Surprise finds

Yes, we do know when rams go into the flock,
or when a mare visits a stud horse,
but some times,
 things do come as a little surprise.

Sugar did visit the stud horse, and according to our calculations the baby would still not be due by today.
So, when we went out to the pasture this past week we were in for a little surprise.

Without giving us ample warning or waxing,
she just popped out this stunning dun filly foal.
All perfect, healthy and strong.

I had been thinking about putting Sugar in her own pen so she could foal in peace with out a pup, a teenager and an adult sarplaninac dog, an assortment of rams and a bunch of bulls who are in a perpetual state of grouchiness, disturbing her when foaling.
I thought she would appreciate some quite time.
Instead, she had the baby in all the hustle and bustle and things are just great.

There was not a moment the baby was unprotected.

This filly had a bevy of bodyguards watching out for her.
Even puppy Valko, realized he is now,
 not the baby in the pasture anymore.

 Yes, the one dog is wearing a veterinary cone.. but despite the cone,
his guardian duties continue

Shara and Meco keeping an eye out on new baby.

And, then night fell, and I knew baby filly was going to be safe.

So, although expected, the timing was unexpected, and the best thing of all,
everything went great.

The next surprise came from some feedlot ewe lambs we bought in.
Usually, we do not buy  ewe lambs who are bred, it just complicates matters.
So, when I noticed our Lucy being a little protective towards some cows in a neighboring field, a small alarm bell went off in my head.

I walked to that specific fence line and lo and behold,
the sweetest, tiniest little black newborn lamb was laying besides its young mom.
Lucy being Lucy, she watched over this baby from a reputable distance ensuring mom and babe are undisturbed and safe, and that no cow would venture too close.

And, then the final little surprise for the week,
 Jess and I were out riding, we always look for tracks, wildlife and other interesting finds, while out in the bush.
Last night we went riding and found plenty of wildlife signs,
we found grouse poop, coyote tracks, moose, elk and deer tracks, we found baby bear scat, big wolf tracks and big bear tracks.
I regard these "finds" as nature's gifts to us.

So, all in all, a great week!

Friends

Friends tolerate things from each other,

 that may seem to overstep the boundaries of normalcy,

but among friends,
 it is all good.

Like a bull that likes to lick the rams..

Friends who like to go incognito,
and pretend they are all the same..

being totally goofy, and not caring who sees it..

The licking bull, really wanting to lick Meco too..

(talk about overstepping boundaries)

nothing a quick chat does not solve..

 Hanging out together..

Sharing the odd secret together..

No worries,

being who you are,
 with friend accepting you for being you..

Sleeping on the job is fine among friends

Have a great Wednesday!

Heartache and joy at lambing time

When you have livestock, you will also have dead stock.
Spring and lambing are one of the biggest joys for a shepherd.
However, not everything goes equally smoothly in this time.
There is a very fine line between life and death.
Working in the lambing barn really highlights how fragile life really is.

A few weeks back one of the ewes had the misfortune of running in front of the feed tractor and got partially run over. She has been in the sick pen since then, with us turning her, lifting her up and doctoring her. We saw improvement everyday, and the last week or two she has managed to roll herself over, once helped up she would stand alone and even walk a few steps. We had hope in her recovery. Today, she started to lamb, I checked to see how she was doing and felt inside her. The was a lambing coming however it was totally in the wrong position. What was even more concerning was when I did the pelvic examination, I could feel that her pelvic bones had been broken and had shifted, causing the birth canal to be narrowed to the point that no lamb would ever be able to be born normally. It was decision time, and the options did not look rosy. The choices were to either try to save the lamb or try to save the ewe. Considering that the ewe was dealing with a pelvic fracture the decision was made to try and save the lamb. I phoned my kind neighbor to come and help me. He would shoot the ewe and we would then cut the lamb out of the ewe in an attempt to save the lambs life. You only have a very short amount of time to do this before the lamb will die from a lack of oxygen. The ewe was shot, and withing a minute we had the lamb out of her. He was in shock and was teetering on the brink of life and death.
With some vigorous rubbing, some swing to ensure all fluids are out of the mouth, lungs and nostrils, a dunking in some cold water he took his first breaths. He was transferred to a warming box and we stomach tubed some colostrum into him. While he was warming, another ewe lambed a big single lamb, she has more milk than the single needs so, she was gifted with an additional lamb. At least our little boy now has a mother to raise him. And, so the circle of life and death continues on.