play time

Well, it should be play time. Usually when my husband is away I clean and put in flowers, and rearrange furniture...or paint the house outside a different color....like pumpkin!

I do the wash, and wash the floors, I might even bake. Or bathe the dog....really good idea.

Oh the shear joy of smelling something baking!

Not this week, I realize that tommorrow or the next day my farmer friend will cut the bushes that pass for my hay ground. It will be baled and left on the ground for me to pick up and throw in the back of my pick up. No new-fangled kickers out here. Bend over pick it up throw it on top of the other hay, drive to the barn.....slip the bale in before the ewes jump you, and pile it as high as you can reach. Do that a hundred times...or if I am really lucky...more. And watch the ewes beg for hay because there is NOTHING to eat. They are just like teenagers when they smell new hay.

So I started cleaning out the back end of the barn....hoping I can get the hay in without taking up the room the sheep need when it rains. Well, I took some new photos too....they are still in the camera. Don't get excited. As I was taking pictures of the ram lambs, I heard snorting. Snort snort snort....the brown ewe snorted as she pulled the new grass. Sounds like Dick and Jane doesn't it? Oh Oh, look look look....see the sheep. Funny funny sheep.

Actually the sheep wasn't funny....she had mumps. That is why she was snorting as she ate.

This is classic worm over-load or what they call "bottle-jaw" It is named for the swelling under the bottom jaw caused by too many worms in the sheep.

My vet calls them sentinal sheep....The first to show the signs of illness....before the rest of them come down with it too. Yes, I was planning to worm the ewes in their lambing jugs. But somehow, I didn't have any wormer at that time. Yes, I could have ordered it....but other things seemed too important.

Fortunately for my ewe, I mentioned needing wormer one day at the feed store,....and nice lady ordered some for me. If you don't treat bottle-jaw right away....other bad things can happen. I just don't want any bad things any more. So with the first bottle jaw I saw, I drove to the feed store and treated my ewe. Making a mental note....that if one needs worming.....they ALL need worming. Bother. This was indeed the second ewe. Double bother. Instead of getting the rest of my old fleeces out of the back of the barn.....I rigged catch pens in the barn and in the area in front of the barn. Then suddenly, before I was even ready....Everyone decided it must be feeding time.

Feeding time at the zoo....everyone ran into the barn....I got a bucket of grain and tried to capture as many adults as possible. Then ran to the house for the wormer and a notebook.

Now most of the girls I can tell by sight....some who look the same have different lambs because I put them in different breeding pens. So I caught and shoved a syringe of wormer down the girls throats....I checked the lambs eyes for any sign they were also anemic. I didn't find anyone. I ordered new CDT and Ivomec wormer for the lambs from Pipestone....YES, I get to do this again next week, only the lambs by then will be wary of going in the barn with mom.

Fun fun fun, fun with the big sheep. About two hours later I had all but a dozen girls done. I caught a couple more at the real feeding time. Anyone I don't get this week will get done next week as we do shots and wormer for the lambs. Can they really be that old?

So I may not have had play time....but I got something good done.

The question, what is this is so much fun....what is this one?