Saturday, February 24, 2018

Bummies and first calf born...



We've had lots of bummies this year due to the large amount of triplets being born.  It's quite amazing how many trips we've had -- about as many trips as twins, and we have had very few singles.  We even had a set of quads.  They are very unusual, but they do show up.  Generally, ewes cannot raise more than two lambs successfully so we take one lamb off of every set of triplets which means they become a "bum."  Dr. Liz is taking all of our bums again this year which is so nice.  Dr. Liz has a little girl who is about 4 years old and together they take good care of all of the bummies we send them.

I brought three lambs in to the mudroom for a warm-up, and as you can see, Heidi was willing to lick them off and tend to them.  Like most ranch dogs, she likes the smell of the wet sheep and the poop smell, so she was very accepting of them being in her space.

Heidi has been a little bit lame in her left foot for the last couple days.  Upon inspection, I noticed that the pads of her paw have some cracks.  I'm thinking that is why she is carrying that paw because I don't see any other reason.  The cold and snow must be taking a toll on her feet.  So I got out the good old Corona Ointment  from the cupboard and have been greasing her paw pads generously day and night.  I think it's helping.   My old tube of Corona Ointment has 50% lanolin, but the new Corona has only 30%.  Upon further research, I found another lanolin product that is said to be just like the original Corona with 50% lanolin along with beeswax for skin protection. It's called Lantiseptic.  I'm going to order a tube of it to try out and compare with my old tube of Corona ointment.  If you ever need to attend to cracked pet paws or human paws, Corona (or Lantiseptic) is an amazing balm. We've  used it for over 35 years on cracked udders and for chapped skin and burn issues in our livestock, and we've used it on our own chapped, cracked hands and feet.  You can even use it on diaper rash.  Good stuff.

The snow is still deep and almost every night our temperatures have sunk into the sub-zero numbers.  It's like there is so much snow that it just can't warm up much, but we are seeing signs of a little change.  The last couple of days we got up to about 25* for highs with sun, and sunshine feels so good to us and to sheep.  Grandpa J. says we're getting tough since we think its warm on a day that gets above 15*.   We are hopeful there will be warmer days coming.

The first calf was born today!  It's a couple weeks early, but healthy. The heifers are in close to the barn and look ready to have their babies soon.

Back to the barn I go.  It's chore time!

10 comments:

  1. Winter just hangs on this year!
    The lambs are so cute. I have never heard of a ewe having quads.

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  2. So much work! I hope the temps don't drop too much. That Heidi is such a good dog. ;)

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  3. Boy do I wish I lived closer, I love taking care of bum lambs. That was always my favorite part about lambing. That is a lot of babies. I bet you are so busy right now. I can't believe how much snow you have had this year. I think all of our storms have gone the other way. We hope to get some this coming week. All of the almond orchards are in full bloom right now. I love seeing your pictures of your new babies.

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  4. I know nothing about any of this, but it strikes me as sweet the way you (and your dog) know/intuit what needs to be done. We've had colder than usual temps here on the coast, but obviously nothing like what you have there! BRRR. Stay warm! xoxo

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  5. Oh wow, twins, triplets and quads! I do hope, too, that your days will warm up. How nice that Heidi is willing to share her space with the bummies.

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  6. Awwww, the much anticipated bummie post! I love seeing the cute little bummies. I hope they're all doing well!

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  7. My goodness, an abundance of life and fertility! Does anyone ever use the Corona on human "udders," when breastfeeding?

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  8. So many trips! Amazing! Being a wool lover, I'm quite happy about your lambs. I hope it warms up very soon, Jody.

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  9. You all are so energetic and do so much hard work! Congrats on that first calf. So, so many little lambs! They are adorable. We have no snow, but we have rain and high winds coming this weekend (gusts up to 45 mph). Battening down the hatches here.

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  10. We have more snow than the photos showed. You little bums are adorable. All legs. Hope you got some melting with our warm up. I wish you a smooth lambing and calving season.

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