Dealing with hypothermic (cold) lambs

We have had an unusually high number of cold hypothermic lambs born this year. Not surprising as it has been down to -30C with the wind chill, plus blowing snow that get right into the barn. It is not much warmer inside the barn than outside, even with lots of heat lamps. I hate to think what our next hydro bill will be like!
Here is some info from OMAFRA that is quite helpful and show you how to tube a newborn lamb and give intraperitoneal injections of glucose:


http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/sheep/facts/98-089.htm#Treatment

Photographs courtesy of OMAFRA

Lambing time is here again. We thought we would start earlier this year. Big mistake in light of the abnormally cold weather here. It was about -15C last night and has been more or less the same, plus frequent snowstorms for the last two weeks and is expected to last until at least the middle of March.
Actually, we have not had a big problem with hypothermic lambs. So far, we have not run out of barn space or "jugs", but if the cold weather continues we may have a problem with this. We do have a couple of larger, group pens which will help with the numbers as lambs and ewes from the jugs can progress to these after a day or two. I hope the weather warms up in the next couple of weeks so these sheep can be put back outside in the loafing 3-sided shelter. They will still be out of the snow.

 Our main difficulties have been with first time young mothers and the old girls (8 years and older, who really should have been culled earlier) The reason we have a lot of young ewes and older ones is our own fault, as we sold a lot of breeding stock last year at good prices, so we could not refuse. Now we have to build up our flock again. Anyway, most of the ewes so far have had singles so we are only batting 100 percent so far instead to the usual 150 percent. It might also be due to the fact that many of our ewes are now Dorper/Katahdin crosses. Purebred Katahdins do tend to have a higher rate of twins and triplets.  There is still time to improve our percentage as we are still less than a third of the way through the lambing season.
For more information on cold weather shed lambing, see this article:  http://www.premier1supplies.com/sheep-guide/2013/01/shed-lambing/?source=newslettersheep&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=March-03-sheep

Sheep and barn lost in fire

The article below is concerning the sheep and barn  of a fellow sheep breeder who belongs to our association. If anyone has any ideas for a fund-raising  project to help these people-who do not have insurance on the animals or the barn-please contact me. The 200 plus sheep which were lost were all pregnant ewes ready to lamb any day. That is a great loss. Fortunately another 800 sheep managed to escape unharmed.

More than 250 sheep killed in $400,000 barn fire

Courtesy of the Toronto Sun

W. Brice McVicar, QMI Agency

First posted: Monday, February 03, 2014 10:21 PM EST | Updated: Monday, February 03, 2014 10:28 PM EST

More than 250 sheep were killed and $400,000 damage done in a weekend barn fire that was likely caused by an electrical problem. (Fotolia)

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, Ont. -- More than 250 sheep were killed and $400,000 damage done in a weekend barn fire that was likely caused by an electrical problem.
Prince Edward County deputy fire Chief Robert Rutter said the blaze was reported at 2:30 a.m. Saturday when a neighbour reported the blaze and then alerted the barn's owners.
"The main barn was totally involved when the person woke up and saw the glow, called 911 and then alerted the owners to the fact they had a major barn fire," Rutter said.
Firefighters from numerous halls were called to the scene and 40 firefighters on scene until 5 p.m.
Livestock loss was heavy, Rutter said, with more than 250 sheep inside the barn.
"There were also approximately 370 bales of hay in the main barn and a covered storage unit, about 40 feet from the main barn, there was another 275 bales of hay that were lost," he said.
Rutter said it is suspected the fire was sparked by an electrical problem.

Farmgate sales? Are they worthwhile?

Are farm gate sales a good idea for sheep farmers? This means selling to the customer directly off the farm, Some people think they might make more profits this way, but I am not so sure. Most of the general meat buying public do not realise that pricing is different when dealing directly with the farmer and so could get upset when they find out that the hanging weight or the live weight are differently priced from the end product.
Live weight is the weight of the live animal. Generally for a lamb that would be between 85 and 100 lbs. Hanging weight, sometimes called "hot hanging weight" is about 60 percent of this, because there is now no skin or internal organs, except perhaps the liver and kidneys if the customer want them. You would now be down to 60 lbs assuming a 100 lb live lamb.  The butchered weight or market weight is about 60 percent of this, as the butcher trims off fat, some bones etc. You now have only 40 lbs of meat for a 100 lb live weight animal. The butcher or abattoir also charges at least $50 for the processing and packing. To do some more math, the 100 lb lamb, purchased at say $1.50 per pound plus butchering etc. becomes $200 and this is for 40 lbs of meat. Therefore price per pound to the customer is $5 per pound.
You will also have to have a separate freezer to keep your meat in that is for sale to the public. This is the law in Ontario.

You have the additional problem of dealing with the sometimes dissatisfied public, advertising costs, and running back and forth to the abattoir. Some people get around this by making the customer deal directly with the abattoir and paying their costs. If the butcher makes a mistake in the cutting, then they can complain to him!

 Personally, I find it a lot easier to sell the lambs live at auction. You can take in as many as you like at one time and you will probably get almost the same amount of money at the end of the day.

Merry Christmas from our farm.

Just sold another adult ram today. That is the last one from 2013.
Three days of snow expected now in Ontario.
This is from the last lot:

This was the view from our kitchen window.

Check out the new website for our local sheep group. www.osmadistrict8.ca. Suggestions, additions or photographs of sheep welcome from sheep producers in this region. 

Lambs and llamas

We have already had orders for our spring ewe Katahdin lambs for potential breeding stock, but we still have five yearling llamas for sale. We are busy training them to halter and lead. One way we do this is by staking them out on the lawn in front of the house, where we can keep and eye on them in case they get tangled up. When they are used to the short rope, we give them a longer one-about five meters long. This is tied to a sturdy fence post, but as low to the ground as possible. Most of the young llamas soon get used to it and learn how to step over the rope if it gets over their legs. It takes three or four sessions to train the llamas to lead quietly.
Loading them in a horse trailer and taking them to a llama show is another great way to make a llama easier to handle. This also involves washing and grooming which helps to desensitize the animal so that it doesn't object to being touched.
Our llamas are raised with the sheep right from birth, so are ideally suited to being sheep guardians. They keep coyotes away and reduce livestock losses from predators.

Lavender the jumping ram

I expect this one was a bottle baby. Hope he doesn't turn mean when he gets older.