all adult health stuff, including ram issues
Several readers have commented on the notion of “normal” Soay sheep temperature mentioned in the recent post about using temperature to diagnose problems in Soay sheep, specifically, whether there is any difference for Soay sheep because of their small size. As all Soay breeders know, a lot of lore about the bigger varieties of sheep […]
There is no more reliable way to start diagnosing a failing lamb, a sick Soay of any age, or shock from injury, than to take the animal’s temperature. Almost without fail, if the temperature is normal, any listlessness, limping or other indication of a problem will be structural (e.g., rock in foot, temporary diarrhea caused […]
Yesterday one of our neighbors knocked on our door, distressed that a pregnant Suffolk ewe on his nearby farm had become lame about four days earlier and, instead of getting better, she has declined to the point of not eating. The neighbor was hoping our experience with Soay sheep would carry over into helping him […]
No sooner had I filed the post on how to make Christmas stockings for the shepherd on your Christmas list than a hue and cry arose from the pasture. The Soay are outraged that our no-count guardian dogs (from the sheep’s perspective, not ours) get Christmas feed bags and the sheep don’t. I tried to explain to them that they […]
Looking for a gift for your favorite shepherd, especially a slightly clumsy one? Can you sew a straight seam? I have just the one-hour project for you. Experienced shepherds, of Soay sheep or otherwise, and almost any do-it-yourselfer will sympathize with what I am about to say. When you feed your livestock guardian dogs in the pasture, there is nothing […]
Remember when you were growing up and your mom or dad nagged at you to take your daily mineral-fortified vitamin pill? Here is good news. You never have to nag your sheep about mineral; you just have to keep their mineral feeder full and I promise they will eat enough to keep them healthy. You […]