couple bottles in my hand and supplement-feed a few others that are with their moms. Of course, more and more lambs are finding out about the bottles I've got in my hand, so I'm being mobbed by more and more lambs each day. Here are the three bucket-babies. The photo is a bit blurry since it is a screen shot from a video. And this is Dottie and her brother. Their mom only has one good teat, so I make sure they get a little extra milk if they want it. On Saturday Hubby helped me do all the hoof trimming, lamb CD/T shots, lamb 30-day weights, and sheep worming (if needed). This is a pic of him trimming hooves. Grass is growing, so I've been letting the sheep out for 15 minutes at a time throughout the as I fill up the hay and grain feeders. They LOVE it, of course! On Sunday morning I took longer than expected to finish up some chores, and the sheep were out on the grass for a few HOURS before I got around to bringing them in. Needless to say, one of my sheep was severely bloated. I needed to get a treatment into her FAST or she was gonna explode. She was inside the barn and just standing; not moving. I rushed back to the house and whipped up my bloat remedy and rushed back to force her to drink it. She hated it, but with the bloated gut, she couldn't move much so I just kept drenching her. Here's a pic of her bloated self: After giving her the treatment, I went back to the house to eat breakfast since Hubby had it already on the plate. On my way back out to check on the bloated ewe, I grabbed a stomach tube since I figured I'd have to use it to release the gas. When I got back to the barn, I could not find her. I searched inside/outside and feared she found some place in a corner to explode. I stood outside scratching my head trying to figure out where the heck this sheep could have gone; and then I looked down and she was standing right in front of me drinking water. I didn't notice her cuz I was looking for a HUGE bloated sheep and she was now down to her skinny self. I praised her for getting rid of all that gas and threw the stomach tube back in the truck. Here's a pic of the bloated ewe when I found her a couple hours after treatment: Needless to say, I'm making sure they don't spend too much time out there on the grass for now.

What is your home made bloat remedy?

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I also had a general question. I'm trying to make a duck yard in an area that the sheep currently pass through on their way to and from their pasture. I want to plant some small trees and bushes for shade. Any suggestions for trees and bushes that are not tempting to sheep, yet not poisonous?

 

[AlienChick]

I make this drench:


½ cup water
½ cup mineral oil
2 Tablespoons baking soda


Combine all ingredients.

For a full-grown animal one cup is ideal, but try to force down at least 1/2 cup.

For a young animal 1/4 cup is sufficient.

 

[Penny Hen]

LOL @ better luck with your next lamb. It is too early in the morning to laugh so hard at you and your antics.

But I needed that laugh though.

Before I could look for and find a different ram last year, the boys had already planted their seed.

But this year, I WILL NOT make that same mistake. As soon as these babies are weaned, I have to separate and will actually try to sell them. 5 lambs is too much for my freezer. I already have 1 lamb in the freezer and have 2 that are waiting in another pen as we speak. So that would be 7 lambs in the freezer. If I had that much freezer space, I would do it but I don't.

I have been looking this morning for another Ram for next year. I want to give my girls a rest next year but I don't know if that will mess their cycle up. I really hate for them to deliver every single year. I know they are tired.

What is everyone's thoughts on ewes being pregnant every single year? Do you all give your girls a rest?

When they get older it can be a good idea. I define that at about 7 years old especially if they are known to twin or triple. Also as far as your abundant ram problem. Feed alfalfa during breeding season. Cornell Unv. has done research that shows that high protein levels (they used alfalfa) during breeding season increases the number of females born. When fed almost all carbohydrates (corn) more males were produced than females.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

When they get older it can be a good idea. I define that at about 7 years old especially if they are known to twin or triple. Also as far as your abundant ram problem. Feed alfalfa during breeding season. Cornell Unv. has done research that shows that high protein levels (they used alfalfa) during breeding season increases the number of females born. When fed almost all carbohydrates (corn) more males were produced than females.

That is so interesting. Why would that be? What is it in the ewe's metabolism that favours a male or female embryo? I've heard this works in deer populations as well. Scarce doings produce females; lush doings produce males. How the heck does that work?

 

[Penny Hen]

I also had a general question. I'm trying to make a duck yard in an area that the sheep currently pass through on their way to and from their pasture. I want to plant some small trees and bushes for shade. Any suggestions for trees and bushes that are not tempting to sheep, yet not poisonous?

Sorry, everything that I have found that is deer resistant (and therefore sheep resistant) seems to have some level of toxicity to them. However I have numerous wild cherry on my property and int 15 years have only lost a lamb to cherry leaves. You see it is safe green and safe dead dry but wilted it has cyanide in them. It was a severe drought and the leaves fell from the tree and the lamb ate them. I saw it happen and couldn't reach her in time to prevent it nor did I know how to save her from the poisoning at that time. I have seen adults feast for about 10 minutes on fresh fallen branches and then stop and walk away leaving the rest of the leaves. They can tell when the chemistry begins to change by taste. Lambs are the only ones that don't know enough to stay out of danger.

By the way the antidote for cyanide poisoning is corn syrup. Lots of it. It will even purge cyanide that has already been absorbed into the bloodstream. Also for general poisoning of any of your animals keep activated charcoal on hand.

 

[Penny Hen]

That is so interesting. Why would that be? What is it in the ewe's metabolism that favours a male or female embryo? I've heard this works in deer populations as well. Scarce doings produce females; lush doings produce males. How the heck does that work?

Cornell sites the cause as the protein, and if you look up the science papers it will explain it in exhaustive detail (in words so complex it makes me run for a technical dictionary). Sometimes you just have to jump to the end and read the summary in some Agriculture experiment papers. But it is a possibility that it is not just the protein that is working here. Both alfalfa and even more so soy have estrogen. These are both high protein feeds that are the most commonly used. I learned that as a breast cancer survivor that I should stay away from soy products because they can feed the type of cancer I had. It is possible that the estrogen in the feeds are also altering conditions to favor females as well as the protein. So far though I don't know of anyone who has studied that possibility.