Theawesomefowl~ My Hair Sheep Journal ~ NEW LAMB PICS! YAY!

[theawesomefowl]

I usually supplemented winter hay feeding with BOSS on occasion just to give a little extra selenium to their winter diet. As for the forages I had here....my sheeples stayed so fat on it that I didn't really need to supplement with added grains. Same with the hay in the winter...fat and sleek without any added grains.

I really think drenching with the UP/ACV helped with nutrient uptake by improving digestive performance. It might have made all the difference for my sheep.

How often did you drench them? And how much? I tried it last week, but the sheep hate being drenched. I did manage to get some UP/ACV in them though. :/ And they refused to eat any garlic. My ruminants are so durned picky. If they don't like what I give them they starve or knock down/jump out of the fence!!! And then baa and maa at me obnoxiously.

BTW, how big were your sheep at almost seven months old? Mine always look so small to me...but then, I really have a difficult time telling as I have no adult specimens to compare them to. The goat is a little big, but he is a male. Their heads come to maybe a little less than mid thigh on me and I am about 5' 2.5".

 

[Beekissed]

I only drenched mine about a couple of times a year but the people who use this tonic to prevent fly bots, etc., state they drench monthly. I just put the garlic juice or powder into the UP/ACV drench and dose both at the same time. I don't know of any sheep that likes drenching but the more you do it the more they get used to submitting for it.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Height (from ground to back): 36" or so
Height to head: Almost to my waist.

(I'm just putting this here so I'll remember it)

 

[theawesomefowl]

Whew--I noticed a clotting scab on Amelia's front leg, and treated it with Blue-Kote. And I also "sat" Sadie, and I noticed a tick!!!! Not surprising, seeing as they were back in what was formerly deer-haven for a while.
But I felt like an idiot for not noticing and yanked it out and Blue-Koted it too, after wiping with a cloth with a bit of disinfectant. Sadie, the Dorp cross, is so much calmer than Amelia who is a pig and stuggles like an idiot (wait, she's a sheep..) when I sit her on her rump. Sadie jump sits there, like a good sheep. She also has a bigger, meatier build than Amelia, obviously Dorper. And pretty long eyelashes.

MEMO to self: Work these sheep more often so they get used to it. Their disgusting scent glands next to their adorable little udders were gross, but no more ticks. Their hooves were still not too overgrown, even though I hadn't trimmed them since spring. Will trim before breeding as they should need it by then.

The sheep and the goat are having a delicious time clearing out our (mostly weeds) garden. Billy-goat even ate a couple of mildly spicy yellow peppers! What a goofy goat.

I still haven't fixed the fence, so its back to the original short poultrynet for now.

 

[Ms. Research]

Whew--I noticed a clotting scab on Amelia's front leg, and treated it with Blue-Kote. And I also "sat" Sadie, and I noticed a tick!!!! Not surprising, seeing as they were back in what was formerly deer-haven for a while.
But I felt like an idiot for not noticing and yanked it out and Blue-Koted it too, after wiping with a cloth with a bit of disinfectant. Sadie, the Dorp cross, is so much calmer than Amelia who is a pig and stuggles like an idiot (wait, she's a sheep..) when I sit her on her rump. Sadie jump sits there, like a good sheep. She also has a bigger, meatier build than Amelia, obviously Dorper. And pretty long eyelashes.

MEMO to self: Work these sheep more often so they get used to it. Their disgusting scent glands next to their adorable little udders were gross, but no more ticks. Their hooves were still not too overgrown, even though I hadn't trimmed them since spring. Will trim before breeding as they should need it by then.

The sheep and the goat are having a delicious time clearing out our (mostly weeds) garden. Billy-goat even ate a couple of mildly spicy yellow peppers! What a goofy goat.

I still haven't fixed the fence, so its back to the original short poultrynet for now.

Dumb question alert: Teaching a sheep to sit, is that due to shearing?

As much as I hate mosquitoes, I hate ticks. Nasty things. Found one on Jake this year. Glad you were able to pull the one off of Sadie. Poor baby.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes, this is the usual position for shearing and for hoof trimming. Usually a sheep will sit quietly like this as they are basically helpless in this position. My ewes would cease to struggle and just relax against my legs, making it hard for me to do the job at hand....I swear they looked like ladies lounging back and getting a mani-pedi!

 

[theawesomefowl]

Dumb question alert: Teaching a sheep to sit, is that due to shearing?

As much as I hate mosquitoes, I hate ticks. Nasty things. Found one on Jake this year. Glad you were able to pull the one off of Sadie. Poor baby.

It is the position used for shearing and trimming hooves. These ewes are hair sheep so I won't have to shear them though.
No question is a dumb question, except those that go unasked!
Oh and I love your title!
Edit: Stupid me-- didn't notice Beekissed had already answered your question.

 

[Ms. Research]

Thanks to both for answering my question and not thinking it was dumb.

Something to look forward to when I own "hair" sheep. Teaching them how to sit. Should be interesting. Definitely will have lots of questions once they are part of the Livestock Adventure.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Today I let them free range-- and they filled their rumens up tighter and fuller than when they either are in a fences area of grass or on hay. Does that mean they're not getting enough roughage when they are in their fence?!?

 

[Beekissed]

These hair sheep seem to need as much browse as goats. I didn't have any browse on my place, so I just kept all my corn stalks for feeding them some roughage...found they also liked sunflower stems also. Sometimes I'd give them old branches off the apple trees and they would go to town on them.

For my Kats, it seemed when the grass was the richest, early spring and fall, they really needed some roughage to balance out their rumen. I've read that most rumenants will balance their own rumens when the roughage is available, thus preventing grass scours.