I couldn't sleep last night because I was worried about the little lamb with diarrhea. If he had ingested manure from his mother's fleece or from the dirty pen, both were my fault. I was not ready to be responsible for a life due to negligence. I can flip the ewes over and cut their wool around the udder with scissors. I did this for the first few that had babies, but then the babies came fast and there didn't seem to be time. There is only a brief window where the ewe is in a daze and can be gabbed easily and flipped, but after she becomes protective of her lamb, it is nearly impossible to get near to her, even the friendly sheep.
Still, I could have put them in the pen or the barn and done what needed to be done. There should be no excuse. And the fact that the sheep have keds is not sufficient for not having their pen cleaned.
So, I put them in the pen next door, even though it will be temporarily contaminated and could possibly spread the keds to the goats. Then I spend several hours cleaning the piled hay and manure from the pen. I even scraped most of the grass off so they would not eat the blades that shooting out amongst the manure. That is the way to ingest worms which then grow in the digestive tracts of the sheep and can even cause death.
Once the pen was clean, I let the sheep back in, but forgot to close the back gate. So out they went jumpingn and leaping with freedom and green grass. Unfortunately, the grass is not long enough to sustain them for even a day. They need to stay off of it for another two or three weeks, depening on how much rain the area receives. But for the moment, they were in sheepy heaven.
Once they were back in their pen with the gate closed, I fed them in the area that was not used since last year. They are out of hay and only have alfalfa. I will share the goat's hay with them until it is gone, but it won't last three weeks. I need to find a few bales to make it through. There is hope though. The fellows who came to look at the fencing job want to do it at a price I can afford. yay! So, if they do get it done, the sheep will have all the pasture they need this summer.
In the meantime, it is unfortunate that I had to shear the turf off, but to preven the sheep from eating the sprouting grass, it was necessary. If it rains, it will be one big mud pit, though and that can promote foot rot. Gads. It seems there is always something. But at least, their pen is clean and I can sleep knowing that they are not at least sleeping in the poop. Next will be to flip the moms and be sure the udders are clear of feces on wool bits and to finish trimming the hooves. It is a good thing lambing only comes once a year. Whew!
Still, I could have put them in the pen or the barn and done what needed to be done. There should be no excuse. And the fact that the sheep have keds is not sufficient for not having their pen cleaned.
So, I put them in the pen next door, even though it will be temporarily contaminated and could possibly spread the keds to the goats. Then I spend several hours cleaning the piled hay and manure from the pen. I even scraped most of the grass off so they would not eat the blades that shooting out amongst the manure. That is the way to ingest worms which then grow in the digestive tracts of the sheep and can even cause death.
Once the pen was clean, I let the sheep back in, but forgot to close the back gate. So out they went jumpingn and leaping with freedom and green grass. Unfortunately, the grass is not long enough to sustain them for even a day. They need to stay off of it for another two or three weeks, depening on how much rain the area receives. But for the moment, they were in sheepy heaven.
Once they were back in their pen with the gate closed, I fed them in the area that was not used since last year. They are out of hay and only have alfalfa. I will share the goat's hay with them until it is gone, but it won't last three weeks. I need to find a few bales to make it through. There is hope though. The fellows who came to look at the fencing job want to do it at a price I can afford. yay! So, if they do get it done, the sheep will have all the pasture they need this summer.
In the meantime, it is unfortunate that I had to shear the turf off, but to preven the sheep from eating the sprouting grass, it was necessary. If it rains, it will be one big mud pit, though and that can promote foot rot. Gads. It seems there is always something. But at least, their pen is clean and I can sleep knowing that they are not at least sleeping in the poop. Next will be to flip the moms and be sure the udders are clear of feces on wool bits and to finish trimming the hooves. It is a good thing lambing only comes once a year. Whew!
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