Category: Health
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Ram Health Issues
A while ago, we had a ram yearling die from what we thought were injuries caused by fighting. His bladder had burst. However, yesterday, we had another ram yearling start the same behaviors. One time is just bad luck. Two means you need to look at management to see if you can find a cause… Continue reading
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Sheep Happens
Sadly, we had a ram yearling die today. He’d been injured in a fight. As required, we had to do a post-mortem on him to determine the cause of death. Unfortunately, it was a burst bladder, probably from getting a horn in the belly. We are allowed to bury our animals on our farm, so… Continue reading
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Managed Sheep Grazing
We’ve been moving the sheep to new grass every day or two. We use electric netting to keep them contained in small grazing segments. This allows the grass to rest after grazing, and it’s really improving the quality of our pastures. After all, fresh grass = healthy sheep! Continue reading
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We Lost a Ram
Our ram, Desert Weyr Kirk, died today. We had a veterinarian conduct a postmortem to find out why. He had a perforated stomach from an ulcer, and he had peritonitis. It was probably the result of the injuries he sustained in his feeder accident back in May. Continue reading
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Off to Wales!
While Ken stayed home to care for the farm, I headed off to Wales again to continue my judge training. The goal is to become an approved judge for Black Welsh Mountain sheep eventually. My journey started with an uneventful flight from Grand Junction to Dallas. Next, I flew overnight from Dallas to London Heathrow,… Continue reading
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Spring Work Continues
The last couple of days, we’ve been vaccinating the sheep and doing toe trims. I can’t do too many toes before my hands give out, so we do them in batches. The pregnant ewes are now completely done, except for the spring dewormer. I do that 24-48 hours before we turn them out on pasture,… Continue reading
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Spring Tune-Ups Have Started
It’s time to start the first part of the sheep’s annual spring tune-up. The yearling rams all got tags inserted and toes trimmed. 30 sheep, times four legs per sheep, times two toes per leg, means my hands are tired! Continue reading
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Spring Pedicure
This was part of the spring tune-up for the sheep. We trimmed toes. Today I did 30 sheep, or 240 toenails. Prompt: Pretend words don’t exist – only images. Make a photo today that conveys a story to those who see your work. Continue reading
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Shearing Floor Setup
We’re getting ready to shear the sheep this Saturday. This is the sweep and floor for the shearer. The alarm was set for 12:35 PM. Prompt: Set an alarm for a random time today – any time you choose. When it goes off, pick up your camera and find a photo near where you are. Continue reading
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Ewe Sorting and Lamb Vaccinations
We got one batch of ewes sorted out today. This group will go to the live cover ram as a control for the AI procedure. They’re now all sorted into breeding pens, and they’ve had their fall dewormer to kill nose bots. The potential AI girls are now in the other pen, closest to the… Continue reading
