Recent content by sandy10m

what is the age to disbud horns? I have 2 lambs, 2 days old, and don't want to miss the window. I need to dehorn because all the ram lambs break each others' horns, and there is blood everywhere, like a horror flick. I had to decide which way was more mean to them. I decided that bleeding all...

Has anyone tried DMSO on sheep legs? One of my ewes has some kind of injury I think. I checked her hooves at least 3 times but cannot see anything wrong to make her limp. She is a bit porky, pregnant and due Feb 2, so she might have laid on the leg wrong, or maybe she got accidentally knocked...

Thanks so much for all the responses. Lots to think about. I also realized that I could ask the processor, since they likely have customers with sheep, and those customers might have more info. I did get a response from the guy recommended by the cattle farmer, so I will see what he would like...

Thanks for checking in! Yes, I had another "dating game" for the mamas beginning of Sept, and the "dating game" for the ewe lambs beginning of Oct. All 5 ewes are now pregnant. First lambs due Groundhog Day for about a week. Then second lambs due March 2 for about a week. Next time, the girls...

awesome, I knew you folks would provide the answers. Being new to all this, I want to take good care of them, of course. They are quite large for their age, so I assume they are getting enough nutrition and calories.

My herd is growing, and I would like to avoid tags to keep track. Has anyone used tattoos and ink? I have 2 rams, and I want to keep track of the daddy of each ewe lamb, so I can alternate mating. First question: does the tattoo ink work by itself? In other words, can I rub the tattoo ink in...

I have meat sheep (mutts), and they have 11 acres of land including 6 acres of forest to eat. They get 1 pound of soaked oats in the morning, free range grazing all day, and 1 pound of alfalfa meal with timothy grass and a bit of oats and cotton seed hulls in the evening. I was reading online (I...

Just a quick update. Weaning took longer than expected, but with all the rain, the mamas had plenty of grass/weeds to eat. I did not do the initial 24 hours fast for them (I just learned that here), so that didn't help. But 1 week of no extra feed (grass/weeds only) with the lambs, and then 3...

My research into worming lambs resulted in an interesting alternative. For first worming, I use ivermectin. For later worming, I use copper sulfate pentahydrate. I had the usual initial reaction: I thought copper was bad for sheep. But then you do the research and you realize that the copper...

Checking on location of the coalition meeting. I am not finding it online. Where will it be held, and do you know of a link with more info?

I did the cutting of feed for 8 days before weaning. The mamas only had grass/weeds to eat. I didn't cut all food for 24 hours, I can try to do that now, but I don't have a pen with no grass/weeds. I have an electric fence and can try to make a pen under the trees with minimal grass/weeds available.

Hi all, I am a retired Air Force pilot and PhD physicist, born and raised in the city of Chicago. Now living on 11 acres in East Texas (Henderson County). First time I touched a chicken was unloading the chicks from the box from McMurray Hatchery. Four (production) Rhode Island Red egg layers...

I am going through that stressful time of first weaning. I have meat sheep (mutts for the most part), and the mamas were off extra food for 8 days, before separating mamas from lambs. They are only on grass. It's been 4 full days now of separation, and the mamas' udders are HUGE. I am worried...