A Costly Mistake

Yes, this winter has given us an excellent lesson in nutritional science. It has been extra long, cold and wet, and we bought cheap grass hay- it has put our ewes to the test.

Last fall we found a great deal on grass hay: $80 a ton! Excitedly we filled the barn with 15 tons of the cheap fodder. Later last year we bought 4 old ewes. With their wool coats on they looked in just as good condition as the young ewes; but we were to find that was not so.

Shearing day came around, and that is the day I always look forward too. You actually get to see the ewes, you can tell if they are bagging up, and if they are keeping their weight. It was then we realized just how frail looking they were.

Then a sudden cold spell hit, right after a lovely warm week; and our oldest ewe who was prone to problems had difficulty standing. I gave her CMPK (a calcium/magnesium supplement), and some B12. But one day she just couldn’t get up and died that night. You can be sure I was watching our other 4 old girls after that- especially as lambing season approached.

It was March 28th when I noticed that Eweni (an old ewe who lost an ear and eye to a coyote attack) was starting to go into labor. I checked on her every couple of hours throughout the day, and she had discharge and a few contractions but she wasn’t looking distressed at all! A little worried I decided to let her go till tomorrow. The next afternoon check I did on her I found her lying down with the feet and nose of the lamb presented. But it looked like she had been weakly laboring awhile, so we decided to pull it. I held the ewe while Dad pulled- it was dead, and so was the twin. Sadly we buried them and milked out poor Eweni who was very weak and depressed. We think she just wasn’t strong enough to deliver them properly, and she might have been selenium deficient too. She also caught an infection and died 3 days later. I might have prevented this by administering antibiotics immediately after such a hard birth- but now I know.

 

The other 3 have all lambed successfully but their babies just aren’t as thrifty, and don’t get as much milk. My other ewes are doing fine, but they have looked a little skinnier this year. So, to sum it all up we lost about $800 worth in livestock that probably could have been prevented by buying higher quality feed. So if you have elderly ewes or goats I would certainly recommend a grass/alfalfa mix for its higher protein and mineral content.

This has certainly been a learning curve this spring, and I hope you can benefit from our experiences without going through the loss. Every time one of our sheep dies- even if I don’t own it I am always sad because I am the shepherd. But I don’t know everything! It makes me love even more the Good Shepherd- Christ Jesus that knows all and can take care of our every need!

Proverbs 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

~Ann