Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

tortoise

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I have one ewe left to lamb. Second last one was a ewe I wanted to cull but we forgot to put her on the trailer on auction day. Oops. She had not produced a live lamb. She had quints today! 3 dead. The 2 survivors are ... not weak, but the opposite of vigorous. They don't have the will to live. I'm not hopeful.

One of our very tame ewes seems to have a clogged milk duct. She let me milk that side - got 3 cups of milk out :oops: but most of her udder on that side is a hard mass. No sign of mastitis (yet). I'll have to go milk her a few times a day. I wonder if she'll let me hold a hot compress on it? I'm so impressed she is letting me handle it. I've had a few rodeos trying to help sheep with their udder.

(and I might need the milk for the "depressed" lambs?)
 

Mini Horses

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Wouldn't hurt to check mom of two lambs for milk. But if they're not up and at it, they NEED a supplement to invigorate them.

I supplemented twins this yr for about 2 wks until moms milk came in better. Makes all the difference. 👍They still nursed all along....worked well.

Hope the two make it for you.
 

tortoise

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Wouldn't hurt to check mom of two lambs for milk. But if they're not up and at it, they NEED a supplement to invigorate them.

I supplemented twins this yr for about 2 wks until moms milk came in better. Makes all the difference. 👍They still nursed all along....worked well.

Hope the two make it for you.
They're up, they found teats. Didn't bother to latch on. I'm going to give them a couple hours to figure it out before I intervene. I don't want to risk momma rejecting them.
 

farmerjan

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If you can't use a hot compress have you ever tried to use the cattle mint udder cream/rub? It creates a warmth in the udder and helps with blood flow. Rub it on the outside of the udder and it smells good and does not affect the milk or anything like that. ALL my dairyman use it for hard udders, for all the edema and anything that has mastitis as it increases the blood flow to the udder. Different brands... I saw some at the co-op the last time I was there and all the dairy supply trucks carry some brand.
 

tortoise

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If you can't use a hot compress have you ever tried to use the cattle mint udder cream/rub? It creates a warmth in the udder and helps with blood flow. Rub it on the outside of the udder and it smells good and does not affect the milk or anything like that. ALL my dairyman use it for hard udders, for all the edema and anything that has mastitis as it increases the blood flow to the udder. Different brands... I saw some at the co-op the last time I was there and all the dairy supply trucks carry some brand.
Thank you for the tip! I will look for it at the farm store when I go tomorrow.
 

tortoise

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Wow, I really missed sharing a lot of updates lately.

I stopped volunteering for 4-H dog project. Some drama went down, rules broken, incorrect info given to parents, it was ugly. I called it out (appropriately, chain of command, etc) and stepped down from that role until they fix the issues. I sleep better at night now.

I was promoted at the shelter, so I'm doing a lot more there. There's a huge backlog of little mundane tasks that never got done. We need to catch up enough to be able to train new staff and volunteers right (the first time). There's a new shelter manager. I like how she thinks. She's young and doesn't have a lot of experience, but she'll grow into the position. I think there are good things coming in the future.

My dog is able to be home alone, loose in the house, for a few hours at a time now! He only got into mischief once - he "pruned" one of my houseplants and ate the trimmings. Can't leave succulents within his reach! Thankfully it was a non-toxic plant. He has come a long way.
 
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