Shearing Time
Shearing yesterday. Six ewes and the March born ram.
What an ordeal. I was wearing my Audax Paris-Brest-Paris tshirt and I don't remember feeling that tired or sore after that event and it lasted 84 hours ;)

One ewe got a cut in the neck that I had to stitch up, but they were all alive this morning. They're tougher than they look.

And looks. We've lost all our identifying shapes. Their lambs know their mums, but we'll have to relearn their looks.

But they're all done and doing it now might hopefully reduce the chances of flystrike. We only had the one affected last year, but they weren't shorn till late October.

We also put rings on the lambs tails so they didn't feel left out, so they were as sore as their mums.

And the youngest ram got one around his testicles so he was very sad.  ¶ 1:14 PM

  Last of the Lambs

'Flystrike' (the ewe who suffered that last summer), gave birth to her lamb today.
It's so white and lively.

Larger than the ram lamb born the week before.

  ¶ 7:33 PM

  Animal Health
We've got another lamb (on Thursday).
It's a boy, but he's been the smallest and weakest of the bunch and I've hesitated showing him off here in case he died.

Even though he's for the fridge when he reaches 9 months, I'd just as soon he reach that ripe ol' age.





And today (Sunday), Brownie is a bit crook (again).
About two weeks after I trimmed her horns, on a Sunday, she was sitting down a lot, a bit off her food. We got the vet in and she had got an infection. The horns are attached near a sinus cavity and that may have been the infection path.
So she gave her an injection and the next three mornings Linda and I had to also repeat these injections. And she seemed fine and improved. But again now it's been two weeks since those injections and she's feeling unwell again.
We won't panic like before, but if she's still out of sorts tomorrow we'll call the vet in again.

P.S. We got 5.5mm of rain yesterday. Not a lot, but worthwhile all the same.  ¶ 8:56 AM

  Lamb #3
When I feed the sheep this morning I noticed we were one short.
So I walked up the paddock and found her, on her feet, with something sticking out the back. But she ran away and I first though, "Oh no, another stillbirth".
And she wouldn't let me near her and once I realised, after falling over chasing her, that feed might be a better option, I put out some lucerne chaff and caught her.
It was the lambs head and one foot protruding, so I got the other front foot visible ad then pulled the lamb (I thought dead) out.

While I was getting the last of the afterbirth out, the lamb moved!!!!

So I quickly made sure its mouth was clear of the films that covered her and she was alive and yes a she (ewe in farm speak).

At the moment the mum is busy licking all the afterbirth off her and hasn't let the lamb feed yet, but hopefully that will change soon. In case you didn't know, not all sheep are good mothers and some will ignore their lambs.

While mum was cleaning her Polo appeared to check out the new arrival and the other lambs also took an interest.



Lamb#3 being washed by mum



Lamb #3 inspected by Polo



Lamb audience  ¶ 8:17 AM

  Chickens and change
We now have a rooster. He is the first son of our neighbours rooster "Eric".
"Eric" has won a prize at the Walcha show, is known to Rosie of Triple J and was scheduled to have his picture in the 'J' Mag, so he's got some pedigree. He's a White Sussex and a big bird.

His son is known as Ericson, (see note at end) well that's what we're calling him. At first I was worried about adding a rooster to the flock more in terms of roosting space, but last night he was first into bed and claimed one of the nesting boxes for his own.

This morning however when I moved the roost to new ground I discovered a chicken dead on the ground outside. Now whether this one had been outside and hiding when I closed the roost last night and froze to death last night (it's -2°C as I type this and the house water pipes are frozen) or whether she and Ericson had a brief power struggle unseen late yesterday afternoon I don't known.

So in the future I'll have to build an incubator and see if we can hatch some chickens. The Isa-browns aren't reliable mothers and so can't be trusted to stay on the eggs till hatching.





P.S. His name will be Erikson in the future as that's a better, maybe even more correct way of spelling it.  ¶ 8:10 AM

  Damn Cold
Actually it was only -3°C on the verandah.
I noticed the water trough for the calves in the shed had a layer of ice this morning so I took an old milk bottle to rest on top of the frozen dam water.
  ¶ 8:21 AM