Joseph Limping

Joseph has been limping for a few days so we had Sonny Lepley, Farrier take a look while he was here trimming the Donkey hooves. We had examined his hooves for wedged stones or thorns but didn't see anything. Sonny noticed right away that his sole was worn off. Most likely he tore it off trying to climb the fence to get at the ewes. We've moved him into a smaller paddock away from the ewes for a few weeks until breeding. We'll keep an eye on his left front hoof for swelling or redness and apply aniseptic if necessary.

Separating the lambs

It's been two weeks since separating the lambs from their momma. The ram lambs are maturing and we better get them in with the other boys so nature doesn't play any funny games on us. We moved the ram lambs to a smaller paddock adjacent to the main barn then moved the ewes back in with the ewe lambs - also moved the mini donkeys in with the ewes since there is more grass to forage on in that area. The move went well - not too much noise out of the ram lambs. Tomorrow we'll move them out in the larger pasture with Joseph, Hondo, and Jersey Boy. I expect everything will go alright.

Weaning Time

Separated the Ewes from the lambs today - all except Mary. Thought she would be a comfort to the babies. The lambs are 4 months old now and pushing 80 pounds so it's about time. The ewes were moved to an outside stockade where they will be quite comfortable. They seemed to be relieved to not have babies chasing them down for a bit of milk all day long. The lambs weren't so thrilled about the nipple being taken away. They bawled all the next day but then got over it. The ewes' milk has dried up for th most part after a week apart from the lambs. We'll leave them in this arrangement for a couple of weeks, then separate the ram lambs from the ewe lambs.

Lamb CD/T shot 4/24/08

Administered the first CD/T shot to all 10 lambs. Will repeat in 4 weeks. Three lambs are 7 weeks old; seven lambs are 5 weeks old.

Hoove Trimming - 4/24/08

Trimmed the Ewe Momma's (5) hooves. This was the first trimming since just prior to breeding (Oct 07). Everything looked fine, just long growth.

Lamb Tagging

All 2008 lambs tagged today 3/24/2008. Tags used were #1 through #10.

Sweetheart's Ram Lambs

Sweetheart gave birth to Twin Ram Lambs 3/13/2008. First time lambing. These boys have big heads.

Weights: 8lbs 11 oz, and 9lb 14 oz.

Mother isn't real happy with these little guys - she spins around and won't let them nurse as freely as they would like. After a few hours all is well. Momma and babies are getting along fine.

Overall, the babies look healthy and alert. Sweetheart hasn't finished cleaning them up yet.

First Lambs

Today, Saturday March 8th, the first lambs were born. Two year old Molly had triplet white lambs, two ewe lambs and one ram lamb. Birth weights were 7 lb 5 oz and 6 lb 9 oz for the ewe lambs and 6 lb 4 oz for the ram lamb.



This was Molly's first lambing and she did it like a pro! She's an excellent Mother.

2008 C/D&T Vaccine

Feb 22, 2008. Gave each sheep their annual C/D&T vaccine. Purchased from Southern States, Romney.

Brand: Bar T
Dose: 2ml
Needle size: 20g x 1/2 inch (new needle for each)
Injection site: Back of left armpit. Tented the skin and administered the shot.

No issues. Sheep cooperated. Mary was a little hard to catch but once caught she was perfectly still for the shot.