Dental Surgery on Ovines

G'day Tara Lee, so how did you get on with that lump?Over the years I have encountered this in the odd ewe,as long as she is feeding OK I have never worried and it usually resolves itself given time.In Aussie the cost of getting a "vet out" is such that in a flock of 400 breeders(that used to be our flock size) it was cheaper in the long run to "cull".T.O.R.

Heel low & Coee Cobber:

The reality of this is that I am beginning a new flock--always wanted Dorpers and pinch myself, the dream is reality as they munch forage on our piece of Pear-A-Dice!

Why Dorpers...because I respect myself in that I am getting older and I don't pre-wash my sheep any more before I shear them (got four geriatric Jacobs left that I lambed in 2003 & 2005 with only the wether missing one tooth--sweet!). I use to shear five sheep besides my daily chores all in one a day (yeh, never get hired on those credentials as a pro)...now I manage one, two if I get my guns in gear & then I pay for it like I got hit by a bus over the next few days. This is all fine, as said, I respect I am going to slow down but not willing to give up on the FUN parts of living out in the back 40. I can do this gracefully or be abusive and "think" I can keep the pace up. Not fair to all involved being too silly on the funny farm.

Not ready to toss in the towel, but managing to make my work load LESS seems MORE sensible (with age comes wisdom...perhaps or there is "no fool like an old one?"). If'n I fall down, the ones that suffer the most directly are the ones I owe a duty of care to...first and foremost over my own well being since they never chose me, but I chose them. The responsibility to make them "happy" meat to reap the "tastes great" part seems a good trade.

I chose Dorpers (and two Dorp/Kata crosses-one my spouse had to have!) to be more realistic...suppose to be no shearing (HA...shearing-NO, clipping-kinda YES but working on dat!)

http://www.selectsmart.com/plus/select.php?url=uncommonsheep

The match of the breed Dorpers is so perfect to my changed aged needs that when I did that survey that LateStarter (tanks Mun...kewl!) linked on BYC HERDER, I got a response of 100% Dorper!



Decided to remove ALL the fiber growth off the oldest Dorper, Peanut 2011.

And just so happened to take a few clicks of Spice.


So I look logically AT Spice and her lump condition.


There is a healed hole so I know it has burst in the past. I seem to have the luck for the odd & unusual (mostly RUDE--because we learn from our mistakes, huh?) happenings where others breeze thru life never experiencing those. "Really? THAT happened to yah...your first time...WOW!" ... first lambing was my oldest ewe with triplettes, labouring for WAY too long to do it unassisted--jumbled tangle of legs (grab a foot, does it have a knee--go up to the chest & down to find the matched set--knowing how hard to pull and knowing the feel of that rewarding give that you did it right) ... nothing like hitting the ground running (thankful I did a hands on day at a biosecure farm BEFORE I even had sheeps--got to assist a vet with a c-section--now that's learnin'), noticing a straw like stick shoved up a grazing ram's nose...being told by a "vet" that keds ate shed skin (nope, those nasties DRILL holes in your sheep's flesh--GACK and YUCK)--so glad I nuked them outta here forever...the roster of luckless happenings would all be tres funny if not for the fact that these were happiness factors in the life or death situation...for a newbie wet behind the ears to hurry up and learn when in reality, it required a shepherd before I even had the experience of knowing a tit from kip...

Risk is that I breed Spice to make more (not dead yet) and even my vet cannot re-assure me if this condition (be it coarse feed, an accident, bad tooth, or whatever) is inheritable. When beginning a flock and making your breeding choices, you expect you should start off as best able and make improvements along the way, not set yourself to make more lesser progeny...well, uh, issues I suppose.

The emotional side of me says, well just EAT her progeny but that also entails me in thinking of creating potentially unhappy beasts to feed my face. I'd rather feed my face with happy meat and continue to strive for spiffy, right as rain lambs. Given I can choose who to keep because they are better and an improvement. I haven't backed myself into a corner of no return.

Comparing Spice to the rest of the flock past her lump, she's a step back from the others...that is realistic thinking...that is where you become a "shepherd" over a "pet" owner. Caring is one thing that is a given but doing what is best for the whole operation, that is more reality.



She's of a smaller stature, less bone (due to lump, due to fact she was a triplette...hard to say) than our six month old ewe lambs, which are near bigger than she is...I do know that she will require shearing/clipping as I won't leave them insulated, itchy and scratchy when I can assist...she needs her fiber removed even more so than Peanut...do I want MORE to clip? Thought the basis for switching breeds was the luxury of not removing fiber every season...the logical side says WRONG choice for a foundation flock.

I already made the decision to take in Peanut who is older and does not shed out...the caregivers were elated when I asked them, "OK, which one do you want me to take..." I know them personally and was thanked repeatedly for letting their "Peanut" go out to pasture...live out her days here in peace and tranquility. Charity begins at home and keeping the show on the road has to intervene at some point.


Factor in that I know my spouse well...any and ever sicky-poo I carted home or created, well that one got the better than common wealth royality treatment. Heck, our geriatric shoulda never bought them duck with the roached back and limp, well Rick named her Quasse Motto and well, I guess in his graces, she was the best dang duck we have ever had. She mighta been crippled up but she ordered that bevy of Rouens around and was the best Auntie babysitter duck imaginable. She quacked and every member obeyed her command...when to head out, when to head in...where they were going. She taught us alot about NOT judging a beast by its disability over its abilities. Miss her terribly and that be that.

But the long and the sort of this situation with Spice is that she has a flaw...do I want more of them with this flaw and risk the whole farm on the incident of there being more or even HER needing costly resource sucking surgeries? I have the opportunity to "cull" her out and I'm gonna do just that.

The bean counter in me says not to retain her. My vet advised me at the end of our conversation that he felt we should not be paying full price for her and who better than that to adhere to his advice than the very MAN that would perform any medical procedures and decide on the billing.

So when I met with the one owner of the flock, showed her photos that I posted here...simply put in my word that I personally would "cull her," I was offered to pick out a replacement. I walked the fields with the seller and we decided on a same aged ewe AND for all the hassle, her ewe lamb is what the one owner has thrown in too. Very nice...generous too. I always seem to battle the pet owner and the farmer in myself.

I am happy with this decision, but the emotional part of me is not. I feel sad for Spice but I did not create her or this issue and to be kind to myself & my future enjoyment, I need not set myself up for a bad time...or an expensive one.

I think being at peace with my decision and opportunity to trade her in on another model (with ewe lamb in tow) is in our best interests.

We will return Spice when we decide to go pick up our unrelated ram, the replacement ewe and her ewe lamb (sired outta this ram we are getting, so I can study how she develops before I base my replacements all on one sire). See, I can be very logical and clinical...sometimes.

I figure if'n I want a fair dinkum HAIR sheep flock...I need to suck it up buttercup and do what needs doing. Do what is in the best interest of the flock over the one ewe...sigh. Soft heart (head?) and hard shell (tough love?)...takes time to learn to do the proper things. Few good stabs and scar tissue protects you when you leap before looking out.


Hooroo mate...Off to make plans for "CANADA DAY" with some hot weather cold salads to make ... fur tomorrah!


Here's a snap I took of our two Jillaroo Australian imports (another bucket list dream realized; originals from the Land Down Under) on January 26...you know what day that is, eh...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

G'day ,thank you for your reply.IMO I think you have made the right choice in replacing her as you say ,start with the 'best" you can afford and then breed with specific goals in mind.On the subject of shearing our flock is now down to about 200 and I still shear them myself(74 this year).Its worth shearing off the fluffy bits on Hair Breeds as they can conceal Lice and other external pests and all sorts of rubbish can get caught up in rough pasture.In Aussie sheep are "never" washed before shearing,if they are a bit"scourer y" you crutch them first and put them on "dry pasture" for a few weeks before you take the full fleece off.

I'm surprised to see you using Cattle dogs on sheep,unless its because you have Cattle as well in your operation,on our place we use Kelpies which I have bred myself for about 40 something years.If you look through my posts in the Sheep section,you will find out a bit about our farm and management thinking.
You can also visit 2 sites I have https://www.facebook.com/pages/SHEEP-Farmer/489540237795665
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5103247

Cheers and Beers,T.O.R.

I am sorry that you had to trade your ewe back, but it sounds like you made a better deal. I am a sheep newbie and decided on Dorpers. I have my 4 starter crossbred ewes, lambs and just bought a nice Dorper ram. I thought it best to start with crossbred, inexpensive sheep so that if I killed them by ignorance, the financial hit wouldn't double the hurt. The ewes are spoiled rotten, I love my sheep. They are so much fun.

I love the pics of your Jacobs, they are such cool looking sheep.

G'day , just something to think about when you start a livestock operation.If you are going to start with X-bred ewes,try to obtain them from different sources ,as it will give you greater genetic diversity in your "base" flock.The rule of thumb that I use is "line breeding" father to daughter ( but not father to granddaughter) fixes the improvements from the male side,without "narrowing" the genetic base to much.
In the case of Dorpers in Aussie which have quite a narrow stud genetic base(relatively speaking) I would build a "composite from 3 Hair breeds to produce a "market lamb".(say B H Dorper ,White Dorper and Wilt i Polls )...T.O.R.

Thanks for the insight @The Old Ram-Australia I appreciate it. I value your opinion. My 4 starter ewes are Dorper/Katahdin cross breds and they were bred to a Katahdin ram. I am keeping two of the ewe lambs, which will give me 6 ewes for breeding to our Dorper ram. I will more than likely make the move over to registered or at least purebred Dorper stock at some point, but for now, the cross breds are where I need to be. I would like to have about 20 ewes, so I have room to grow.

perchie.girl said:

Not a sheep person but most large animal vets can pop a tooth out and get it to drain. Might need to be on antibiotics for a while to keep infection from going systemic. There too may be a foriegn object imbeded in the gum .... Like a stick or a fox tail...

Gawd its been an aeon since i been on this site

deb

Click to expand...

Yeah it has been a long time......where ya' been? And GLAD to have you back!

Good for you JACB ! It is always the wisest thing to do to follow Mother Nature's lead for every member to pay for it's keep or cull an individual that can not or will not for the betterment of all. All members of a productive group can be pets, but a pet that does not pay for it's keep will be a detriment to the whole .

@JACB Dorper - It was fantastic to read your posts. Your farm is beautiful and the names fun and fanciful. It reminds me of the reason I became a farmer (well, I only grow a garden, but tend many animals). I feel for you having to make the decision not to breed your ewe with the abscess and to cull her. I can only imagine the heartbreak. I'm truly sorry. I've not had to take that step with any of my animals yet. I know the day is out there but I hope it's not today and that's the best I can do. Hope for it not to be 'today' every day.

My breed of preference is Finnsheep. I hire the shearing done around mother's day (May in the US). Since I am a new shepherdess, I have not tackled shearing, yet. I choose the Finns for their wonderful wool which is coveted by handspinners and crafters, genetic propensity for multiple births which directly translates into a marketing focus for the hair breeds we have locally, and their loving nature.

As I read your posts I could feel your struggle with this ewe. The heart side versus the practical side. I also struggle with the tough decisions when building my small flock. I have six ewes and two rams right now but have arranged to add three ewes and a ram from a farm in New York. It was a decision based on the shallow local genetic pool which again is a marketing angle for those in my area looking to add fresh genetics to their flocks.

I found a program that I've begun using called 'Animal Breeder'. It's great although it does take a little time to enter the pedigrees. I decided to go back 10 generations to better determine the COI of my herd. The numbers told a different story than what I had initially thought so I'm very happy I went through the work of adding the lineage. I used the registry from the Finnsheep Breeders Association website to add the animals not listed on their pedigrees. They only show five generations. I'll add the newcomers and do more analysis on future mating scenarios. Great tool.

I'd love to see more photos of the buildings. The colorful names are ingenious! Your posts are fun to read and informative.