Went to the vet today

And learned a lot. I brought Adalaide with me. She has had a hard time the last month or so. As soon as she walked through the door she pooped, so Dr. Miller told his assistant to hurry up and get some to do a fecal test. Then they drew blood. It took about 15-20 minutes for them to see what was wrong.

First, they only found 2 worm larvae. That was great news. I had wormed her again last night with Ivomec because her whole head was huge and I was afraid she would not be alive this morning. I had also taken a syringe of B complex to give her but didn't. She looked a little better this morning.

So he said her red blood count was 9. The scale goes to 35 I think he said. They did it twice just to make sure. He said she should have a blood transfusion. But he didn't know what blood or how. He has done horses but never sheep. But that's how low her red blood cells are. That's bad. He said all the others are more than likely that low as well.

He told me I need ed to get some Red Cell and give them all 1 oz. every day for 2 weeks plus a shot of B Complex. We need to get their blood levels built back up. I can also give them kale and other greens too. He said the goats would probably need this treatment too. I know Adabelle does for sure.

I found a gallon at the co op in town. He gave me a huge drench syringe. I have 11 sheep and 9 goats. That's 20 oz. a day for 2 weeks. I am going to need another gallon I think. It's cherry flavored too! Yum.

So gave Adalaide her Red Cell before I let her out. I forgot the B complex. I gave the rams all theirs this afternoon and Darla too. She's a pig ewe.

Also gave all the does theirs tonight. I am wearing a lot of theirs. They apparently don't care for cherry flavored anything.

I will start all the others in the morning. My daughter Heather is here for awhile so she will be helping check off their names in a book to keep track of who had what. I hope all this will get them healthy again. He also said that rotating pastures is the best thing to do. He did say that since I had the pasture mowed Sat. that the worms should be dead. But I have to keep them in the smaller pen with a stall that has a door to give them all this stuff.

I have to take Adalaide back in 2 weeks to do another blood test to see how they are by then. They sure could use some good prayers for this to work. I sure wish I had gone to the vet sooner. Lucinda would still be here with us. I miss her already.

Sad news this morning.

I was hoping to wake up this morning to a healthy ewe, all better and up and eating with the rest of the flock. But when I went out to feed and do chores, I saw all the other sheep but not her. I went on in and saw her laying flat on the ground. I knew right away she was dead.

I feel bad because this could have been prevented if I had just gotten the vet to come out last week. She might be alive now. And her daughter Anabelle and the other ewe lamb Adalaide would be ok too. But those 2 have very swollen jaws even this afternoon, even after 2 rounds of Ivomec, Cydectin and Valbazen. Plus antibiotic and Thiamine shots. I might lose them too.

I am calling the vet first thing in the morning. And I will keep calling if I don't hear from him. I need him to come out here as soon as possible to check on them. And the others too. Then I am calling the guy who runs the agriculture department in town and get him to come out and evaluate my pastures to see if there is a problem with them. I need to know what is going on here and why I just lost one of my favorite ewes. What am I doing wrong?

I rotate. I keep the grass and pastures mowed. I give them organic minerals. And apple cider vinegar in their water. They get good grains and hay. I just don't know. And I only had 9 ewes. And the 3 ram lambs are in another pasture across the yard. It's not like I had a thousand sheep.

So I called a friend up the road with a backhoe. He's coming in the morning to bury her as deep as he can. I wanted to take her to the dump, as far away as possible because of the worms. Or take her way out back for the coyotes to at least have a good meal. But I don't want them to get sick. I think getting her buried at least 5 feet deep will be ok.

Right after I found Lucinda, and after milking the goats, I looked over at one of my does, Sandy, and she is in standing heat. I saw Lil Red trying as hard as he could to mount her. I hope he did. And I thought how one life just ended and one more has just been conceived. So life goes on. And I just witnessed that. I am ok with death. Just right now, knowing I could have done more, I am a little sad. I will miss Lucinda. She was one of my favorite sheep. It took her a long time to let me get close enough. But after that, I could pet her and give her kisses. She was a good ewe.

New farmer's market

Today was my first time at a new market. I was nervous and excited. This one starts at 10 and goes til 12. So I have a lot more time to get ready and do chores and milk goats (in daylight, not darkness with animals still sleeping) and have plenty of time to get there. It's only about 35 miles away. We left this morning at 8 and stopped to get some breakfast up the road and stopped at the store for produce baggies. And still got there at 9. There were a few others earlier than us.

So I brought kale, turnip greens, 4 kinds of radishes, bell peppers and banana peppers. Also brought kombucha scobys. Sold all but 2 bags each of the greens. I couldn't sell my soap because there were 2 others that sell soap and have been coming a few years now. But we'll see about that.

This market is so different from the other market I have been going to this summer. The people are totally different. Very friendly. I felt like I belonged there right away. There was only one nice little older lady who said my greens were too much for her. So I let her have them cheaper. And  I swapped turnip greens and radishes for pumpkin bread and fresh picked bay leaves.

I really like this market. It's the Brainerd market in Chattanooga, Tn. In the parking lot of a beautiful Episcopal church.  Lots of exposure to traffic with a big sign by the road. I will be going every Saturday from now on.

Sometimes we need to change things up a bit. This was my time.

Buck Stink

Ugh! Ick! Nasty! Disgusting!Yuck! I know there are more words to describe buck stench and I will think of more. I smell it ALL OVER my farm and my 2 neighbors that live way across the road can probably smell it too. It's just plain ole stanky. I have to shower after I touch John Henry. Lil Red is not stinky yet. I hope that doesn't mean he's not doing his job. I wonder if it matters that he's smaller than Penelope and Sandy. And that he has a pink collar on? But John is 1 1/2 now and he's disgustingly nasty at the moment. I can't wait til I take John to another farm in October. I know I'll be able to smell him from there though.

It's just that time of year. This too shall pass.

Barber Pole worms in sheep

I am having the worst time with these horrible worms in my sheep this year. And especially in these 2 darker wool sheep. Lucinda, the ewe in the top picture, was lagging behind this morning. In fact, she's been doing that the last few days. I had wormed her then and gave her a shot of penicillan and thiamine too. So this morning she's not there when I bring the feed nor is her ewe lamb. I saw Anabelle over in the pasture but not Lucinda. I had a bad feeling, like maybe she was dead. But then there she was, ambling over. So I ran back inside and got some Cydectin, Ivomec, penicilla and thiamine and caught her,( not an easy thing to do) and gave her all that. I hope she'll be ok. I had to do all this with the youngest Finn ewe a few days ago as well.


                                                                                         

And again with Abraham, the ram lamb. He got all the same treatment a few days ago. It's like they are being attacked by these worms more than any of the others. I have not had to do a thing with any of the hair sheep. They are all fine. I did worm them a few months ago just to be safe. But these 2 dark wool sheep are having a hard time.




So what I am wondering is there a natural predator that would attack and eat the Barber Pole worm larva? I have a friend who keeps the pastures mowed down and it's been awhile since the last time he mowed. I just called this morning to get him to do it again. I know that helps. But is there some kind of bug that I could get that would kill the worms? And is anyone else having a bad worm year too? What are you doing about it? I need to learn more about how to prevent this from going on every few months. What could I be doing to keep the worm population down here?

For Sale

I have decided to sell these 2 doelings.

 Iris Josie, the Lamancha doe, will be 6 months old Sept. 10. I have both parents here. They are both full Lamancha. Iris is very friendly.

Brie is the Nubian doe. She'll be 6 months Sept 27. I have her mother here. Sandy is mostly Nubian with some Toggenburg. The father was full Nubian. Brie is a twin to a beautiful spotted buckling. She is a little skittish but with more handling, she will be a great goat.

Both of their mothers are excellent milkers with great udders. So these 2 will be wonderful milk goats when they are ready.

I am asking $150.00 each. I would love to find someone with a farm and children who will love these 2 girls. I would also love for them to go together as they have been raised together and are used to being together. They have both been disbudded. And wormed and given CDT's. Both are very healthy.

I am selling them because it will be another year before they can be bred and I really don't have the room for them. They need a place where they can grow and run and play with plenty of good stuff to eat and good shelter and fences.

Around the farm this morning.

We got some much needed rain last night. My squash was all wilted and puny. I mulched with some old hay yesterday. The rain really brought them all back to life again. They are full of flowers and the bees are busy pollinating them. I am so glad to see bees at work doing what they were created to do.

There is a bumble bee deep down in the flower to the right. They were buzzing all over the garden this morning! I see little baby squash all over now. Can't wait to actually get some to cook. The seeds I had gotten from the little feed store just were not goo seeds. I only got maybe one or two every few weeks. The zucchini too. Not but a few of those. Had to get zucchini from other people just to make bread. So I got new seeds and started over and these are good.

To the left is the cucumbers, then collard greens, turnip greens, kale and Blue Lake beans. There are little tiny cucumbers already!

Here are some pretty green bean flowers. I just love the flowers these plants make. In a few weeks I'll be picking beans again!

 Here is just some of the zucchini plants. I planted more at the end of this row and I saw a few yesterday. With this rain, they will be popping up soon. These are really pretty plants this time. I think I will not plant squash and zucchini til August from now on.

 I have had really good luck with the bell peppers. I planted red, yellow, green, orange and purple this year. As well as 4 varieties of hot and sweet banana peppers. I didn't sell all of them so they went in the freezer or in jars.

I have not planted radishes in several years. I don't like them. Husband does but he's not here much to eat them. And they have to be picked right when they are ready. So I had gotten several packs of different varieties from a friend and mixed them all up and threw them in the ground. They came up pretty quick! I hope to try some roasted with other root veggies. Sounds good that way.

 This is one of the really old apple trees in the yard. I don't know why the people who had this place before us planted apple trees right in the yard. So aggravating to have to go under them to mow. I always get a branch in my hair. But the apples are SO good! I have one that is the early June transparent apple. A Granny Smith and this is a Yates. My very favorite apple is the Yates. It's crunchy and juicy and so good. Some friend of mine have an apple press to make cider and we get together every October and make cider.

The field peas. They are growing pretty good with all the weeds and cucumbers that grew back again. I love field peas. And they are so easy to grow and pick.

These are the 1st turnip greens I planted around the first of Aug. Too thick, but they are doing great. Can't wait for a big ole pot of greens and cornbread soon!

And the carrots in the cold frame. The ones I planted a few weeks ago in the garden are just barely coming up. I hope they grow now after the rain.

The day lillies have decided to show off again. I love them. They are so pretty and such happy flowers. A friend from Oregon sent these to me a few years ago.

And some weeds. I think weeds are beautiful and most actually serve a purpose. I leave a lot of weeds in some of the rows because the bugs will eat them and not the ones I want.









Stella says hello and good morning. She's such a sweet dog. But sure is starting to dig some of the biggest holes all over the yard. Then she does this. What a stinker.









SO everything looks good again. I am so thankful for good rain.