A Greenhorn's Journal

Lizzy733

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Plans for the property are finally underway!

We've decided to build a 30sqm office attachment for the greenhouse so we can have a lockable kitchenette and livingroom with AC as the temps in the Greenhouse have been soaring to around 45C lately (110F).

We're starting to make a move to get quotes together as this will be a DIY project, but thankfully, my family have experience in this area from their own bach builds, so should be quick to bang out once we get all the bits here and delivered.

I'll be renovating our horrid yard and adding a crush so it's easier to pick out individual sheep for health checks and maintenance. There's also lots of 'shanty' gates to replace with real steel hung gates. We do have a few good ones, but I'll need at least a few 5' or 10' to really kit the place out and get rid of all the wired together bedframes (seriously) and pallets strewn across openings in the fences.

A few days ago, our neighbor across the way came over to give us a demo on homekill and butchering. So now I've officially culled and field dressed a lamb - left the butchery work to my DH after we left them to hang outside overnight. Not ideal - eventually, we'll have to get a fridge kitted out with a topbar so we can hang them properly. Did two, one of which being my only other problem ewe who was having hoof trouble, so now my flock are finally on the up and up.

I'm thinking I might start moving them to the yard weekly to get them used to, and less afraid of checkups.

For future planning, I've decided I'll get rid of the Ram and Cull\Sell down to 5 ewes and keep the wether to help with moving them from the main field (he's a real glutton for sheep nut). Next year, I'll get a weaned or nearly weaned intact arapawa ram and new wether and raise them up by hand so I can start converting the flock to purebred arapawa the slow way. The ones we have that have obvious feral blood are much hardier than the white romneys - their hooves were less overgrown, better body condition, better famacha scoring, more active... just hardier in general.

So sheep will be staying long-term as a meat source and I still eventually want to get goats, but will need to get an energizer and run a few additional perimeter lines. - Once again, going to go with hand-reared and pay it forward in regards to husbandry so i get tame does. - will leave billies out of it for the time being. There are plenty of studs around and I can just send them off when the time comes in their second year.

There's also the matter of building a proper shelter as all the sheep have at the moment are some ancient trees and a few shade cloth structures. I have two solid wooden bedframes - 1500x3000 which I'll be using as the base for a 3mx3m stable.

I got the chance to meet with a local goat rescuer and had a good look at her setup, med kit, feed and supplement routines and fencing. It was definitely an invaluable source of info and resources I'm sure will come in handy for more than just the future goats.

My husband has been hard out converting the raised beds from monocrop to more useful mixed beds properly spaced, weed resistant, and now planted with crops we'll actually use. We've always had more of a summer cottage gardening style with lots of companion planting, pollinator attracting plants and a more natural layout. The main field will be slowly getting converted to a food forest with swails, fruit and nut trees, and interspersed crops. In about 5-7 years, we should have something very diverse and productive.

The kune kune have been hard at work making garden paths and beating back the overgrown undergrowth around the future deck area while demanding their belly rubs and treats when they decide to pop back into the greenhouse for a midday snooze. Our smallest, Rusty, has the odd habit of foaming up and squeaking his gums after a big meal while he's snuggling up for a nap. There's plenty for them to do around here to the point that I'm not concerned with moving them to the orchard any time soon.

By the end of the month, my roosters may be ready to start mounting some hens! It's been kinda hard enforcing that 1m respect rule, especially since the turkeys and pullets are all still allowed in my inner bubble, but I don't want to end up with disrespectful randy boys I can't trust. My broody has decided now is the time to start brooding when I have no eggs to give her, so not sure when I'll be able to start hatching. I can't trust the spanframe for incubating right now - it just gets way too hot during midday. There's still my new silkie I bought as a second broody. She should be POL, but I have yet to see an egg from her and I've had her for nearly two months now. I know silkies are slow to develop, but she is full size... actually bigger than my original silkie. Starting to wonder if maybe she's a dud.

The quail are doing well - though we lost one of the coturnix to drowning in a drowned proof bell. I'd heard they were particularly prone to it, but never had one drowned in this kind of bell when we used them at birdcare, so was a bit surprised. I've stuffed it with rocks now, so no more drownings. The coturnix are well on their way to being fully feathered and California isn't far behind. Only problem is, the coturnix are white, so I have no way of telling if they're boys or girls! They both seem to be the same size so far and look to be feathering in at the same pace, so may be a mono flock - just not sure which way! Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks for eggs (geeze they grow up fast!).
 

Lizzy733

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It's happened, the dreaded 'Flystrike'.

We've been dealing with stormy weather for about a week now and the tail of a tropical cyclone which has been ripping through the whole region. I consider us lucky to have gotten out unscathed and still have electricity. A lot of other properties have been 'smashed' and my run into town today to grab feed was all about dodging trees on the road.

So today, I notice one of my 'killers' sitting in the corner, so I go and investigate and find he has 'all' the dags. I round him up (he's one if the tamer ones) and dag the crap out of him with hand shears. I'd already suspected flystrike so came around with a bottle of meds and iodine ready to go. Poor boy was 'covered'!

The worst of it is one leg and his belly on the other side where the skin is leathery, but I didn't see anything open. The leg has been sprayed down with iodine and wrapped, but considering the location and smaller size of the other, I've left it open to the air. His famacha was pretty pale, so I gave him a matrix + vitamin drench along with the pour-on. I direct dosed anywhere I found live larvae and gave him a stripe on the back. I think I found them all.

He musta just been lying in poop the whole cyclone - they were even on his chest. His tail has also been docked waaay too short. He practically doesn't have one.

After all the work, I've loosed him up in the garden where I can keep an eye on him and keep his injuries clean. I'll pop by the vet and see if I can't get him some pain killers cause that's one thing I don't have on hand. Anything else I should be doing for this glum boy?

He's alert, obviously sore, but getting around the garden and exploring a bit. I might move the wether in with him if he starts to act depressed.

The girls have access to the front field at the moment and seem a bit more curious about coming up with him in the garden, so there are others within sight of him.

It's been one crazy month so far going from one weather extreme to the other. I'm trying to sell off a good chunk of the flock and sell our romney ram so I can get in an arapawa boy.

I've been trying to work with these sheep and get them less feral. I have three female lambs which are getting pretty tamed down and I've managed to get the wether to do the 'touch' command and stand still for a few pats. He also comes running to see me, it's just taken him ages to get to this point.

If our sick boy makes it, I may keep him as a second wether to help coax in the flock as he's not far behind the wether for tameness. Fingers crossed for him. We'll see how he's faring in the morning.
 

Lizzy733

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Poor boy! Good thing you found it and have treated him. I can't even imagine! I hope he improves, I know it won't be for lack of care on your part. Hang in there!
He seems a bit brighter this morning, less in pain and a bit more flighty. Did a bit of flocking with the kune piglets, but they won't stay in the garden, so seriously thinking of moving the wether in with him after my morning meeting.

He reluctantly snubbed my offer of sheep nut but was nibbling on a bit of grass, so not too concerned. He's been mostly sticking near the hen run since yesterday evening.

I don't know that his bandage is doing much good. Probably rubbing and making his leg sore more than anything else. Will see what the vet has to say when I call them up later.
 

Lizzy733

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We did a phone consult with the vet over baa baa black lamb and his injuries, which I provided photos of and they were actually quite happy with how they looked. Told us to keep them clean and let them air out. Been spraying a few times a day with Iodine, which he does not like. They got us a shot of meloxicam to administer and he's been a bit more active on it.

I just can't stand to see him getting harried by flies though, even if the drench is doing its job and keeping him clean, so I've gotten some fly-off horse spray that I've been applying anywhere that's not an injury as a deterrent which seems to work at least for a little while.

His wounds are a bit 'cracky', but don't look so raw. He's getting a bit more sun smart about moving to shade and having a drink midday as we have been getting 'hammered' since the cyclone passed.

Been taking the opportunity to train him to 'touch' and get him used to handling and coming when called, the good boy.

Might have found a seller for the rest of the ewes minus my keepers, so I can get the flock down to a more manageable size. 🤞

Would make things heaps easier and I can put that money into getting a few new farm gates, properly set up the yard and start in on some concrete shaded platforms where they can get off the wet ground when it rains, which will be all winter.

Now just need to find a buyer for my ram and I can look into getting an arapawa boy for the rest. Missed out on a pretty boy local that sold just after I got my add up. Ah well.

Not too fussed if we miss a breeding season, though the ram has been 'really' interested in the girls this morning and vice versa, so might be someone's in estrus.

Freezer meat's still lasting. We've never been too big on eating lamb and my husband considers it more of a winter food, so the two we culled have gone a long way.

Now, if my roosters can show me they're ready for some girls, I'd be happy. My Jakes aren't so little anymore and have a lovely show for me every time I pop down to the bachelor pen.

In the interim, I managed to get a hold of a lovely frizzle hen who had been with a silkie roo. Tried giving some of her eggs to my broody, but not thinking she was fertile as I havent seen any development. She wasn't on the lay when I brought her home and I suspect she might have recently finished a broody cycle. Took her about a week or two to start laying here.

My old white silkie finally finished her brood and it looks like my young blue splash pullet that just started laying about 3 weeks ago has taken over her clutch. Silkies are the best, love this uninterrupted broody swap they have going on, now if only those eggs had some chicks in them :/.
 

Lizzy733

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Another week, another gaggle of farm stuff going down.

I have a new flystrike victimee, though I believe I've caught this one at the very start. It's my little lamb that's pretty much weaning age, born mid Nov, but still seems pretty tiny to me. Rough estimate, I'd say she's around 10-15kg or so. Easy enough to pick up and heft around.

Her backside was absolutely covered, but the maggots were still quite tiny and I didn't see any open wounds. She got a good dagging and treatment with Zapp. Good thing my pour-on applicator just arrived in the mail friday. Much less spill and wastage this time around and I'm confident I nuked them all.

I am a bit concerned though as she seems quite lean - as in I can hook my fingers under the edges of her spine - but still new to judging condition of sheep and don't trust myself to really know what I'm doing just yet. I didn't hear much activity outta her guts while I was treating her. Wasn't able to coax her into eating any sheep nut either, but have seen her browsing a little on her own in the field. She's been hanging out on the fringes of the flock for a bit now and her mom seems pretty disinterested at the moment.

Her nose was pretty runny, but clear mucus, and she didn't seem to have any trouble breathing.

She was a bit pale, so also gave her a bit of matrix drench for the vitamin boost and turned her back out with the flock, but she's back on the fringes again. Will have to keep a close eye on her, I think. Any suggestions considering her age?

Our boy is doing very well. He's started showing a bit of sass. Almost all his scabs are in the process of peeling and the skin on his leg is looking much more 'normal' than burn victim, which is excellent. Very happy with this little man's recovery!

On to other news, our first quail has come into lay. Looks like our coturnix duo is a pair and she has a bit of the celadon gene, so getting some lovely spotted eggs with a pale blue interior. They don't look to be fertile so far - though it's kinda hard to judge in that tiny of an egg when cracking it into a pan. Hoping my california cockerel isn't disrupting things for my coturnix boy since they're in the same aviary. He keeps with his siblings mostly though, which both seem to be girls. I would think they should be too young to be thinking about breeding though.

Still waiting on my cockerels to man up. May need to try onea my boys in with the girls again to see if he's interested in dancing. None of their siblings have come into lay, though they are starting to redden up and drop their wattles.

The pigs busted into the bachelor pen, trying to raid the feed-o-matic and, I think, started a territory war amongst my turkey jakes when they got out. Hormones were high, many bites were received, and I had to jump in and enforce a little time out with two of them as they really don't let go once they latch on. Back in their pen and no longer squabbling, maybe a few hurt feelings, but all is peaceful once more. The girls were out of sight, so not sure what really tripped them off aside from the extra space. I have one earmarked for freezer camp if he becomes too much of a problem as they get older. Luckily, they completely ignore the roos and me when this sort of thing goes down.

If my silkie pullet is still feeling broody, might be giving her some quail eggs sometime soon. XD
 

Alaskan

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I have a new flystrike victimee, though I believe I've caught this one at the very start. It's my little lamb that's pretty much weaning age, born mid Nov, but still seems pretty tiny to me. Rough estimate, I'd say she's around 10-15kg or so. Easy enough to pick up and heft around.

Her backside was absolutely covered, but the maggots were still quite tiny and I didn't see any open wounds. She got a good dagging and treatment with Zapp. Good thing my pour-on applicator just arrived in the mail friday. Much less spill and wastage this time around and I'm confident I nuked them all.

I am a bit concerned though as she seems quite lean - as in I can hook my fingers under the edges of her spine - but still new to judging condition of sheep and don't trust myself to really know what I'm doing just yet.
I would guess... since you know they weren't managed very well, and since they were overgrazing... that it is a heavy parasite load.

Have you gotten a fecal done? So you know what kind of worms they might have?

But, worms would be my first guess.

Blows my mind about the fly strike. Of course, I now live in the frozen wasteland... so not a big issue up here (but it can be... just depends on conditions). Back in Texas you could get all sorts of nasty things.
 

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