The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Beeducked on April 01, 2016, 10:00:10 am
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Like a few people, I'm having a horrible year lambing so far. Have a small flock of Castlemilk Moorits and am just having problem after problem.
Last week come down at 6am to find that between then and 2am my lovely 2 year old cade had had twins and I'm guessing the second was cold and dead with the membranes still on him so guess she was just too caught up in the first girl (small mercies it being that way round though). Felt awful as hadn't even noticed her in labour at 2am and she is easy to spot as so friendly.
Then in the middle of the hail storm the other day one of the first timers had a tiny, tiny lamb that looked premature and just never managed to breathe despite being born alive.
The following day an experience ewe found the deepest puddle of mud in the little run attached to the barn and delivered twin ewe lambs into it! They seemed to be doing fine once dried off and were both suckling. The following day one of them was cold and flat and needed tube feeding but perked up brilliantly and was back suckling with Mum in a pen by the evening. Yesterday (24 hours later) went out to find her completely unresponsive and freezing cold so she is now in the house. Took most of yesterday to get her going again but she looks pretty good and is taking from the bottle really well. Still not quite right has had ABx too. Went out this morning to find that her mum has squashed her twin over night. :(
The cold lamb took a couple of hours to get sorted which meant I didn't check the field till about 8:30 to find a pair of big ram lambs so set of to spray their cords. As I got closer realised that one had gastroschisis (his intestines on the outside)! Wrapped him in cling film and set off to the vet who has put it all back in and stitched them up. Just have to wait to see if infection or bowel damage kills him now but he looks better this morning and is even taking a little from a bottle.
Most of this has happened in the last 24 hours so feeling tired and a bit wobbly. Only lost 2 lambs over the last 2 years so 3 already and still counting is really hard to take. I recognise that it could be worse, hypothermic lamb could also have died and boy with gastroschisis could be dead already rather then looking like he might make it. Also have a little and large set of twins with one being half the size of the other at only 3lb 2oz who I thought would die but is a right little fighter and competing with his brother!
Just needed a tired rant at people who would understand!
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Poor you, you really have a hard time of it!
Sounds awful, but you are obviously doing your best. (Reviving a lamb several times in a row is not a small feat!)
Try to keep a clear head - there always comes a point when things can only go upwards! :hug:
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Oh, this sounds awful for you. I found that lambing is a mix of highs and lows and when they are low they are very low.
You have had such a run of bad luck in a very short space of time. I would send you a hug emoticon but can't get it to work with windows 10
Lambing is all too much stress for me so we haven't lambed the last 2 years. I do miss having my own lambs running round the place but I am happy with my little flock of grass cutters.
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You're doing great. Hang in there and it'll turn the corner for you :hug:
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:o Now you have me nervous ! I was told Castlemilks lamb easy by themselves like other primatives, you are in a nightmare :hug:
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sounds tough, hang in there, you're doing a great job :sheep: :sheep:
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:hug: wishing you better times, Good Luck with all you are doing
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Hang in there - it will get better. We all know exactly what you're going through! Make sure you look after yourself in amongst all this! :hug:
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I am so sorry to hear this. Every year has its ups and downs, the first time I lambed things didn't go according to plan, but this years weather hasn't helped at all. Things can only get better from now and the important thing is for us to look forward. Wishing you all the best and please feel free to rant away I do it all the time :roflanim: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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You've risen to each new challenge and done your best to resolve it swiftly and effectively. We tend to think that because we're the most intelligent mammal we should be able to fix everything, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Don't beat yourself up about it.
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Sending hugs :hug: :hug: and crossing my fingers that things improve for you and your flock :fc:
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I would send you a hug emoticon but can't get it to work with windows 10
I think you can probably still do it the old way - type colon word colon, so : hug : (without the spaces)
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Thanks everyone. Not much sleep (like everyone lambing ::) ) makes everything feel a bit more personal. Not sure what I could have done differently for most of it but you start to doubt yourself. I have a couple of friends who thinks I'm being heartless to uncaring that I am not giving the ewe her hypothermic lamb back when she is mourning for the loss of her other lamb as well. Doesn't fully understand that I cannot risk her life again and really might not get her through another bout (especially if mum tries keeping her warm by squashing her flat). The ewe certainly thinks I'm heartless and evil too. She is running around calling and comes right up to me yelling with a very accusatory look in her eye. She is very clear who she holds responsible!
:o Now you have me nervous ! I was told Castlemilks lamb easy by themselves like other primatives, you are in a nightmare :hug:
Don't worry too much! My last 2 years were fine and I checked them religiously every night for them to wait for me to get out of the way and then got on with it themselves. Wasted a lot of sleep counting sheep ironically. This year the checks have definitely paid off which is why I guess we do them.
On a more cheery note, here's little and large (maybe they should be David and Goliath). Titch may be small but he's so fast he's just a blur on the camera (and not my terrible photographic skills at all!).
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_1535_zpsujx14hsr.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_1535_zpsujx14hsr.jpg.html)
And here is a before and after of Clara the hypothermic one.
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_1531_zpsmx9ppqvl.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_1531_zpsmx9ppqvl.jpg.html)
And here she is cuddling up with Gilbert (I got told off for calling him gibblet boy) who seems to be doing OK. You will be pleased to know there is no before picture of him!
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm5/katemerriman/IMG_1546_zps6kolebgd.jpg) (http://s292.photobucket.com/user/katemerriman/media/IMG_1546_zps6kolebgd.jpg.html)
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It's usually 'just one of those things', but... Sometimes when a flock that usually is trouble-free has problems, especially mothering issues and/or lambs slow to get up and suckle, it might be a shortage of some mineral or other. Might be worth a word with the vet and some bloods to see what their mineral levels are like? And/or give them some supplements next year - but I know one has to be a little cautious with supplements for some primitives, so you might prefer to do tests for deficiencies. Just a thought.
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Thanks, that is a good idea..
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I'm having a horrible year lambing so far. Have a small flock of Castlemilk Moorits and am just having problem after problem.
[snip]
Just needed a tired rant at people who would understand!
And that is crucially important to do. This is an extremely supporting community here, even for those of us who are more passive participants on the forum. Lambing is a huge emotional emotional roller coaster, often largely experienced alone, during unusual hours, and often in not the best of environments, whilst the usual demands of modern life still present themselves from others unaware of what it's like first hand. Okay, so sheep are not people, but there's still a hell of a lot of work gone in to getting them to this stage, and it's natural to give it your best - not to mention a dollop of personal pride and commitment.
If I have a sh*tty lambing, I try not to beat myself up about it, but that might be how I deal with stressful situation, sort of a reflective clarity that crucially is forward looking. It's invevitable to go into diagnosis mode and work out why, but I keep a limit on it, and prefer to think "well that didn't work, so what am I going to do differently next year?" It's my first year running a smartphone (in general not just for this) which is something a little alien to me being more computers than mobiles which I see as part of the devil's stupidity (YMMV). But one thing I'm finding it very useful for is capturing thoughts as I go along in Evernote which I build into to my "lessons learnt" that I pull into themes after lambing finishes and look at when planning next year. I'm still running my pocket book for other notes although I'm finding a duplicate in a different format is handy (and has the benefits of pop-up reminders, automatic date and time stamping, and ability to include images), but it's quite handy as a second method and interestingly for me is easier to emote into than the pcoket book, possibly because I associate writing with formality and defnitie decisions. I'm going to keep the notebook on though for the more messy, quick and dirty, or less pretentious times.
The other thing I do is try and call back on those little amusing things that make you see during the event and make you chuckle. It doesn't matter how trivial they are, they've lodged in there for a good reason and this is the time to use them!
And last but not least. Even if you're having a really grim day, think back to why you're doing this. You're doing something absolutely amazing that most other people wouldn't dream about doing. They don't understand and that doesn't matter because they're probably eejits anyhow. Yes, so it's not perfect now, but take a look around town or something and you'll soon see you are still in a far better place than the muppets in the non-ag world. I'm not from farming stock and know b*gger all about this game, but I'm having a cracking time finding out.
Good luck.
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Fantastic post Badger Nadgers :thumbsup: .
Lambing is a huge emotional emotional roller coaster, often largely experienced alone, during unusual hours, and often in not the best of environments, whilst the usual demands of modern life still present themselves from others unaware of what it's like first hand.
Yup! If you'd have read that to me the middle of last week, I'd have burst into tears. Just. So. Tired. I made the mistake of thinking I could still work my day job and lamb simultaneously. By the weekend, I'd collapsed into an emotional heap and still had work to do for a deadline this morning. Mrs Womble (who sensibly booked two weeks off work) snapped this pic at shift handover and then wouldn't let me go to bed until I'd showered! ;D .
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/Sheep/SLP1.jpg)
The other thing I do is try and call back on those little amusing things that make you see during the event and make you chuckle.
Yup!
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/Sheep/BC2_1.jpg)
I read a quote on somebody's Facebook feed this morning, and despite the cheesiness, it's actually spot on:
Sometimes it can seem as if the walls are closing in. Other times I see that I got everything I ever wanted.
Remember this is only a season. Even with all the tears as well as the joy, it will pass. Can I suggest you find a ridiculously happy lamb to spend time with today? Works for me! ;D
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/Blutack/TAS2011/Sheep/SLP3.jpg)
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Exactly. We always have a Lambing Review meeting around the dining table (very good cake included) and plan for next year. Also make a point of stopping to enjoy those moments when the lambs are pronking and racing up and down the meadow before dusk.
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I've had a s**t week of lambing so far - 3 dead lambs, one found in a neighbours field - and a ewe in labour attacked by the badgers and died afterwards...........
But on the plus side the grass is through faster than their eating it, everyone’s holding body condition and By lambing outside i've managed to avoid most problems bar the "Get in the hay feeder to have a lamb and then get stuck".
Sheep for you! but once lambing is over, just chalk it all to the experience board and next year you will be better prepared.
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So sorry to hear about this coximus. I hope that lambing goes better for you soon :hug: I myself am just at the start of lambing and calving myself, have had a few problems and 2 mothers rejecting their lambs, really angers me but what can you do? Things will get better in the long run and at least we have lo ger days ahead :)
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Badgers Nadgers, thank you for a wonderful post. It did bring tears to my eyes after another difficult day. Had to have the joint ill lamb PTS and have another ewe that lambed yesterday looking very miserable but is a bit more perky after metacam and antibiotics from the vet. She is letting him feed a little so hopefully with a little help they will get along OK.
Decided to do as you suggested today. I went for a short bike ride round the lanes near us and cleared my head and got a bit of exercise which always makes me feel a bit better. Also took me past most of our lovely neighbours which reminded me of how many good people are around us and are there to help if we need it which really helped with the feeling of isolation that too many sleepless nights and sad outcomes can bring.
I then sat and watched the bees fly for a while which really calms me down.
I then spend a while in the barn playing with the animals. Not watching them for illness or assessing them for labour or anything practical, just enjoying them for a while. I had put the lamb born with gastroschisis (intestines on the outside) in with the kids as I suspect that the way they live (i.e. hanging around as a gang and just going to mum for food rather than like lambs who follow their mums that he doesn't have) would be much better for him. It was wonderful watching this little thing that was so close to death less than a week ago bouncing around with his new friends learning how to be a goat (better than thinking he's a person!). Made so much of the last week worth it!
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Am glad that things are getting better for you. I hope that the rest of lambing goes well :thumbsup: I am just starting to lamb my big flock now and am feeling a little daunted by it but its exciting isn't it? The anticipation of it all being just aboyt the kick off :excited:
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Am glad that things are getting better for you. I hope that the rest of lambing goes well :thumbsup: I am just starting to lamb my big flock now and am feeling a little daunted by it but its exciting isn't it? The anticipation of it all being just aboyt the kick off :excited:
Hope you have a wonderful year. Yes, it is exciting. :sunshine:
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Thought I would post a little update having had a bit more sleep and feeling a bit less like the world is against me.
Little Gilbert (got told off for calling him Giblet Boy) is doing really, really well. He's a strong stocky lad and is growing fantastically. Loves his cuddles and it definitely winning the race to be the wether we keep this year.
Titch, the tiny twin started slipping and falling behind his brother further so decided to top him up a bit and tube him if needed. It wasn't! He has taken to the bottle in a heartbeat but still happily suckles from mum but is now coming on fabulously, chasing round with his brother driving their mother to distraction. The poorly ewe is much better but is producing only a tiny bit of milk. Her lamb has also taken to the bottle for top ups but still with mum too which is making life pretty easy for me and they all seem to be thriving on goats milk. Can't believe how quickly they have taken to the bottle compared to the cases I had a couple of years ago who were a nightmare and took 5 days to get going!
Feeling back in control. Got a couple more to go so fingers crossed for a bit better weather (and luck).
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Sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations! I can sympathise fully - every year for me seems to bring a new set of problems and nearly always something I haven't encountered before ??? . When you think you have sussed one problem out and feel confident dealing with it, something else crops up which you have to find out about the hard way. Sometimes I feel like I am just spending all my time watching them finding new ways to die!
This year for me has seen an unprecedented number of lambs which have been too weak to suckle, can't find the teat despite being strong looking lambs, ewes who won't let weak ones suckle - etc etc! Have had three hypothermic lambs in due to not getting enough milk/colostrum and despite me giving them top ups. One recovered from being comatose and is back with mum, another tiny one didn't make it and one is being bottle fed. My usual lambing field is nearly under water and I've had to move them all onto a different field, the only one with any grass on it and which now has too many sheep. Roll on dry weather and grass growth! Only another 11 ewes to go ::)
Hope the rest of your lambing experience is a good one!
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My usual lambing field is nearly under water and I've had to move them all onto a different field, the only one with any grass on it and which now has too many sheep. Roll on dry weather and grass growth!
Lord I know that feeling! Think the weather and the mud has been much of the problem this year. We live on a flood plain so when it is wet, it's really wet but this has been a terrible year!
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..... and today it is snowing in S Wales!
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..... and today it is snowing in S Wales!
Same here in Mid Wales [member=26580]Backinwellies[/member]. Worst of all sheep wanted to start labing in it all, but they held off until now when the weather is sunny and warm again. Weird or what?