Month: July 2011

The Littlest Triplet

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When all the rest of the lambs were weaned, little miss 1122 stayed with her mama, Hera.  They are still in their own little paddock where they can receive extra corn and oats, and attention.  The smallest and the last of the triplets to be born, 1122 came into this world backwards, rear end first and honestly has had somewhat of a hard time from the beginning.  Always less aggressive than her brothers, we have been supplementing her with a bottle.  She is still quite small.  Hopefully with some extra time, on her own, with Mama she will be able to catch up to the rest of the lambs.

Our Girls Love a Parade

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The ewes consider any visit to their paddock, a great occasion, and they will come parading out of the woods to prove it.  Yes, our girls sure seem to love a parade!   
The ewes are regaining condition… enjoying their quiet time in the back paddock before the breeding cycle starts all over again.
We have all been spending a lot of time in the shade; doing as many chores as possible at daybreak and dusk. Finally, yesterday, we were treated to a little break in the heat and humidity.

Scoring the Lambs

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We brought the lambs back to the barn very early Saturday for FAMACHA scoring.  This is a system that uses a chart to evaluate the mucous membranes of the lower eyelid to show the presence of anemia, an indicator of barber pole worms, the primary parasite in our area.  We also evaluate their body condition, general appearance and behavior.  We record the results on charts so that we can track the health condition of each lamb.  They each get a bright blue chalk mark on the top of the head after checking.
We were really pleased with the results, given the extreme heat we have been experiencing and that weaning occurred about two weeks ago.  Almost 25% of the lambs scored 1 (highest), and we only needed to worm about 10% of them.  Not a single lamb scored below 3 (4 and 5 are considered cause for alarm).  Hopefully the rest of the summer will go as well.  This is a very pretty group of lambs.

The Rest of the Chicks

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A quick look at the rest of the chicks….slowly learning to roost in the new coop addition at the farmhouse:  the Rhode Island Reds and New Jersey Giants.
The lighter colored hen is a Turken from the older layers which kept escaping from the outdoor run and is in time-out with the little ones for now.
The barred chick is the free rare breed chick from the www.mcmurrayhatchery.com order. We think it may be a Cuckoo Maran rooster.

Peeking in on the Peeps

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The peeps are growing… as peeps are bound to do… and enjoying their treats of brush hogged grass, weeds from the garden, etc.  This little group is pretty quiet and calm.  The bigger group of Rhode Island Reds and Jersey Giants moved into their expanded coop at the farmhouse last week.  We will try to share some pictures of them soon.  The Jersey Giants are living up to their name and are significantly bigger than all the others.  They are being raised for a brother-in-law and his family.

Silver Wyandottes, New Hampshire Reds, Buff Orpingtons

Buff Orpington rooster

Buff Orpington, Silver Wyandotte, New Hampshire Red

Settling In

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The lambs are doing well in their new pasture.  Only one breakout – the first night – when they went either through or over a portion of the fence.  A double fence has been put in that corner now.  They have quieted down and are falling into the morning and evening routine of coming for a little corn and oats and the counting of the lambs.  Only one moment of panic so far when 14 of them hid in the shelter at the bottom of the hill; which, of course, was the last place we looked for them.  We will bring them back to the barn on Saturday to do a FAMACHA check and check their condition.

The ewes have also settled down and are enjoying their (well deserved) rest and relaxation in the back pasture.