I kept an eye on the sky this morning as I made my rounds, hoping to make it to the village for a latte and Sunday papers before the pending storm. 

First stop, the big barn. The bred ewes (above) are becoming absolutely rotund. They are due for shearing next week, and I'll be anxious to see if they are  heavy in fleece or heavy with lambs – or just plain heavy. It's so hard to tell under all that wool.

I walk right past the yearling crew to reach the hay stack. Twenty-nine sets of eyes follow my every move as I snip the baling twine and slip the grassy flakes into the wooden feeders. This group looks good, and it's remarkable to see how much wool has re-grown in a little more than a week's time.

Though we ended last week with a worry from one little lady –  and a barn call from Doc Majors. Holly noticed that one of our yearling ewes, Chanel, (who was fine on Thursday as you can see from my last post),  was in a total slump Friday morning. Head down, not eating, not happy. The blessing of having other farms nearby means that sometimes the vet is in the neighborhood exactly when you need him. Doc, who was just up the road at the neighbor's dairy, was in my barn within an hour of my call. Holly and I had moved Chanel (along with Dolce, for company) into a small pen in the milking room, a heated space. 

First order of business was an ultrasound to make sure she was not bred last fall, in one of the unauthorized forays of the little ram lambs. I held her steady while Doc conducted an survey using a wand against her undercarriage, just above her udder. The wand was connected to a small monitor strapped to his forearm which showed a series of mysterious black and white blips, but no signs of lambies, thank you very much.

A thiamine deficiency – perhaps triggered by a sudden change in her rumen at shearing –  seems the likely cause for her depression. And I'm really lucky Holly spotted it right away. If a sheep is off feed for more than a day, it only tips the rumen further off kilter. It can spell disaster if not addressed quickly.

The series of prescribed thiamine injections along with vitamin & molasses drenches is working wonders. My little hot-house flower is now bright-eyed and really mowing down the hay. Although she and Dolce are rather enjoying their small pen in the milk room (and the extra attention), tomorrow, they'll re-join their siblings in the barn. 

 

I did make it to town and back this morning before the storm hit. Snow or no snow, a latte is the perfect start to a new week.

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copyright 2009. Barbara Parry. Foxfire Fiber & Designs. All rights reserved.