The Bad with the Good

Frustration!! I lost a lamb this evening. No matter how hard I tried I was unable to save it. It had taken in too much fluids into it's lungs as it was being born. I had worked on it for over 5 hours. It is a roller-coaster of emotions when you think you have them saved then they die anyway. I would almost rather they were born dead then to go through this. Well on the other hand it's twin is doing well at mamma's side. 

And as for yesterday's mystery of which lamb belonged to which ewe. I am pretty sure only one ewe lambed, having twins. As for that other ewe in the pen trying to claim babies, I checked her out she has not lambed yet. She even went as far as to try and steel the lambs that were born today too. I am afraid this is going to be an on going problem since she does not look as far along in her pregnancy as some of the other ewes are.  This might end up being a very trying & long lambing season. 

Keeping them Healthy

FLOCK HEALTH: 
We have had a lot of wet weather, nothing unusual about that around here. For those folks that have to deal with wet, mucky weather you also have to deal with foot scald. Foot scald for those of you that don't know, is the beginning signs of foot rot. The animal will usually start limping because they get raw and sore between the toes of the hoof.

(The pictures with this post are not of our flock and
was borrowed from the internet for example purposes only. )

(The pictures with this post are not of our flock and 
was borrowed from the internet for example purposes only. )

It will have a very bad smell and the hoof it's self will be soft ( it is not suppose to be) and what looks like a white substance on it when you clean them. We see it primarily in our adult flock members, lambs rarely ever have hoof problems but should still receive regular hoof care non the less. Now foot scald is a lot easier to treat then foot rot and does not spread to the rest of your livestock as easily. We take steps to prevent it but sometimes no matter what we do we will get one or two out of the flock that still manages to get it. This is not just a sheep problem all hoofed animals can get this. To help prevent it we trim & clean hooves on a regular schedule at least twice a year if not more. Have a dry place for them to stand and get out of the weather. And if possible we have them go through a foot bath that has chemicals or minerals that will kill the bacteria causing rot. We also make sure our flock receives mineral supplements via a mineral block. Zinc is a very important mineral in the fight against foot rot. It adds to the health of hooves and helps keep the skin around and between the hooves from drying out and splitting causing open sores for the bacteria to grow in. When we see signs of potential scald with our livestock then we treat right away. Wearing hand protection, we first clean and trim the hoof. Being careful when we trim, if the hoof is soft it may tear causing more damage. We always use very sharp hoof trimmers. If it looks like we can not trim the hoof with out tearing it. We will leave it till it heals and hardens up more then go back in and trim later but, we make sure to clean it thoroughly. Once it is cleaned and trimmed, we lance any boil like sores if there is any. Drench the hoof with a topical hoof drench medication and keep the animal in a dry warm place away from the rest of our livestock. This must be repeated for about 3 to 4 days and there is signs of improvement. If the hoof is very bad or we see puss and what looks like infection. We follow the same steps but  we then consider giving at least 3 days of antibiotics and applying a jell or paste treatment that contains copper sulfate .  We will wrap the hoof with gauze and elastic wrap leaving that on for 3 - 4 days. This keeps the treatment where it needs to be and keeps the sheep from licking it. Since sheep are highly sensitive to copper when digested, it gives the treatment time to absorb before open to the air. When ever handling animals you should wash your hands thoroughly but even more so if handling infected hooves. You don't want to get shepherds disease. It is NASTY, just NASTY!!! I can honestly say we have never had to treat an animal for hoof rot or had scald spread through out our livestock. It is an added chore we must do for the welfare of our flock and for being able to raise GREAT TASTING LAMB in a great area like the Oregon Coast. One we are glad to do for that privilege.  
(The pictures with this post are not of our flock and was borrowed from the internet for example purposes only. We have never had a case of scald as bad as shown in these pictures and we have never had a case of hoof rot ever.)