Mineral Madness

When I start researching a topic, I can really get obsessed. And such is the case with mineral supplement options for sheep. I might have just bought my bag of “sheep mineral” from the local feed store for years and not given it a second thought, had it not been for Pat Coleby’s book Natural Sheep Care. The book is a mind-boggling read, going into great depth on dozens of trace minerals, and the role each one plays in nutrition, and when deficient, in disease. When I first read this book, my reaction was “bleah!!” and I stuck it back on the shelf, because the stuff just seemed too complicated. And you would think surely the makers of my feed store mineral bag already had all this figured out, right?

 

Mobile Mineral Menu for Sheep and Other Livestock

Quite a while ago, I read Pat Coleby’s book Natural Seep Care. Then I put it on the shelf for a long time, because her assertions and suggestions are a bit overwhelming, and not easy to implement. But I’ve decided to embark on following some of her advice, including offering the sheep individual trace minerals (instead of a commercial proprietary mix) so they can eat what they crave.

The first challenge was figuring out a sheltered, but moveable, device in which to offer this mineral buffet, since the sheep are in ever-rotating pastures. I nagged myself to craft something from scratch, but just wasn’t getting to it. So I finally purchased two nifty mineral feeder stations.

 

Ram Marking Harnesses

I’ve been really pleased with using marking harnesses with the rams this year, it’s reassuring to verify that everyone is getting bred on schedule, and that there were no accidents earlier in August that I didn’t know about! Here are two girls with nice clear blue marks on them, indicating that in five months, they should have some of Hershey’s lambs.

But, here is one that didn’t go as planned:

Oops! That’s both blue and green! That’s ‘cuz Hershey busted through the hotwire separating the groups on a couple of occasions. So, oh well, I’ll have a few lambs with a mystery sire. If they are great and I’m dying to keep them, I can DNA test them so they can be registered; otherwise they’ll just go on the locker list. And this is probably where the marking harness provides most of its value, is when somebody gets where they shouldn’t. Without them, I’d have no idea what went on in the few hours Hershey was in the wrong pen, where this way, at least I can quantify the damage!

 

Dude Harnesses

This week is all about the boys, for once, on the farm! Usually boys play a bit part and the girls have a starring role on farms, but there are times when the men get their due. We do need them!

Yesterday was the start of breeding week for the sheep, so Tuesday, the rams got fitted with their breeding harnesses.

 

Flushing Ewes Again This Year

I waffled again this year on whether or not to “flush” the ewes prior to breeding. Flushing is putting them on an increasing plane of nutrition as they come into heat, coaxing their bodies to release more eggs, to render a higher rate of twins and triplets. Last year I did it, and had a 200% lamb crop born, so I think I’m going to stick with the plan for another year or so; and then maybe experiment with dropping it and see how it compares.