Wool, direct from the farm
Floss is home! 🙂 🙂
It will be a long recuperation and the vet is still cautious due to the “foreign body” still most likely being present where it shouldn’t be. So, lots of antibiotics and close monitoring for weeks.
And 2 months off work. (At the moment that’s easy… as she gains weight and energy again that’s going to be a challenge. LOL)
Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers. Am so glad I have a great vet too. 🙂 🙂
For those who had been following LambMetrics you’d have known that the youngest member of the (aging) sheepdog pack, Floss, hasn’t been too well lately and had had a couple of trips to the vet.
Yesterday I was really not happy with the way her temperature was stubbornly staying high despite the antibiotics and so Floss went back to the vet clinic for further investigation.
Long story short – septic pericarditis (icky infection around the heart) most likely caused by an inhaled grass seed months ago. Apparently it’s quite rare in dogs. Great. At least we got it before she collapsed….
Pretty serious stuff indeed.
So, I left her with my awesome vet while I went and checked out Merino rams and then later in the afternoon learnt they had successfully sucked out about 100ml of ‘gross icky stuff’ (not the technical term but essentially it was pus) from the outer lining of the heart and that she was going to stay at the vet clinic over the weekend hooked up to an IV of different antibiotics (designed for anaerobic bacteria, rather than the more regular aerobic ones she’d been initially treated for.)
As of this evening she has improved – her temperature has come down below 40C – and eating well.
The vet is still pretty guarded with his prognoses for her but temperature down and eating are all good things so I’m determined to be hopeful.
If you can spare a little prayer for her that would be amazing.
#LAMBMETRICS for the day
Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks
Born today: 0
Total Lambs Born: 115
Drysdale lambs (live total): 52
English Leicester lambs (live total): 40
English Leicester X lambs (live total): 14
Total Sets of Twins born: 37
Total Sets of Triplets born: 1
Total ewe lambs: 59
Total ram lambs: 56
Ewes lambed /77: 77 (100 %)
Lamb % : 137 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 11
Losses: 9 [lamb]; 0 [ewe]
Extra Stats!
A few extra stats below – includes a bit of a tidy up and re-jig so some may not exactly line up with the above ones.
|
|
English Leicester – stud |
English Leicester – coloured flock |
Drysdale |
|
Ewe lambs |
19 |
9 |
25 |
|
Ram lambs |
7 |
16 |
27 |
|
Sets of Twins |
9 |
10 |
16 |
|
Ewes lambed |
15 |
17 |
37 |
|
Ewes empty |
1 |
4 |
2 |
|
Total Lambing (born live) % |
162% |
119% |
133% |
|
Assisted/Dystocia |
3 |
5 |
3 |
|
Losses (Stillborn/Predation/Illness) |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|
Lambs needing bottle feeding |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Lambs requiring treatment for infection |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Notable Midwifery tales:
That’s basically it with the LambMetrics for 2020! Thank you for coming along for the ride. 🙂
I will be trying to maintain some sort of blog (maybe once a week?) from now on.
Here are a couple of pics that cannot possibly convey the absolute Cuteness of Flopsy’s little ram lamb. He’s so Stinking Cute. I will attempt to get some video … (he was playing with a white EL lamb today and it was hysterical with this bouncy, small bundle of fluff next to a leggy white one… LOL)
#LAMBMETRICS for the day
Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks
Born today: 2
Total Lambs Born: 115
Drysdale lambs (live total): 52
English Leicester lambs (live total): 40
English Leicester X lambs (live total): 14
Total Sets of Twins born: 37
Total Sets of Triplets born: 1
Total ewe lambs: 59
Total ram lambs: 56
Ewes lambed /77: 77 (100 %)
Lamb % : 137 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 11
Losses: 9 [lamb]; 0 [ewe]
Notable Midwifery tales:
TA DA!
How many times have I been warning this ewe that if she held on to them for too long she’d end up needing help?! Humph. They never listen! 😛
She decided she was going to lamb under the Favourite Tree (aka “The Tree That Wendy Hates”) because it’s lovely and DRY. It’s also got sticks and limbs down and Wendy has to crawl in on hands and knees to get under there. Ugh.
Just one problem – it’s oops if they need help under there. *facepalm*
I stared at this ewe and thought, she’s in labour, she may be okay but I’m not sure and I have to go out for several hours*. Hmmmm
Tiny whimper bleat.
Righto. Gloves on!
First lamb seemed a bit of a chunk but wasn’t convinced she wasn’t just being a little bit “posh to push”. Hmmm But when I saw the little (black) foot I also saw meconium stain and ding ding it’s stressed so heave that lump out for her.
I’d better fish around for #2 while I’m here….. 2 toes… good… head? Nope. Hmmm. Maybe it’s back legs? Hmm nope, that’s an elbow not a hock.
Meanwhile, the ewe won’t stand still for me now. Time to Call a(n Assistant) Midwife!
With the wonderful calming skills of the Assistant Midwife it is then possible for the Midwife to make full use of the whole arm obstetric gloves. Uh huh.
Thankfully the ewe is quite “roomy in there” so that’s easier on the hands and I’m able to find the neck of the lamb and maneuver the head/neck into the correct position. Then it’s a simple task. Another black ram lamb.
So that’s it! Cassie should lamb early-mid October but the main lot are all DONE.
Tomorrow I’ll try have some more fun stats to mull over. But now I have to go feed lambs.
* this included having to take Floss to the vet again. Poor darling. Very sad puppy. Blood work showing a raging infection of something so more antibiotics and hopefully that will make an impact overnight.
#LAMBMETRICS for the day
Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks
Born today: 0
Total Lambs Born: 113
Drysdale lambs (live total): 52
English Leicester lambs (live total): 38
English Leicester X lambs (live total): 14
Total Sets of Twins born: 36
Total Sets of Triplets born: 1
Total ewe lambs: 59
Total ram lambs: 54
Ewes lambed /77: 76 (98.7 %)
Lamb % : 137 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 10
Losses: 9 [lamb]; 0 [ewe]
Notable Midwifery tales:
Still nothing.
With “no action at the station” there were a few more lambs tagged and tailed this morning.
Sun was shining.
Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
PS. Thanks for the kind enquiries about Floss. Still having some issues with a high temperature but working on that. Off to the vet again in the morning.
#LAMBMETRICS for the day
Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks
Born today: 0
Total Lambs Born: 113
Drysdale lambs (live total): 52
English Leicester lambs (live total): 38
English Leicester X lambs (live total): 14
Total Sets of Twins born: 36
Total Sets of Triplets born: 1
Total ewe lambs: 59
Total ram lambs: 54
Ewes lambed /77: 76 (98.7 %)
Lamb % : 137 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 10
Losses: 9 [lamb]; 0 [ewe]
Notable Midwifery tales:
*insert holding pattern here*
Still waiting. *facepalm* One ewe left and she looks the side of a house but she’s just chewing her cud (and smirking).
Tagged and tailed some lambs today and then took a few hours off. Hopefully no-one will tell the boss I took 2hrs off this month. It’s only been 6 weeks since the last time. 😛
As a result – forgot to take photos so here’s a selection of lambing highlights plus a pic of a harnessed sheep. Yeah, another with a partial prolapse but this one was pretty chill about the whole deal. And had twins. The neighbours have had dreadful trouble this year with prolapse, they said. I’m going to re-analyze my mineral supplement schedule to try and avoid such things again. That said – this was the best autumn/winter for grass growth in at least 40 years for us. Different seasons present different metabolic issues. LOL Nature…!
