Cute Lambs Born in March

We have had mild weather for several weeks so we have been keeping our sheep (and lambs that were born in October) were outside all of the time, but on this particular day (March 3, 2013) it was a blizzard, with some wind gusts and 6 inches (15 cm), so decided to move the sheep into the barn for the night.

We knew that four ewes were expecting lambs.  We had bought a ram in October, ewes are pregnant for 5 months.  We did not think he had bred the ewes right away, but apparently he had.

As I was bringing in the sheep I noted one ewe was missing. If you have sheep it is very important not to assume all are there because it is sometimes easy to miss one, and a ewe that is thinking about lambing will separate herself from the others so might not come when called.

I went looking for the missing ewe, Mrs Brown Katahdin, a Katahdin (her breed) hair sheep. I found her standing in the old shed. She stomped her foot to try to keep me away, but I had no choice, she could not lamb out there in the cold. She was clearly in the process of delivering, her placenta was already out. I got her into the barn and left her.

After about an hour my husband and I went out to the barn to check her.  Sure enough there she was in a back corner with two little, and damp, lambs.  We had to hustle to get them into a private stall away from the other sheep.  We set her up in the stall with hay and water, and made sure the lambs were dry.  I took a few quick pictures, and sexed the lambs (both ewes) and left them alone for the night.

Cute Lamb Pictures!

Above is one of the ewe lambs, she is still a bit damp and you can even see the umbilical cord hanging down.  She is probably only an hour old (at most) in this photo.

Below is her sister, although these pictures were the following day, with this lamb being about 22 hours old or so.

She is perky and alert but still a bit wobbly on her feet.  The ewe and lambs will stay in the stall another day, they we will let them run around the whole barn, but it is much too snowy for them to go outside right now.

I will let you know when the other three ewes have their lambs.

About Cruelty to Livestock

One of the biggest debates in the food industry is around the cruelty to livestock. Vegans, vegetarians, and animal rights activists, often condemn the livestock industry as being cruel. Livestock keepers, and those involved with livestock, often deny any cruelty. In a case of one extreme to the other with neither one willing to bend it is hard to see sense of it all.

I feel it would be better if the livestock industry were honest that some cruelty does exist and that there may be room for improvement. It should also be noted that a lot of the cruelty is related to keeping costs low and this is in fact being pushed by the consumer.

It should also be noted that most of the incidences of cruelty are not simply the result of a farmer wanting to cause pain and suffering simply for the sake of causing pain and suffering to the animal. While this sort of thing does occur on occasion it is rarely by the farmer, or owner, of the livestock, and is more often done by employees.

Since I keep sheep I have taken a part of an article on cruelty to livestock and reposted it here with a link to the whole article below.

 

"Sheep are one of the few livestock animals not commonly kept in a factory type setting, they usually are kept on pasture had have a fairly ideal life, although often cut short for lambs headed to slaughter.

Their lives are not without some cruelty, the worst of which is mulesing. Mulesing is common in Australia and done to Merino sheep. The lambs are hung upside down by their feet and a dinner sized chunk of their rump is cut off without painkillers or antiseptics.

Docking of a lamb's tail is not particularly cruel, in fact because of the social uses of a dog's tail, docking a dog's tail can be considered more cruel than dockinga lamb's tail with the note that docking lamb's tails is done to keep flies away from the dirty tail. Flies can cause fly strike and can kill a lamb. Mulesing is done for the same reason but takes off the rump of the lamb.

Pregnant Karakul ewes are reported to be kicked to induce abortions or early labor. Others are slaughtered right before lambing so their fetal lamb can be harvested for its pelt."

For the record I am not a vegetarian and I am not against the meat industry as a whole, but I strongly dislike some of the “factory farm” methods of keeping other livestock, such as chickens, swine, and dairy cattle.

Cruelty can be reduced and one way of reducing it is to spread awareness to the consumer so they demand better treatment of farm animals and become more knowledgeable about where the meat they buy comes from.

To read the full article click here.

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Please use the comments area to share your opinions on cruelty in the livestock industry and how we can improve things.

Surprise Triplets Born on Canadian Thanksgiving

In my last blog post I mentioned we just got a ram for the fall breeding season and had suspected some of our ewes were already pregnant... well as it turns out we were right!

Canadian Thanksgiving was October 8, 2012. Thankfully I had the day off work. Just days before we had got our new ram as normally sheep come into heat in the fall and mate to produce lambs in the spring. In the last month though I have been observing that three of our ewes appeared pregnant. I suspected they had been bred in the spring before our last ram was sold, while they still had their lambs with them.

Sure enough on Thanksgiving day one of the ewes gave birth, not just to one or two lambs, she had triplets. Earlier in the day I had seen the sheep and was just about to go looking for her as it appeared she was not with them, but she was there, just a bit behind everyone else, so I gave it no more thought. Then later that day I went out to check the sheep and noted her missing. I saw all the others, so went to the barn to look for the missing ewe (her name is Girlie). I found Girlie in the old barn with two lambs (one black, one white) standing at her side and a third one (black) laying down. 

 Even though it is fall and the weather is okay (breezy but not as cold as winter) I did not want to leave them in that barn overnight. Small lambs are an easy target for coyotes and some have been coming around to get our crab apples (and possibly even killed a cat a week earlier). The old barn is small, leans to one side and does not have a door. Instead I picked them up and their momma followed me to the newer barn (which is still old, but at least it has a door, and proper stalls). I put them into a stall that as coincidence had it I had just prepared the day earlier in expectation of fall lambs.

My daughter came out to help dry the lambs off (in the top photo) and make sure all were doing well. We gave them water, hay, and then came back inside where my husband had our Thanksgiving dinner ready and waiting.

Further reading

Supplies needed for Lambing

How to Care for Newborn Lambs

One down.. two more to go.. and today it is snowing (lightly - but windy).

Angora Goats and Cashmere Goats

Angora Goats do not produce Angora wool, the super fluffy Angora rabbits do that, but Angora goats do produce a fiber, which is known as Mohair.  Angora goats are a specific breed of goat.  At one time they were pretty much only white in color, but in recent years people have begun breeding them in different colors.

The Angora goat originated in Turkey and as focus was mostly on the fiber production they are not a particularly hardy or prolific breed of goat, often having only one or two kids, and tending to be prone to parasites.

Angora Goat - photo from wikimedia

The fleece of an Angora goat grows fast, about one inch (2.5cm) per month and is sheared twice a year.  It is often used for blankets and sweaters.  Wethers (castrated male goats) tend to be the best producers of Mohair.

Cashmere Goats are more of a type of goat that produce hairs which are soft and often removed by brushing as they will eventually shed out.  The fiber itself is then called Cashmere.  There are over 60 breeds of goat which product Cashmere, including the Myotonic goats (fainting goats). 

The younger goats tend to produce the better Cashmere, which is often used to make scarfs, baby blankets, and so forth.


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About Goats

Goats are a bit more tricky to keep than sheep (that is one of the reasons we do not keep them) they tend to climb fences, or sneak under fences.  Goats are browsers and will nibble trees, shrubs, and flowers.

Goats are sexually mature around 5 months of age but it is best not to breed them until they are at least 8 months of age.  Gestation for a goat is 5 months.

Designing a Fractal Lamb

Hi Everyone.

Today is sunny out so what am I doing inside?  Well, I had this picture I took of one of the lambs a few days ago and really wanted to do something different with it.  This is one of Favorite Sheep's lambs, and the lamb looks great but the background is distracting.  I am no expert on improving a background the proper way, but I do know how to alter a photo a fun way. 

I am writing this without knowing what the final image will look like, as I will be doing it as I write, so I hope it turns out as good as I expect.

Here is the original photograph, cropped to remove even more clutter.  Cute lamb but she is almost lost because of the snow, so I will add some color, dark ones to make her pop out.

At this stage I know it does not look good, I colored her eyes black and added a twinkle which I hope will turn out okay in the final image.  Which will be produced by tweeking the picture using Corel Photo Paint Redfield effect called Fractalius.

I produced a couple of images I was happy with, one softer and one more arty.  I am going to share the more arty one with you.  You can see the softer one here.  Neither are what I was expecting.  I think I would have preferred a solid background for both - but I will leave that for another day because now I must go clean the barn.  Anyhow here is the image.

Note all pictures are copyright to me, not for reproduction.

Last Night Twins, Today Sleepy Lambs

Last night when we went to bring the sheep into the barn one ewe was missing.  We only had 2 ewes left to lamb but the missing one, whom we call White Katahdin (although she is really a light brown) was not big at all so it was a but of a surprise when my husband found her next to the barn with two lambs.

We got the lambs into the barn, one was larger, black and white, and the smaller one was orange and white.  I guessed the bigger lamb was male, and yup... that is what is was, the smaller one being a girl.  Momma followed close behind.

I did not want to walk to the house to get the camera, so we left them for the night and took pictures in the morning.  Here are the two lambs.

What I found most interesting is that their mother was particularly friendly with me.  She normally is quite nervous, and most mothers are especially nervous, but she was really good.

I kept them inside today, along with Favorite sheep who had her twins earlier yesterday, and put all the other moms and lambs out to play in the sun.  We still have snow on the ground but today was a bit cooler, temperatures hovering around zero. 

All the outside lambs seemed to have enjoyed running, jumping, and playing!  There are actually 10 lambs in this picture.

I am amazed that Dark Brown Barbado has not had her lambs yet, she is huge... perhaps tonight!

Okay, Everyone Go Play in the Snow

Over the weekend we had a lot of snow, more snow I think than we had all winter. 

Today the temperatures were expected to be above freezing, and it was not windy so I thought this would be a great day to get some of the new lambs outside.

I put Blackie, her two lambs, Dark Brown Katahdin, and her twins, as well as Patsy sheep and her twins,  outside in the morning at feeding time.  This would have been a good time for pictures as Crystal the llama especially loves seeing the new lambs.  Aggie the donkey likes them okay too, but Crystal really adores them.  However as I was very busy getting everyone sorted out I did not plan for photos.

Here they are later in the day.

I kept Girlie and her triplets in the barn.  Although they are a week old now they are much smaller than the other lambs and the one needs bottle feeding.  It is pretty hard for the sheep to keep track of two lambs when outside, and three is much harder.  Because the temperatures were not great, it is simply better not to risk putting them out.  Besides, they were able to keep Diamond and her two-day-old triplets company, as they are also still in the barn.

Two of Diamond's triplets have fetlocks that are still a bit bent, a likely result of being cramped before birth, so, although they can walk, they need to let their legs stretch out before they would be able to keep up outside in the snow.  I am trying to spend a few minutes every day with the lambs stretching out their joints a bit to make them stronger.  This problem does occur from time to time although I have not had a lamb with it prior, and it ususally corrects itself in a few days to a week.

Patsy must have wanted to be alone because she took her twins away from the group.

Anyhow the moms and lambs that were out in the snow were probably glad to get out of the barn, and I have been checking to make sure they are doing well.  The show is about 20 cm (8 inches) deep in most places but deeper in areas where it has drifted. 

The sheep walk on the same path and actually pack it down so well that when the other snow melts the path of packed snow often remains as ice and is the last to go.

Not a great day for photos, I took more picutres of them in the shed but they all turned out too dark to show off.

Girlie Sheep has Leap Year Triplets

February 29, 2012 is a bonus day, a leap year day. People that are born on leap years only have one birthday every four years. What about sheep?

In the morning to feed our pet sheep and let them out of the barn where they are kept at night during the winter. We put the ram, a dorper x katahdin, with the ewes on October 4^th last year, the earliest due date would be March 4^th, but it is not uncommon for ewes to give birth a bit sooner, and so I have been expecting lambs for about a week now.

This morning Girlie sheep (yes her name is Girlie) was not interested in her breakfast. I went out later at about noon to check on the sheep. It is nearly the end of winter, but we just had 6 inches of snow over the weekend, three days earlier. All the sheep, the donkey, and llama, were in the shed. Or where they? I counted, and counted again, one was missing. Who was missing? Girlie!

I knew where she would be. The sheep like the shed in the day it is roomy and interesting – lots to look at, but they also have access to an older barn, one that is dark, but secure, they often go there alone when having their lambs, if lambing in the day (it is more common for sheep to lamb at night). I spoke softly as I entered the old barn. There she was with two... no, three, lambs. Two white ones and a black one. One of the white lambs was larger than the other two lambs.

I was alone so I picked up all three lambs at once and Girlie sheep followed, she is one of the more friendly ewes, not prone to panic, but naturally concerned. I had to carry the lambs so she would follow me to the other barn. Naturally this got the attention of the other sheep, donkey and ultra curious llama (she just loves lambs). I got them into the barn and set them up in a stall that had been prepared earlier in anticipation.

Taking pictures did not go so well. I took about 12 and all but one were blurry; I need a better quality camera! My husband went out and tried to get some pictures too but it was hard to get all 3 lambs and mom together.

By the time my husband loaded my pictures on to the computer and I could see only one was not blurry, her placenta had come out, you can see the white lamb standing on it. 

The biggest white one is a ram lamb, the other two are ewe lambs. Triplets are not as common as twins but not especially rare in sheep. Congratulations to Girlie on having leap year triplet lambs.

Snowy Morning and Bad Llama

A couple of days ago we woke up to snow, the first so far.  Normally, here in Alberta, we would have had more by now, but the fall has been wonderful.  Even the bit that we did get was not enough to shovel. 

The animals can still get grass but in the fall there is very little nutrition in the grass so we feed hay, just once a day for now, they will get fed twice a day later when we really start getting snow, and winter sets in. 

Naughty llama

We do have proper feeders near the barn for feeding hay, but have 2 bales near the house which we are feeding now.  One of the round bales was just a bit too close to the fence and Crystal decided to help herself.  As a result she has bent the fence.  I nailed a board across the top, but she leaned on it so bad it broke off.  Eventually the bale will be out of reach, but it's funny because even when there is plenty in the pasture she insists on eating from the bale.  I think it is because she has it all to herself that way. 

I always try to throw out several piles of hay because the animals tend to move around from pile to pile and push others away, by having extra piles it means everyone gets something to eat.

Patsy and Girlie having breakfast

As we only have 10 acres we do not grow our own hay, rather we buy it and have it delivered.  We do not even have a tractor to move bales around, so must feed by hand.  Certainly small square bales are easier to feed, but they cost more money, and are getting harder to find.  As such we buy the large round bales and have them delivered. 
We put tarps over the bales to protect them, sun can take away nutrition from hay, and if water gets into the bales they will rot!

When we buy the hay it is always hardest to know how much to buy.  In the past we have not bought enough and had to get some in the spring.  This was often because it kept snowing, and snowing, and snowing, so we kept feeding, and feeding, and feeding.  Hopefully this spring we will not have to worry about that and I will not need any more hay.

Pumpkins for the Sheep

A few years ago I carved a pumpkin and left it outside over night, when I woke up the next morning it was gone, only the burnt top remained.  I thought somebody stole it, but deer droppings made me realize that the deer had come by and eaten it up.

Sheep like pumpkins too, in fact most animals do.  After Halloween this year I had 3 pumpkins and no plans to make pie so I thought it would be nice to throw them over the fence for the sheep to eat.  I think the action of throwing these massive orange gourds over the fence scared the sheep for a few minutes, but it was not long before the more curious ewes approached.

Diamond sheep (pictured to the right) seemed  enjoy eating these large squash the most, with her sister, Favorite, and niece, Blackie sheep, also enjoying some pumpkin too, while most of the others stayed back.  Blackie (below) was quite comical as she even tried to roll the pumpkins around, pushing them with her forehead.

Pumpkins are loaded with nutritional benefits for pets and people.  They have beta carotene for eye health and are loaded with fiber to keep everyone regular.  The pumpkin seeds are said to help reduce the worm load in some animals, but are also noted for being particularly good to combat depression.

Giving pumpkins to the sheep to eat was also a way to break up the monotony of their day, even zoos often give some of their animals pumpkins at this time of the year, to play with and eat.

Many of our house pets can eat pumpkin too; birds, cats, and dogs, as well as rodents and reptiles.

If your pet has not had pumpkin before be sure to introduce this treat slowly.  As carnivores, cats won't eat too much pumpkin, but it is noted for helping control hairballs.  Rabbits will also enjoy pumpkin too.

If you used your pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns be sure to remove any candle wax and burnt areas from the inside of your pumpkin before you give them to your pets.

Crystal, our llama, usually charges ahead to investigate anything new but even she was concerned about these strange round objects.

Your pets will certainly enjoy this post-Halloween treat.  If you do not have pets, be sure to leave your pumpkins out for deer or birds, who may enjoy the different treat.

Seeing Eye Sheep and Seeing Eye Goats for a Blind Horse

Most people are well aware of seeing eye dogs, a dog that guides a blind person. A few people are aware of some seeing eye horses, these being horses that are trained to act as guides for a blind person.

You probably are not aware of seeing eye sheep and goats that act as guides for a blind horse. Apparently a quarter horse mare, named Sissy, has 10 companions who act as seeing eye animals. These consist of sheep and goats who act as guide animals for the 15 year old grey mare (horses can live into their early 20's, but are often sent to slaughter or euthanized in their teens).

The goats and sheep stand between Sissy and the fence to stop her from walking into it, they herd her (presumably with their vocalizations) towards hay, and water, allowing her to feed equally. They even direct her to shelter when it is needed. This all makes perfect sense when one understands that horses, goats, and sheep, are all herd animals. Having a large horse actually helps the smaller animals in coyotes are less likely to attack small animals when a larger (particularly taller) animal is with them.

Sissy and companion seeing eye Goat - photo from Reuters

Sissy and her farmyard pals are currently living in Deer Haven Ranch, a 300 acre rescue and retirement home for unwanted animals located in Montana.

Other Reading

The Full Story

Deer Haven Ranch

Differences Between Sheep and Goats

They Came for the Hay

This winter has been long and hard (here in Alberta at least).  Our temperatures have been well below normal for the month of February, and now March.  The snow is still deep and due to the strange weather cycle we had this year, it is very hard for wild animals to dig through to find grass underneath.  As such deer have recently discovered our hay bales and have been coming for free meals. 

One day while my husband and I were home (March 7, 2011 to be specific) several deer came up the driveway for lunch.  Our donkey, Aggie, must have seen them as she started baying. 

The deer did not stick around for long.  While we did not intentionally scare them away, they must have heard the door open as we tried to take many pictures. 

I am sure they will be back, perhaps at night, or another day.

This is not our first invasion by wildlife, we have had skunks visit, coyotes (we chase them off of course), porcupines, and even a moose!  Read more about our Wild Friend's Visits.

If you should encounter a fawn resting - without a mother - you will want to know that it is best left alone - read more about what to do when you Find a Fawn.

If you are a deer, or know a deer, with wild deer issues Click Here.

The Differences Between Sheep and Goats

Do you know how to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat?  A lot of people think that if it has wool, it's a sheep; if it has hair, it's a goat - but this is not true!

When we first moved to the country we were pretty familiar with livestock... and of course when we found hair sheep we soon learned more about them.  On many occasions when we would share pictures of our hair sheep people would make comments "That's not a sheep, it's a GOAT!".  Well of course we know our animals, and they were wrong... but you cannot blame folks for not being familiar with hair sheep as they are not common. 

There are in fact many physical differences between sheep and goats.  Without looking can you think which one has a spit lip and which does not?

Sheep or Goat?

What is the difference between sheep and goats?

• Goats are browsers, they prefer to feed on shrubs, bushes, and trees. Sheep are grazers, they prefer to feed on things on the ground, such as grass.
• Most Goat Breeds have tails that stick up, where as sheep have tails that hang down (many are docked or cut short within a few days of birth).
• Goats have 60 Chromosomes, Sheep have only 54. Reports of them being able to crossbreed are rare and unproven.
• Male Goats and some females have “beards”. Sheep do not, but some hair sheep have “manes”.
• Goats are not very tolerant of rain or cold weather, often seeking shelter. Sheep are more likely to seek shelter from the sun on a hot day, and will tolerate some rain or cold weather.
• Goats often leave their “kids” in groups to rest while the “does” feed. Sheep keep their lambs by their sides.
• Many breeds of goats can climb fences. Sheep are not known as climbers.
• Male Goats rear up on their hind legs and come down to “butt heads”. Male Sheep back up and charge to “butt heads”.
• Goats have solid upper lips. In sheep the upper lip is divided.
• Female goats are called does, or nannies, males are called bucks, their young are called kids. Females sheep are called ewes, males are called rams, their young are called lambs.
  
  
  The photo above is a sheep, in fact it is a young hair sheep ram.  Below are some goats.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  OTHER FACTS ON SHEEP AND GOATS
  
  
• Not all sheep are Woolly, some breeds have “hair” and shed in the summer. These sheep do not require sheering or having their tails docked.
• The average lifespan of a goat or sheep is 10-14 years, but some live much longer, depending on breed.
• Gestation Period (pregnancy) is about 5 months for both.
• Goats usually have 2 kids at once, but may have many more, Sheep usually have between 1-3 lambs.
• Both Goats and Sheep are easily preyed upon by Coyotes, Wolves, and other predators, especially when they are young. A Llama makes an excellent guard animal against Coyotes, but is no match for larger predators. A donkey or guard dog should be used in such cases.
• Father goats or sheep are called Sires, Mother goats or sheep are called Dams.
• Goats and Sheep do not have front top teeth.
• Neutered male goats and sheep are called Wethers.
• Goats and Sheep can be kept together, but do have different feed requirements.

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Painting Sheep

This is about a sheep whose picture I painted, not to be confused with Painted Sheep, a breed of sheep.

Remember that Ram I told you about earlier?... Click Here if you missed it... Well we did have some good pictures of him, and I am a painter - well at least I paint, not so much a "famous artist" or anything of the sort.

I loved the texture of his horns, and his hair, this is in the fall and he has grown a thick main, the angle is so strange it was perfect to paint.  I did the painting in acrylic paints, they dry faster than oils and have no smell.

This is a detail (part of) of the finish painting - of course you can see the background is changed to make it more dramatic from the rather boring pasture.  I also opened his eye somewhat.  I am rather happy with how his horns turned out and the hair as well - remember this is a hair sheep, a Barbado, which is not a woolly sheep - many mistake them for goats.  I really should take a better picture though.

I own the copyright for both images, they are not for reproduction.