Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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Finally got the ewes sorted out and moved to the breeding pen tonight. DS1 will move Lewis tomorrow morning. I will have to show him which one is Lewis since his ear tag is missing. I think we will retag all 3 older rams at the same time since they are all missing at least 1 tag! Probably from fighting in the pen as they come and go to the breeding pen. We will just give the either a blue, orange or purple tag like we tag their offspring.

Anyway we sorted the ewes out. The girls due in November are HUGE although no udders filling yet, probably a couple weeks off to lamb. One ewe yearling lamb is a b*&@h! She may go to the sale with the next batch of lambs. Naturally she was one of the nicer lambs from last January. :rolleyes: She is also carrying a lot of wool too although I don't always like culling for wool retention until they have had 2 summers to shed. With the fall born ewes that means we have to hold them longer. A couple had Actinobacillus abscesses which were ripe so we lanced and doctored those. Don't know how they are getting those since most of the brush is gone but they may be rubbing on the wooden hayshed or somewhere and getting a scratch that gets infected. Not Caseous so not worried about it although it is disgusting to have to deal with them. :sick Need to clean out the jugs for the lambs but need to keep a couple of the abscess ewes in for a day or so and then will lime and disinfect the ground and pens. The lambing ewes will not be coming in for another week or so.

I am pretty pleased about the quality of the homebred stock. Looking forward to the first large batch of lambs out of them. I do need to get out and check ear numbers with wool shed ability to keep notes for my culling records. I have been letting the sheep chores get away from me for the past month or so. I did order another 60 scrapie tags. The different states only provide you with the first batch then you have to have your own imprinted with your state assigned number. I still have about 10-15 of my last batch so 60 might take me through the TX move I will need to order TX tags and they will assign a new number then. My CA number is RT1 - I am not sure the state is still allowing you to choose your own scrapie designation anymore now that sheep and goats require the tags to sell. The auction yards have their own scrapie tags for all animals that are run through without tags. I got our tags about 25 years ago when the program was optional and we could pick our own nos. I chose the RT1 since that was our ADGA ID at the time. In fact, DS2 and DS3 are still on the record as co-owners with me of that scrapie #! LOL

Hadn't been out of the office for almost 2 weeks due to tax and bookwork! Felt good to be working with the sheep again.

Have also been doing some research on TX FSA opportunities. They offer low interest loans for business purposes for farmers. Women farmers get an extra bump. Might be better to do the farm business in my name to take advantage of those opportunities. Have to check with an accountant to see what the advantages and disadvantages might be. I would qualify because of my years of experience raising livestock. I also ran a couple other small businesses in the past so that would also help on any application. Anther way to qualify is to take courses offered through the County Extension services. Something to investigate when I move to TX.

Got to go move Lewis ram in with his girls. Hot time in the old breeding pen tonight! :gig
 

Ridgetop

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DH is 7 years older than I am so that might be an additional reason to list the farm business in my name. I think we will need to check with a farm tax preparer as to the tax advantages and possible problems.

Moved the rams. DS1 has christened Moyboy "Friendly" because he comes right up to you - just before he backs off and tries to butt you! After DS1 had a crotch near miss I went in and got the "ram subduers" - lengths of wooden closet pole with a cord strung through one end. They are about 18"-24" long and you can reach out and ward off the ram's nose as he is thinking about whether to take a go at you. The other 3 are not too bad and don't want to go after you. The oldest ram, Lewis, is extremely docile.

This is why I don't like to make big pets of rams. Lewis came to us full grown and right off the range. Moyboy was a 3 month old baby and we had DGS1 gentle and tame him when we got him. We have not repeated that mistake since. The other 2 are not real tame either but can be handled. They rarely take a go at anyone. That said, my cardinal rule is "NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A RAM"! All the cartoons are about billy goats butting people, but in my experience rams are more dangerous than bucks.

At any rate, Lewis had a couple small abscesses as well in areas where it looked like sharp pieces of straw or thorns had worked into his unshed fleece mohawk. Drained them and doctored him.

Looked over all the rams and retagged them. Axtell has some strange lumpy masses in his throat around his windpipe. Not abscesses - they are rock hard masses, possibly tumors or growths. We will keep an eye on them. Other than Axtell's growths, the rams look to be in good shape except for their hooves which need serious trimming since they are confined in a small pen now and don't wear them down on the hillside. DS1 wants to put them into the squeeze and use our shop grinder on them. The hooves on the rams are so hard that I can't cut them myself and it took a lot of effort by DS1 last time with the tree lopper! I considered ordering the electric Hoof Boss hoof trimmer that I have seen advertised. They come in electric or battery models. The battery models use a DeWalt battery which is easily available at Lowes. If I decide to order one I will call and see if our Bosch batteries would also fit. Maybe once I start filing a farm tax return and have more actual farm income than outgo I will. Right now a $300.00 hoof trimmer is not in the cards. A large muscular DS1 however, is available for free. :lol:

Tomorrow the treated ewes will receive Penicillin shots, and Alumashield spray to prevent fly infection. 2 will go back on the field. The other 2 will stay in for another several days since their abscesses were not ripe enough to drain. Better to keep them in and deal with them in a few days than turn them out and try to separate them again. One of them is scheduled to go meet Lewis in the Pen of Rapture once she has been doctored.

We also need to weigh the remaining 2-3 months old lambs to see how large they have become. I have another 3 ram lambs to take to the auction in a couple weeks, and possibly that b%*#hy ewe that is so freaky about being caught and is carrying wool. While prices are high would be a good time to take as many as possible. Hay prices are not going to go down until next summer.
 

Baymule

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I find that my sheep get those abscesses more in the fall and winter when there is little to no soft green grass to eat. My theory is the hay stems poke the inside of their jaws. Right? wrong? I dunno but it sounds good. Inherited from their parent(s)? No idea. I have one ewe, Ewenique, that has never had an abscess. I have one of her granddaughters, Frimplepants, that so far, has not had one either. Unfortunately, Ewenique almost always has ram lambs. And her ewe lambs aren't always good quality. nice rams, but who needs a bunch of those? Since I've had Ringo, she has had rams. Phooey. She looks to be due in December, so well see what she has this time. Also, Frimplepants is due end of November, I bred her to Snip, (out of Miranda and Ringo) just to see what I get.
 

Ridgetop

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Yes, sharp stems from hay and forage are what does it, although if they get a scratch from a wire, or rubbing on something, they can get them on other parts of their bodies. Wooden feeders used to be blamed too. We still have one wooden feeder in the ewes' section of the creep pen. It is possible that they get the infection there and it takes several months to show up after they are turned back into the main pasture. Anther name for it is Kruelz. You are right, some individua seem to be very prone to it and others not so much.

One of the ewes is showing the exact same symptoms we had with another ewe a couple years ago - large swelling of entire side of her face. The actual abscesses to drain then start to form and the swelling recedes as they appear and localize. The entire cheek is huge then when the abscesses appear, ripen, and are drained the cheek returned to normal. That was the ewe for whom I had the vet out and we sent the pus for testing. We have been feeding hay for 2-3 years straight now. No rain so no forage for the past couple years. :(

We had 3 different light showers over the past month, but not enough to encourage growth. Our normally rainy months are January through February. :fl

Actually with the bad winter and doubles heating costs predicted, maybe it is just as well we are staying in CA for another 2 years. Haven't turned on the forced air heating yet.

When we move to TX we will have to investigate sources of wood for the fireplace. It has a heat distributor fan. By closing off the office (we can use a small electric heater in that room if necessary) and the spare bedroom, we might be able to heat the house with the fireplace since the living room and kitchen are one big room. Also will store propane and get a propane generator for appliances. Complete new experience for winter heating.

Orthopedist appointments this am for DH and me. Preliminary checks n knee replacements. Definitely him, possibly me. 😱
 

Ridgetop

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Both DH and I went to the orthopedist today. He went to the surgeon and I went to an orthopedist for consultation. We both had x-rays done. We already new that he was probably ready for a replacement The orthopedic surgeon gave him a brace to wear when on his feet. He has to remove it when sitting or laying down. He is also supposed to use a cane. He has one but it does him no when he leaves it in the house. LOL

She did say that my knee was pretty bad. She showed us the x-ray and the right leg from the knee to the foot is crooked. It sticks it out to the right side when the knees are together. The ankles can't touch each other - there is 4"-5" between my ankles with my knees together. The right side of that right knee joint is completely bone on bone. The other knee has some arthritis but not bad for my age. The pain in the bone on bone knee is not so bad yet though that I want to rush into a replacement. When she manipulated the knee I was getting some severe hip pain. The doctor was concerned about that. After my consultation the ortho sent me back for more x-rays of my hips in case the hip was causing the problem. She said that sometimes pain will surface in a joint when the cause is elsewhere. I have another appointment in March at which time I will get some sort of gel type shot - not steroids - that is supposed to reduce inflammation and pain in the right knee. It has to be approved by the insurance so by coming back for it she will have time to check over the hip x-rays too. She said there is no reason to get a knee replacement then find out that the problem was the hip! DH started insisting he wanted it done NOW because when we move to Texas our medical insurance will be a PPO which will mean a co-pay. I told DH that we had 2 years and could even put off the move for a couple months to take care of the replacement. It is scary how he is trying to push me to have this replacement. I know he is concerned about it, but I think the way that leg angles out at such an extreme angle from the knee worries him more. I am also starting to limp a lot more but like I told the orthopedist, I am not sure whether that is from the knee pain or the hip pain. I think DH expected the orthopedist to scream "OMG! We need to get you into surgery immediately before that leg falls off completely!" At any rate we will be going back routinely now and eventually it will get done. :eek::hit

So for a laugh - DS1 watched baby Annabelle while we went to the ortho. About 20 minutes later I got a call saying that DS1 has lost the baby. Apparently he went to the bathroom and when he came out the cage was open and she was gone! After a first minute f panic, he started looking for her and found her behind DH's recliner. She was chewing contentedly on the puppy's Bully Stick. In case you don't know what that is it is a chew stick made from a bull's penis!

My children all found one as crawling infants as did the grandchildren. She is not the first and probably won't be the last child to teethe on a puppy toy. :lol: It did lead to some ribald remarks from DS1 to DD2.

Tomorrow I start putting up Christmas decorations. Usually I wait unti Thanksgiving weekend but this year since we are going away for Thanksgiving I decided to get started earlier. Every year it takes me longer to get up and down on the ladders to do the garlands and high shelves. I will wait to put up the tree until after Thanksgiving along with the Nativity set. Both those take me a full day. I used to have DH do the lights on the tree and then let the children decorate it but now I have to do it myself. We have a nice artificial one with the lights already attached and since going to the artificial tree I realized that I was allergic to the preservative on the live trees! Decorating the tree s very nostalgic since all of the ornaments are ones that either the children made or were bought for them each year. Now I have branched out with buying ornaments from our travel destinations. So much better than souvenirs since they are small and I only have to put them out once a year! LOL Eventually I will have to start separating out the kids' decorations and give them all of them. For now I just give them each a few each year. The tree is so heavily covered with the decorations you can't even see the needles! Next year I might give away more of my decorations and just take my favorites with me to Texas. The Nativity is also getting too big. Along with the wise men, camels, angels, ox, donkey with foal, chickens, and townspeople, I have extra shepherds and a whole flock of sheep and goats guarded by a Pyrenees and an Anatolian. Not to be prejudiced, there is also a pack of wolves arranged artfully among stones in a cave in the hills among the pine trees. Can anyone say "overkill"? The grandchildren like rearranging the sheep. One time they decided that a wolf might eat Baby Jesus and surrounded his manger with the LGDs. LOL DD1 has dibs on my Nativity set. She has her own but is is "boring" since it only has the main characters. Maybe I will trade with her when we go to Texas since mine takes up the entire top of the 6' buffet in the dining room.

Tomorrow I have ewes due to start lambing. I did not put them into the jugs yet so will have to see if any lamb in the large corral tonight. Did not notice any of them bagged up although a couple are ginormous. I need to transfer lambing dates from my wall chart to my calendar too.
 

Baymule

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Getting knees replaced is a big decision. My left leg will not straighten out. Feet placed together, the left knee is bowed out-a result of being hit in the back of the knee by Trip and Carson running into me. Getting hit by 230 pounds of dogs at warp speed was a painful experience, but they knocked the bones forward and relieved a lot of pain since then! still picking the dirt and gravel out of my teeth......... :lol: Doctor was astonished that I am not using painkillers.

Get your beloved DH rebuilt and the following therapy and he will be raring to go. Then you must address your own health. As you well know, limping around is no fun. If your right leg is sticking out that far, not only the hip, but your spine is compromised too. That can cause more problems for your whole skeletal structure, says Dr. Baymule! :old Stop being afraid of the surgery and get it done.

As you know, I am a little over my head in things that must get done. I'm getting the farm ready to sell, refinishing the wood floors, clearing clutter, moving "farm" stuff to the new to me house-which needs works too. I have a very long list! I'll have to build a shelter for sheep and dogs. We have discussed a lot of this over the phone. I play out around 2:00 because of knee pain--on both knees! I am forced to stop, sit down with feet up and look at all that I need to be up on my feet, getting done! I'm currently caught up in the whirlwind and cannot stop. Once I get the farm sold, moved to son's rent house, and get settled in, I'm going for knee replacement.

You are surrounded by family. If one cannot help, another one can. You need to get this done, putting it off is not helping you any. All of this is said with love and concern for you. Get your sweet DH's knee surgery, then suck it up and take care of yourself. :love
 
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