Celebrating too Early?

I was patting myself on the back for a successful lambing season: 34 lambs in 16 days, a nearly 200 percent lambing rate, two gentle assists, no dead lambs and only one undersized lamb who is determined to catch up.

Then, as I was moving the ewes and lambs to pasture, I saw it: a ewe with a bald patch on her side.

My flock are mostly Katahdins with a touch of Dorper. Unlike wool sheep, these hair sheep shed their winter coats in the spring and reveal a short, summer coat. But this ewe wasn't revealing a short coat. She had a bald spot.

I had 3 choices:

I could ignore it and hope it magically went away.

I could take a photo and post it to sheep groups on the internet and receive lots of advice on medications and treatments that may or may not work.

I could isolate the ewe and her twin lambs and call my vet.

When you own sheep, you do most of the vet work yourself. A vet call for a ewe is usually about half the price of the ewe. However, if you're worried about a flock issue--and visions of bald sheep were running through my head--then a vet call is worth it.

I called my vet. While his expertise is horses, he grew up with sheep and is familiar with most diseases, parasites, and other problems that affect sheep.

He ruled out mites and lice and other parasites. She was a big, healthy ewe who wasn't scratching, depressed or worried one bit about going bald. Hormones? This was her first pregnancy. Bedding? He wasn't sure. But he was almost definite it wasn't a flock problem. So, we dosed her with ivermectin and vitamins.

To be on the safe side, he recommended isolating her and her ewes from the flock for several weeks. And, unlike humans in this age of Covid-19, she doesn't have to wear a mask.

Update on 4/16/2020: After posting this, three yearling ewes also showed signs of hair loss. So, I contacted Brady Campbell who leads the sheep team at Ohio State University. I provided him with my vet's report, my hay analysis and a detailed description and history.

He reported that hair and wool loss in ewes post parturition isn't uncommon due the huge nutritional stresses on the ewe. While I was supplementing the ewes with corn due to the bad hay year, their diets were a little light in protein. So, I'm adding protein to their diets until the pastures come on in the next few weeks. 

And, on another note, a huge shout out to state extension services. They've always been a great resource for sheep, farming, gardening, etc. 

Searching for That Sweet Spot

Niki brings in the flock so that I could separate the flock. 

Spring is five months away, and that means sheep breeding season starts today.

Over the years, we've lambed as early at late February and as late as late April--all in an effort to hit that sweet spot when:

--Winter is over.

--The spring grass is coming on.

--Fly season hasn't started.

--The lambs are market weight by late October.

--Lambs are born before sheepdog trial season begins.

We've been raising sheep for well over a decade, and we have yet to hit that sweet spot.

This past year, we opted for early lambing, and ended up feeding hay as we watched winter hang on and on.

So, for 2019, we're aiming for the first day of spring. (A ewe's gestation period is 5 months).

This afternoon, I sorted the flock, separating the breeding ewes from the ewe lambs and dog-working sheep. I turned the ram out with the breeding ewes and moved them to a separate pasture.

In five months, we hope to have lambs born into sunshine and green grass.

Will it happen? We'll just have to wait and see.

Roxie, the mischievous barn cat,  parked herself in front of the pasture gate, making the sheep sorting process more of a challenge.

One Brain Cell

The ram lambs often move as a collective clump.

At four months of age, the ram lambs are separated from the flock and enter their state of bachelorhood. They live in a separate pasture, and graze, ruminate and sleep together.

The time spent on sheep care goes up.

Not only do we have to ensure the ram lambs are getting plenty of food and water, we also must deal with their erratic behavior.

For the most part, the flock of ewes and ewe lambs behave in a predictable manner. The lead ewe, often an older, wiser animal, makes the decisions about when the flock goes to pasture, when it worries about people, when it sleeps, and when it runs.

The ram lambs have no leader. Instead, they act as a collective clump that often makes bad decisions.

Sometimes they startle at the sight of a dog and go sprinting across the field. Sometimes they sprint, just because. Sometimes the group splits, and they stand in a state of wonder. How will they ever get back together?

The Border collies and I must practice lots of patience.

Tonight, when moving the ram lambs to another pasture, three lambs decided to dart into the waterway. Were they older ewes, I would have sent the dog to reunite the flock. Doing that with ram lambs may have sent the three on a suicide mission into the fence. So, I asked the dog to lie down and wait as the one-brain-celled group figured out how to reunite with the others.

Eventually they did.

But will they remember this lesson tomorrow?

I'm not counting on it.

The Border collies learn to keep their distance and to move slowly around ram lambs.

The Wailing Lamb

I take great joy in looking out my office window and seeing ewes and lambs grazing in the pasture.

As the morning moves on, the lambs tire of grazing and nap. The ewes though, still nursing lambs and needing calories, keep walking and gobbling up grass.

I write and watch as the ewes move down the hill. Most lambs follow.

But one, snoozing in the morning sun, does not.

When he awakes, he sees no ewes or lambs. They've all moved about 50 yards down the hill.

He does what lambs do, what we adults would like to do when things are not going our way.

He stands up and wails and wails.

As lambs grow older, the ewes respond less and less quickly to lamb wails. A 30-day-old lamb calling for his mother only elicits a couple "over here" baas from mom before she returns to grazing.

The lamb wails again, hoping she'll come.

She doesn't.

Giving in, he lopes toward his mother and other sheep. The lambs and sheep return to munching grass.

And, I return to my work, happy to be diverted by lambs.

70 Degrees in March

The temperatures jumped into the 70's today, and the breeze blew, and the sun shone, and the yearling ewes forgot they were adults now.

When I sent Raven, the Border collie, into the pasture to gather them, the young ewes responded by bucking, splitting into three groups, head butting each other, leaping onto each other, dashing and darting about.

Meanwhile, the cats, Trick and Dewey Kitty, played their own games of chase, tag and tackle in the yard.

The critters didn't have to read a weather report to know that sunny, warm days in March are a rarity, that days of rain are on their way.

And so for a moment, I followed their lead, threw back my head and kicked up my heels. For the sun was shining, and the warm breeze blew, and spring is on its way.

Baa, Baa, So Many Black Sheep

This year, we introduced a Dorper ram to some of our Katahdin ewes.

I was hoping for mellower sheep for dog  work and a better meat sheep.

We also bred some Katahdin ewes to a Katahdin ram.

While we have lots of color in the Katahdin flock, I wasn't expecting this.

This is the first black Katahdin lamb we've had on the farm.

From the Dorper/Katahdin crosses, I expected the lambs to look like the black and white lamb pictured below.

A few of the Katahdin/Dorper crosses are black and white, but the majority are mostly black. It may be because our Katahdin flock includes red, tan, brown, white and spotted ewes.

It makes for a colorful pasture scene. Shown in this photo are purebred Katahdin lambs on the left, and three sets of Dorper/Katahdin crosses.

I'm watching on the lambs grow and develop over the summer.

Sheep Intelligence

Those who say sheep are stupid have never fed a ewe grain.

For after you offer grain to a ewe once, she remembers you forever.

She will hang back at the paddock after you take hay to the pasture, and she will watch you. She will make her presence known with a demanding bleat or a woeful stare.

Oh, she will never come close enough for you to touch her.

But she will get close enough so you can observe her "bad hair day." Or her sucked in belly.

And you will feed her.

Each day you do, you'll notice more and more ewes and lambs are joining in, and that you're feeding more and more grain.

You will say enough, and after a few weeks, she will stop pestering, but she will always be watching, watching.

Counting Sheep

I spend my days counting sheep.

One pregnant ewe, two pregnant ewe, three pregnant ewe, four pregnant ewe, five pregnant ewe, ram, llama.

It's been a week since a set of triplets and set of twins were born, and two weeks since lambing season began.

It's never stretched out like this.

And, I am constantly looking for a ewe that may be by herself in the corner of the pasture or lagging back at the barn.

One pregnant ewe, two pregnant ewe...

Meanwhile, back in the barn, the lambs are outgrowing their beds.

And I am looking at mine fondly.

One pregnant ewe, two pregnant ewe....

Another Experiment (or I Now Have 3 Flocks)

It began with a question.

What if?

Every breed has its strengths. Our Katahdins are low-maintenance, parasite resistant, self-shedding -- and flighty. Will crossing them with a Dorper settle them down and improve their carcass quality?

We'll find out next year.

Meet our newest addition.

 Hint: He's the one that doesn't look like the others.

He's hanging out with several stout ewes in the front pasture.

Meanwhile, in the back pasture, we have the Katahdin ram hanging out with his group of ewes.

Hint: He's the one keeping a distance from the ewes.

Residing in the middle pasture are a group of ewes that I'm using to work the dog and some lambs that are going to market next month, and the llama.

They didn't get their photo taken because I was running out of light.

But they'll be photos next spring when the results of the new experiment land on the ground.