Open Farm Sunday / Dead lamb
Posted: Monday 11 June, 2018
Monday 4 June
The good weather continues – wish it would rain now, but none forecast. Walked the fields this morning and the thistles in two paddocks are pretty grim, so the topper is on the tractor and John’s going to top the them and Laing’s Field. We’re considering spraying with GrazonPRO. We don’t like spraying but no amount of topping seems to be making any difference.
Tuesday 5 June
No6’s white ewe lamb is a bit off colour tonight – nothing specific, just ears down. Will see what she’s like in the morning.
Didn’t milk today for a variety of reasons but Ruaridh found the hay.
Dan was in at the bees to see if the aggressive hive is queenless.
Ruaridh and hay.
Wednesday 6 June
Sadly, the sick lamb has to be euthanized this evening. She was worse this morning and I took her to the vet, who administered a plethora of drugs but she looked shabby this evening and I took the decision to end her suffering. Other than her obvious pain, she was bloated so the vet thinks she had some kind of blockage. I’m taking her for a PM tomorrow – I need to know if it’s a management issue or just bad luck. Feeling gutted.
We brought the sheep in, split off the lambs and took faecal samples from both groups. They’ll go to the lab tomorrow too. We applied Crovect to all, sprayed the feet of a couple of lame lambs and trimmed and sprayed Niamh’s feet.
Dan was in at the bees again.
Cleaned out the caravan hen house
Thursday 7 June
Still warm and sunny. Took the lamb and the faecal samples to the SAC Veterinary Investigation Centre in Perth.
Dan was in at the bees again – it’s becoming a daily routine.
I weeded in the veg garden and found a space where there should be carrots and aren’t. I remember now that I ran out of seed – must get more this week and get them sown. Still dithering about the brassicas.
Friday 8 June
Overcast this morning and cooler so put the sprinkler on in the veg garden. More weeding and I have to say the veg garden is looking good. Apart from the brassicas. Still dithering.
Cleaned out the brown henhouse. Dan strimmed two hen pens.
PM results on the lamb were that it was enteritis and gut torsion. The faecal samples show levels of Coccidiosis above what my vet would like to see, so we’re going to dose all the remaining lambs with Baycox next week.
Saturday 9 June
Tidy up for Open Farm Sunday tomorrow. We have two tours – one at 11am and one at 2pm. Both fully booked and a bit more – because last year we had a lot of no-shows.
Cleaned out the green henhouse. Dan strimmed another hen pen. One left to do.
Sunday 10 June
IT RAINED THIS MORNING. Not a huge amount, but better than nothing.
Dan was putting together a wee Powerpoint presentation for the tours and we got a wee bit distracted looking at photos of the place when we first arrived. Sorting these photos out will be a great winter project.
The Open Farm Sunday tours went really well (we think and hope). Everyone booked on the 11am tour turned up; a couple of no-shows in the afternoon. It’s annoying because we turn folk away. We had a few adults without children, which was nice. One chap was interested in the bees and lives locally so Dan’s invited him back to get suited up and have a closer look. Dan must be feeling more confident about the temperament of his bees.
A few folk bought honey, meat and eggs, which wasn’t the purpose of the day, but was an added bonus.
Let Ace out and put the cattle into Laing’s Field. Probably see them in two weeks. Moved the sheep into a fresh paddock.
