A few things done

We have had an out of town guest here this last week so my routine has been a bit different. So, for an update here are a few things I have marked off my to-do list:

I have found a guinea hog boar "husband" for my sow. I will be picking him up in Arkansas at the end of May or early June. You can see the farm that I am buying him from at the link Rudugast's ideal Livestock.
The boar we are purchasing is a boar out of Skyfire Oreo and by Skyfire Sargent Pepper. Both our boar and sow will be "shared" with our neighbors to do tilling, compost turning and in the fall cleaning up under the nut and fruit trees. Of course they will also "help" us by having piglets. Think Hawaii here (unless your a vegetarian then just think Cute).
By the way--- I may have some piglets for sale in the fall for anyone interested.

I have a platform set up to raise my 250 gallon water container up off the ground. It is a mini deck like structure and it is under the chicken roof and though I would like to use it for watering the garden, I have such a large garden that when a drought occurs 250 gallons is just a drop in the bucket. (It can be used for emergency water for us though--along with our Big Berkey if we really needed it.) Instead, I think we will set it up as an automatic gravity fed watering station for the chickens and any sheep that are penned in there---or who have access through the neighboring pasture. That way we can travel a bit more during this summer without worrying about who will water the sheep, chickens, etc. Always an issue in this day and age of small farming.

I have tomato plants ready to plant out. Some of the seed was sent to me from a fellow blogger and then I also have the tomato "accordion" that I really enjoyed last year and did well in the drought. I also have more asparagus seeds sprouted for me and some friends. I am working towards another 40 foot row of asparagus so we can have a large harvest each year. The plants that I grew from seed last year are very tall now and seem to be doing well. Last year they never got taller than a foot---this year they are all at least 5 feet tall.
In addition, basil will also go out soon---in about another week. Their still rather small.

A 40 foot row of sweet potatoes went in on two very rainy days---only to get sun burnt on the first sunny day. So they are now under some burlap shade and looking a bit better. Hopefully they will make it since they are the two purple varieties of sweet potato I purchased. The rest of my sweet potato slips (about another 40 foot row) come at the end of May from Sandhill Preservation.

I got a 40' bed of raspberries planted ---but not mulched yet. Hopefully I will finish that by tomorrow. I am using old bedding from the ram/chicken pen so it should be full of good stuff for the berry plants. All my berries came from Nourse farms and look really nice. I even got a few extra--which I shared with my neighbor.
I have the yellow "anne", black "bristol" and two reds: "carolyn" and "taylor". By next year we should be snacking on berries and in a few more making jams and jellies hopefully. We had raspberries at our previous residence--but of course we didn't bring them with us.

My perennial oxalis bulbs/corms (aka OKA or OCA) came today and I will take pics of them to show what they look like before I plant them tomorrow. They are part of my expanded perennial beds that I am adding and posting about last post. Of course I only was able to get a few corms of these--they are rather expensive. We will see how they grow and taste and maybe in the not to distant future I will have my own to sell or trade with others.

Lastly---my lambs are growing like weeds this year. The grass is green and growing---unlike last year when it stayed short and stumpy. I will have to put up some new pictures soon. This batch of lambs has been very fun as most all are about the same size. They are like one huge school of "fish" swimming around the pastures, ignoring their mothers and overall trying to get into trouble. Baaaaad lambs! ;-D

Have a great weekend everyone!

More in the garden

Recently I have decided that I will expand the "permanent" section of my vegetable garden. When I told my husband of this his first thought was how much he loves plums and could we get a few plum trees for that area.
So..I had to rephrase it to say that I would like to add a larger "soft perm" section to the garden. By that I mean somewhat permanent ---I can move it if I change my mind without destroying it as I would a section of trees. My reason? Well, how nice to have most of my garden producing food without me having to replant each and every year. By not replanting, and with a few years care---you get a weed free area that is pretty much self sufficient AND gives you good food.
Obviously I will plant fruit there too---but raspberries will do instead of trees that are unmovable.

So I began the search for more perennial food products---specifically veggies-- that will grow in my area.
During this search I came across a few interesting things.

The first is the oft repeated trivia question of: Can you name the only 2 perennial vegetables?
The answer to the question is suppose to be asparagus and rhubarb. This is incorrect though since there are more than two---and I did already know that----though unfortunately most people don't.
Of course it may depend on where you live, think Northern Canada versus Florida, since climatically those two areas differ greatly. But there are many for most "in between" gardeners and I will list a few of them that will grow in most people's garden (I think Florida would come out ahead in the number game on this issue) , overwinter, and come back strong and healthy without work the next year. This will be in addition to the "old standbys" of asparagus and rhubarb -- this is by no means the sum total but it's a start beyond just two!

1. Raddichio---if you don't mind it being green
2. Helianthus tuberosa---also known as Jerusalem artichoke but unrelated to artichokes at all (the name is a corruption of the original foreign pronunciation) We have grown and are again growing these.
3. Crosnes ( pronounced crones) a root tuber of the mint family--I haven't found these yet.
4. Oca (or oka) a root vegetable of the oxalis family grown and regularly eaten in south America. I purchased some of these for this year---we will see what they are like and how they do.
5. Fiddlehead ferns aka Ostrich fern---something I would love to have but have not gotten yet. I need a little bit more shade for these and figure the spot will eventually work itself out.
Of course "how many" also depends on WHAT you will eat since bamboo, horseradish and daylillies are perennials too---and the list can still go on!

Next is a book I found recommended for people like me looking for perennial and unusual veggies that think I might purchase called oddly enough, Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier.
The next time I am placing an Amazon order and need "just 12 more dollars will get you free shipping" I might throw this book in. Maybe..just maybe...I can borrow it from my library. I think it highly doubtful though.

So, consider like I am, adding some or more perennial veggies. They require a bit more preparation the first year but after that well, they just get easier and easier AND offer more and more with less work.

In the Know

Maybe as a monthly post I will do an "In the Know" section based on items I read from a few of the subscriptions I take. Since a number of my blog readers don't raise animals they may not read some of these subscriptions. Even many of the people I know who do raise livestock don't read these. Why? Well, it's not because their weird or have strange views---it's mostly because they are not widely carried in "normal" bookstores. You have to know of them---and go on line to subscribe. Two I frequently quote from are: Stockman Grassfarmer --an excellent 61 year publication that is directed specifically at those that don't want to grain their livestock and want to raise them organically. And Acres USA. Acres is also for the organic farmer, not only livestock person, and has been around for 35 years.

So here are a few small bits from Acres this month (some shortened slightly since I am retyping them)

Pro-rBST group.
A group has been formed to halt the increasing flow of milk coming from cows that aren't treated with rBST or rBGH. Called American Farmers for the Advancement of Conservation of Technology (AFACT) they purportedly are a "grass-roots" farmers group: although it was organized by Monsanto, a Colorado consulting group that has Monsanto as a client, and the marketing firm of Osborn & Barr (whose founder includes a former Monsanto executive. This is a serious attempt to muddy the waters---watch out for it.


While I personally don't find this next one a problem from an ethical view point, less confined animal operations are a good thing and buying local from a farmer is better, I do find it a problem from an economic standpoint:

Chicken Plant Closing.
Pilgrim's Pride is closing a chicken plant in Siler City, North Carolina, along with 6 distribution centers. Reason? As quoted from CEO J. Clint Rivers:
"Due largely to the U.S. government's ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to corn based ethanol blenders, our company's total costs for corn and soybean meal to feed our flocks in the fiscal 2008 would be more than $1.3 billion more than they were two years ago." Other closures are possible.

(What I want to know is if the corn is worth that much---why are they still getting government subsidies?????!!!????)


Lastly:

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Company (love their peppermint soap) have filed Cease and Desist letters with various companies who are labeling their products as organic despite the fact that a number of their products have tested positive for the cancer causing synthetic ingredient 1,4-Dioxane, including these well known brands:

Jason's, Nature's Gate and, Kiss My Face among others.

The OCA is demanding that these companies reformulate their products to remove petrochemicals and 1,4-dioxane or else remove the "organic" label claims from their packaging. Offending companies who do not contractually comply by April will be sued by the OCA.

To see a safe list of body and home care products, and keep abreast of this issue, go to the OCA web site at organicconsumers.org/bodycare

Where o where are my lost pictures

I notice some of my posts have "lost" their pictures. Obviously a blogger issue.
I don't complain to much since well...it is free after all. So what can I expect.

Here are a few picture for the heck of it. If they "get lost"....oh well. Have a great day everyone.















I

She lost her sweater!

Oh no! Well not really. She looks a bit less like a rag a muffin without her sweater don't you think?
Still small---she may not be a breeder this fall---but she is growing like a weed. Her mom is doing a great job producing enough milk for twins. Since their dam is a yearling we were somewhat concerned about plentiful milk. (Also when she was delivering I worried there might be three---oh no I kept thinking to myself).
Yearling ewes sometimes barely have enough milk to raise one lamb let alone two. Their just not fully developed the first year which is why some people choose not to breed yearlings. We do unless their just super small----because after all that is what nature intended.
Obviously Too does have a capacious milk supply---but these guys started out pretty small so they have a bit more catching up to do to be the same size as the others. They are almost keeping pace with the single lambs being raised by yearling moms. Considering they have to share everything---thats not to bad. For all of you that had to share with siblings I guess maybe you can understand that :-D

Out in the Garden

This year seems to be a much better gardening year (knock on wood) than last was.

The peach trees are finished blooming and the apples are half way done. Peonies are getting ready to bloom but unfortunately the heavenly smelling lilacs are just about finished.

This weekend we went to a plant sale and then worked in the garden the rest of the weekend.
We picked up a Louisiana purple Fig at the plant sale ---just one---and divided and planted our own Brown Turkey. That gives us 4 figs total. I had mulched the brown turkey this winter very high and got one branch that sent down roots. The other brown turkey is a cutting and we will see if it does "it's thing".

We have a couple of tomatoes planted along with a wall o water around each----just to give them that extra extra heat they like at this time of year since I find they grow just so much faster with one of these around them when their young. I purchased these two at the plant sale---a cherry variety that I wanted to try. I like cherry tomatoes---always plenty to eat AND share.
For the tomatoes this year we are using what is left of the leaf pile in our yard from fall of 2006. Totally weed free---but absolutely beautiful soil ---we decided that would be a great place for them. And maybe maintenance free for us except for some watering occasionally. So stakes and trellis are in the process of being put up with the expectation that more tomatoes are to come.

Potatoes are in the ground-- I didn't buy any of those this year. I planted small potatoes left over from last year and some that actually made it through the winter in the garden. I moved them to a new spot but have many of the purple potatoes ---all blue I think----that made it fine even though they were partially exposed during the winter. Wondering why I didn't take them in and eat them? Well, I couldn't see that I missed them in the fall---maybe they worked their way up during the cold and frost??? However it is: they survived drought then living in the garden through the winter. So of course we should absolutely plant those!

Anyway---I did notice that we don't eat as many potatoes as we used to but much more sweet potatoes than we used to so this year I will grow more sweet potatoes than regular. As a matter of fact I should be getting some slips of Okinawa purple---cross my fingers ---which is a purple sweet potato. Tannish skin (white is the official color---but their fooling their selves by calling it white) and purple flesh. Cool huh? I also ordered a number of heirloom sweet potato varieties from Sandhill Preservation---hopefully they won't sell out before they get my order. I ordered 5 or 6 varieties: Red Wine velvet, Old Henry, Brinkley white and I don't remember what else---so they'll be a surprise. About 40 slips I think. With those I started myself this year and the others I purchased from elsewhere I should have about 70 plants. I have never grown this many before so I will see how well I can store them throughout the year.

Moving on we also planted out some summer squash. A yellow variety I will try and remember to post the name on later. It is an heirloom and last year I got some freebies during my volunteer stint at crabtree farms. This year I purchased a few of them since they didn't have any freebies for the volunteers. (Shucks)
This variety did really well last year and kept on producing well even after they got squash vine borers. They also didn't seem to pick up the borers right away so I wanted to try these again. The zucchinis never seem to make it before they get borers and succumb so we have just quit planting them---even with pre blooming protection of remay. Zukes are my favorite but hey...yellow squash is better than no squash. And this one does have a good flavor.
Each squash has it's Juicy Juice brand plastic container with the bottom cut off over the top to protect it from cutworms and add a bit of heat. I don't bother with wall o waters on the squash---though I could ---since they grow so fast anyway. Before I know it we will be throwing them in the compost pile as it is :-)

Lastly we have ancho and jalapeño peppers. Just two of each. We eat a lot of peppers but find that only a few plants will produce way more than we can consume. The anchos I will dry and use throughout the year and the jalapeños I will hopefully make into salsa/pico de gallo with homegrown tomatoes. Last year that didn't work out for us---but maybe this year. Some years we get to can---others we don't.

I still have tomato seedlings in the house---they won't be ready for a few more weeks. I have that late start from being sick with the flu.
I also have flowers and some herbs to get started now that it should stay warm.

Maybe this year---my garden will grow full of beautiful things to eat and look at. Hopefully we will all have a better gardening year this year -----unlike last. Cross my fingers and pray for rain. But not too much :-D Always that fine line aye?

The last and the littlest

Well, I promised pictures of my small set of twins. Having been born to a not super large yearling they are small---but healthy and already growing. We will keep them in the barn for a few more days just to make sure---especially since we are still cool and damp at night.

The little ram I had to wake up so all my pictures, except one, were of him nursing---or trying to get back to mom to nurse.
The little ewe (with her sweater that we kept on just because she looks cute in it) had already been up and was full.

Since I have been in there so much with them they are very friendly little things.

One way to save a lamb

So, I would venture to say that the little ewe twin of my yearling will make it. As a matter of fact she can push her slightly larger brother off a teat now---which is good news. Well, not for him maybe :-)

So quickly ,without super great detail, I would like to offer up some advice on how to save a lamb that I have learned through trial and error. These are things I have learned myself or through others.
First: No matter how the lamb is born, face forward or breech (but especially breech), if it seems as if it were the slightest bit stressed go ahead and hold the lamb VERY securely upside down and give a few slight swings to help it clear the lungs. As quoted from Jager Icelandic web site:

you will need to give it a good swing to clear the lungs and passages of any inhaled birth fluids. Hold on tight to the wet and slippery lamb while you swing, and be sure to be clear of any obstacles!

Keep a close eye on a breech lamb for the next few hours to watch for labored breathing.

Sometimes a lamb appears to be breathing normally after a breech birth, but will then succumb to fluid in the lungs later in the day.

This will be kind of from one side of your body to the other. A few will do----unless you really hear a lot of fluid then a few more will be o.k. Sometimes even gently born lambs have a small wheeze---so I always give them a quick swing and hope for the best. I have yet to lose one to inhaled fluid though.

The first time my husband saw me do this he freaked out "your going to kill it---or snap it's neck" It may seem like that but it doesn't happen---however remember this is swinging with control---not over your head cowboy style.

Next---if it is born outside and it is windy/cool or especially below freezing or rainy drying the lamb is very important (or even if your pyrenees decide to love on one until it is sopping wet while it is cool and windy outside). Usually lambs are fine,get up and mom can do it on her own. However if you notice the lamb is not getting up or sluggish they may be getting cold. Especially if mom has two or more---a lamb that lays gets overlooked while others begin to move and nurse.
Sometimes if mom is new she has trouble getting them dry fast enough. Difficult births can have mom or baby slow to start. Twins or more leave one slightly unattended sometimes. Usually---things are fine. However if you need to warm a slightly damp or chilled lamb hairdryers are your friend. They deliver gentle warm dry heat that will leave the scent on the lamb. You can use them easily in a barn with electricity.
If the lamb has dropped to lower temps (take a rectal temperature of your lamb)you need to heat them with: heat lamps, pads, very warm but not hot water (with lamb in a trash bag before immersion up to the head)or a heat box whichever you prefer. I suggest that you always have a good book like Laura Lawson's Managing your ewe and her newborn lambs (or another) on hand. Hypothermia can kill lambs quickly. You must know what to do

If your lamb is still sluggish, but warming, they MUST have food. Again---you need to have a book because extreme hypothermia requires glucose ALWAYS during warming and before tubing---delivered abdominally so it will get there quick. If you warm them too much after they have been very cold they will die before they get warm without enough glucose for their body to use during warm up. You must at least have a book or something written so you can follow it and know what temperatures require what actions.
If your lamb just got slightly chilled--maybe it's temp never dropped below 101 or so--- you can also use 50% dextrose (yes, 50%) at 10cc, delivered into two places under the skin---preferable in the crotch of the back legs to kind of boost them. Use a small gauge needle---they have very thin skin. 20 or even a 22 gauge is best. Rub the bubble to disperse the glucose.
Another trick---is to put some into the fluid if you are feeding a colostrum substitute. I used about 6 cc in place of my water for a few times---however I was also able to milk my ewe and use her colostrum in addition.
Learn and understand how to tube your lamb because if it won't suck----it WILL die. If it won't suck and you are scared to try and tube because you are afraid you will accidentally drown your lamb---your lamb will still die. Remember: If you don't try because you are afraid to accidentally kill it----it will die anyway.
Keep tubing your lamb until it shows signs of 1) trying to nurse on its own ---then make sure it does or 2) until it shows signs of walking around and being frisky---then make sure it nurses. Books will give you a great idea of how much fluid down to the cc per pound but here is a general: 60cc (or 2 ounces) per 3 pounds of lamb EVERY every every 2 to 3 hours. If you go every 5 or 6 as some people do---the lamb will live but never get better. That happens frequently as people do not realize they must feed so often and the lamb slowly starves to death. The lamb will be always on the verge of starvation (also known as starvation induced hypothermia since their body temp can never go up completely without enough food). You MUST give them enough. It seems like a lot for their bellies but it is not. Promise.

Our one problem---we tubed our lamb so well she got full and wouldn't nurse. Once we realized she was so frisky and doing well we let her go without a feeding---we never could get her to suck a nipple for us. Finally---she got hungry and tried to nurse. We still had to help her the first few times (remember she hadn't gotten to nurse on mom before this) to find the nipple and kind of keep her brother from pushing her away. However she quickly caught on and is now a pro.

So...hopefully this helps someone in the future. Remember if you don't try---it will die anyway.

Doing well so far.

My small set of twin Icelandic lambs that I posted about yesterday seem to be doing o.k today. I will post pictures of them tomorrow after I go and check on them for the morning. Last night we spent every two hours (yuk!!) going out to tube the little ewe lamb since she was a bit lethargic and still not doing a good job of getting nursing. As I said it was chilly here yesterday and dropped into the low 30's last night with a wind that blew into the barn and over the hay bales I had set up. Yukky. Weather like that is hard on small small lambs that are struggling from the start because of getting cold.
However this morning she was looking much perkier and as the day went on and it warmed to the high 60's she really started to look good. Our only problem? How to get her to nurse from her mom. After consulting two friends (Jager Icelandics and Frelsi Farm) we decided that maybe we were feeding her so well that she wasn't ever hungry enough to try and nurse. So this afternoon I skipped one of her feedings since she was moving around and active----not lethargic or sleepy seeming at all. That seemed to do the trick and she decided (finally!!) to nurse on her own---a bit anyway. I had to help and encourage---but she took to it well enough and did some on her own.
Now we'll just keep an eye on her for a couple more days to make sure she is getting enough. She's not as aggressive of a nurser as her brother----but technically she is a day behind him after getting cold. She's doing well enough now though that she struggles and fights when I try and tube her---even squealing a bit so..... tomorrow if she looks good and acts well---I will optimistically post a picture of the two of them. Maybe I'll even let her model her sweater in the picture :-)

And to the weather.
It's been chilly here this spring 2008 but not with horrible late frost like last year. This weekend I will pick up some plants (because of my flu I am late on starting seedling or skipped some of the altogether) from our local organic place during their spring plant sale: Crabtree Farms.
I usually get a couple of jalapeño plants from them---we only need a few so it's not worth messing with a package of seed. This year I will probably buy a few tomato plants too. I have some tomatoes started but barely---they'll be later this year.
We are close to beans and many other things going into the ground. So it will soon get busy in the garden. Hopefully the rain we seem to be getting will keep coming as it has been. They say it will dry up this summer on us again---well we'll see. At least this spring has (knock on wood) been better so far than last.

Also, if your interested in more lamb pictures, my friend Nancy Chase of Ingleside Icelandics has what she termed a "lamb-a-palooza" event recently. She should have pictures up by tomorrow on her blog Keepingthefarm---she had so many lambs in a short time that she had to take off time from posting and hasn't gotten their pictures up yet.

Lastly---we're looking for a guinea hog boar this spring/summer of 2008 to buy, borrow or trade (sheep?) for.
Contact me if you know of someone that would like to allow us to do one of those things. Trade for sheep or a guinea hog piglet? Borrow? We are creative and will consider most any idea. Travel is not out of the question.

When you speak to soon....

Sometimes you can become overwhelmed. As happened to me today. After my initial post I went off to do some volunteer work at an organic garden/teaching center. However---since this is the week before their semi-annual organic plant sale---they were inundated with volunteers. After spending just a portion of time their that I was suppose to I told them politely that "I have some ewes due to lamb and since there are so many people I will just go ahead and leave a bit sooner". No problem was their reply.

So off to home I went, thinking maybe,just maybe one ewe might (might is the operative word) have her lamb today.
As I drive up I count sheep and 2 are missing. I get out and go to the barn and their they are both looking at me from the back. "girls, what trouble are you getting into down there" I ask them as one runs past me. Oh nothing----except having a lamb. My white ewe El was down there with a cute little white ram lamb. So into a pen I put her. Get water. Give him a quick scrub with a towel just to make sure he's dry (cool wind today here) and go in to eat a sandwich.

Well, after my sandwich I walk out to get the mail and Secret looks rather suspicious down in the pasture----she was the ewe in the barn with El earlier.
Sure enough---she's lambing too. Out in the pasture of course with the cool wind blowing around. I watch for a while and then eventually notice some yellow fluid leaking out. Yellow means the lamb may be in distress---so in with my midwife skills I step and help to pull the largest lamb ever born on my farm out of this poor ewe. We haven't weighed it yet----but I will tell you tomorrow if I am wrong and it is NOT at least 12 pounds. This lamb is as big as my first born set of twins. Seriously. It's a she---and she's a beauty though. I think she's a white lamb with odd pheomelanin splotches. However---she could be a moorit spotted but I really don't think so since her skin doesn't look tannish (or brown) that I can tell. Her pheomelanin is an odd taupe color though instead of the more common golden or reddish yellow color.
Since her dam has great big teats (like a cow not like a sheep) we are calling her Secret's calf because of her size. Heaven's sake---big lamb.

So...I get them in the barn and settled in. I take all my towels and my very dirty clothes and throw them in the wash and change into a clean set. My last ewe to lamb looked ...mmmm...odd as Secret was lambing so I feel the need to check on her now.
No sooner than I walk up to her and up she gets from the ground with back lamb legs hanging out. Bummer. My first thought is dead lamb. However I need to help her get it out, and fast, since maybe it might still live. Too (the sheeps name is Too) getting a bit uptight about this lambing thing, decides to be a brat. I have to kind of wait until she lays to push and sneak up to her. As I get there I take hold of the legs and pull with her contraction as gently---but quickly---as I can. Out comes a small horned moorit gray ram lamb (Not another ram lamb I am thinking!! At least he's cute) I hold him upside down and help the fluid drain and he starts breathing. Good.
Then Too lays back down and woosh---out pops a small black gray mouflon ewe lamb for good measure. (By the way---this is the yearling I blogged about that I said I thought she might have twins)
The ewe lamb, having been stuck in there a bit longer than she was suppose to was a bit weaker. Though she isn't on deaths door, we are helping her out a bit and hopefully she will make it. As small as she is (about 3 pounds) plus the being stuck behind a lamb that might have held things up by coming backwards has made her a bit tired. So we have and will tube her a bit, give her a few glucose shots and hopefully she will respond well and thrive. She is not giving up---she walks and tries to nurse---however she is a bit weaker and slower which when your 3 pounds can be a not very good thing. In two days we will know if she will make it or not.

So to say the least: I didn't get dinner made tonight.

Here are pictures of the first two lambs. First picture is El's ram lamb. Other two are Secret's oddly colored ewe lamb. I don't have pics yet of the small twins. Tomorrow maybe. Wish me luck :-)

Twinlets

So I have had no more lambs yet but we have been enjoying those we do have. Three of them are a bit "odder" than lambs normally are.

My ewe Aleda has the badger ewe and ram lamb and my ewe Tippi has the black/gray ram lamb.
Tippi's ram has been a pill since the day he was born. Never still, always exploring, he has taken it upon himself to gather all the lambs together in play. Irregardless if a ewe doesn't want him to...he keeps at it until he leads the other lambs "astray".
Anyway--probably because of age proximity he and the badger twins have hooked up. We saw this happening over time---and to a certain extent it is not unusual. Lambs of similar ages play together. However, and here is the weird part: These lambs have become more and more attached to the point that they are almost triplets. During the day they play, run, explore and sleep together. Temporarily the separate to nurse or if their mother's insist but it's not very frequently and has gotten less and less the older they become. Yesterday though we noticed an even closer bond start to develop. The black lamb (for once) was sleeping when the badger ram decided to come get him. Streeeetcchhhhh....he got up to play, and then decided he needed a sip real quick before playing. Mom----not 5 feet away---was close to accommodate him. However, badger must have decided at that time, seeing his "brother" nursing,that he TOO needed a sip (siblings always nurse together---they see the other start and dive in to get their share). He looked around, called for mom who didn't answer, and decided he would just slip right in under "the other mother" Tippi. She didn't notice right away but as she turned to look, calmly chewing cud, she sniffed and realized "Not MY kid" , looked decidedly shocked and then butted him away. So badger looked around again, called mom again---still no answer---and tried to slip in under Tippi a second time. This time she was more prepared and shoo'd him off. By this point Blackie was done ----and off they ran to play, peas in a pod to get the third miscreant---and badger was no longer interested in a sip.
Later, after dark, we went to check the "un" lambed ewes as usual before going to bed. Off to the side was Aleda ( a bit stricter mother) with her ram lamb, her ewe lamb and ,shockingly, blackie all spooned up next to her for warmth doing a sheep sleep over---something we have never seen before. At night (since dark is dangerous) lambs usually stay side by side with their dam. Tippi was a little bit away---but watchful of her lamb---going to give him a sniff to make sure he was fine when my husband went near them. She left him there though with his "siblings". Ewes just don't usually allow other lambs to be that close during nursing or sleeping, nor do ewes normally allow their lambs to wander off to that extent, especially during the dark. For some reason these ewes have worked out something because these lambs seem to think they are long lost triplets. I don't know how it happened. I don't know why---but I have to admit it is odd and we have ever seen lambs or ewes do this.
When they are all lined up, side by side, neck in neck, sniffing or trying to sample some new grass they just act like siblings---not age mates.
Of course I couldn't get them together for this post---but I am sure I will later.
The picture of two lambs are the two rams. The single is the ewe. Quite cute aren't they?

Foot and mouth disease

Again I have to ask the question: What the heck is the government thinking??
I suggest, even if you don't raise animals, that you read these two articles about the governments proposal for a new lab to research (among other things) Foot and Mouth disease. The difference here is the the "old" lab is located in a non (or at least reduced) livestock area. The new areas for consideration are located right in the heart of commercial livestock areas. Hence---if an accidental escape of the disease occurred as it did in England a few years back---we could see a mass depopulation of livestock. Both commercially and privately owned. The article mentions scenarios played out by officials to see how bad it would be if this occurred. What happened in their scenario? Why food shortages and large riots.
How about them apples?

Dangerous animal virus on U.S mainland?

and

Texas may be home to new foot and mouth lab

Dung beetles

One of the issues that face people raising livestock is internal parasites. Any type of livestock is susceptible: horses, sheep,goats, cows, alpacas, pigs---you name it, they have parasites. These parasites can sometimes cause health issues or worse: kill the animal.
One thing we learned when we started to raise cows, then sheep, is that organic control of these problem pests takes more.....effort.
I don't mean effort in the sense of more work---but it does require more brain power.
The easiest way, and least brain powered way, to control parasites of livestock is to feed chemical wormers to the livestock. Of course if you are certified organic you aren't suppose to. Naturally, sustainable or pasture raised doesn't really come with restrictions on these chemicals however knowing the farmer you purchase your food from will tell you a lot about whether or not they use them regularly, occasionally or never. The government tells us that these chemicals are fine for us from anywhere to immediately after the animal ingest them, or for some, after the withholding of milk or slaughter for certain periods of time after ingestion. However---if you read my blog regularly you will know---I am skeptical of any chemical the government says is fine for me.

So....how to naturally, sustainable, organically control these little boogers?
Many many ways exist but one of the really good ways (that also helps with pasture fertility along with flies and other pests that spread through manures) is the DUNG BEETLE. Yes, I highlighted it so that is would stand out---I am not yelling :-) Here are some pictures of dung beetles so you can recognize one if you see it: Here is a female Onthophagus Taurus also known as (I believe) bull headed beetle---hence the taurus in the name. And also a few of Onthophagus Gazalla---which I do not know why it's called that. Notice the males of both species have horns.

Now these types of beetles are not indigenous to the U.S. They came from elsewhere but are not considered problematic since they do not interfere or cause problems with other native species. As a matter of fact---more places would like to have them. They are slightly different than some of the other types of beetles that help deal with manure. These beetles actually dig holes and bury the poop. Both of these things help with: pests of all types, aeration of pasture soils by improving moisture retention and compaction, and fertility by "feeding the soil" (a bit of a basic way to put it but..)

Now you can learn lots more about these guys than I could ever tell you----and how ALL chemical wormers will kill them in animal poop---by looking on line or reading Charles Walters book Dung Beetles & a cowman's profits.

The main thing I wanted to tell people here----since most will not find this on line and probably won't buy the books----is how to propagate them.

According to research done by students at Texas A&M this easy way will increase your dung beetles easily:

They would start late in the fall (I am sure you could do it in the summer too) with a 5 gallon bucket of soil, topped by a cow patty. More than likely sheep, goat or horse poo would work as well---if their burying it in your pasture I am sure they will bury it in the bucket. However quantities and moisture may need to be adjusted? Anyway---add 5 or 6 pair of beetles (or as many as you can collect--search on line for how to collect, but usually pit traps with a bit of manure pat inside are used ( Nobody said it was going to be a clean job).
After a week or so the pat will be eaten. Collect your dung beetles with a small amount of dung in a cup, and move them to a new bucket and repeat. Each pair produces between one and two brood balls per day. Here is a link about hatching and pupation: Here.

Most people will not do this BUT (big but here) you never know who might. So to all of you out there who might try this to help your pastures and parasite problems: Good Luck. The power of poo to you :-)

Big Berkey

Recently, in addition to our new Country Living grain mill, I decided I also was ready to purchase some sort of water filtration system. We have always been interested in water filtration for two reasons: 1) we would just LOVE to do rain water collection and even with that "purer" source of water filtering is still necessary. 2) One of our previous homes in the country was well water and we had to filter out what is known as iron bacteria.
During our years of previous filtration we used the paper type filters that you can pick up at just about any local store. The problem is, though they are cheap, is that they constantly need replacement and are just another thing to throw away into the waste stream we humans have done so well at creating.
Of course of the many things we throw away that might be one we can all more easily agree on being somewhat of a necessity in some areas.
So recently....again....we decided that we really needed to filter our water. We have sediment (just regular sand/rock type), heavy chlorine (are we drinking my fathers pool water today?) and of course the other gunk we might not know exactly everything about--- but knew it was there. We considered whole house filtration---but that would just have us on the paper filter ferris wheel again. Though we would like to filter all the water for chlorine we decided to, at least for now, narrow it down to drinking and cooking water. That's were we come to the acquisition of our Big Berkey fitted, in it's most basic form, with cleanable ceramic filters. You can upgrade with different filter---even some for PCPs---but as with all things like this (ie: not quickly disposable) they are a bit on the expensive side initially. Over all---the price works out but you have to basically pay it up front.
Anyway---call it my frugal nature or just plain laziness but, in my search for filters, the idea of a cleanable and reusable filter appealed to me a lot. I hate to have to stock, store and re buy supplies continually. Especially items like water filters, ac filters, and stuff like that requiring you to go slightly out of your way to get it and worse: remember to get it!
So we ordered one on line (actually on Ebay but I found it for the same price in a few other places) and it came not to long ago. The fist batch of water is completely tossed out---then you have to wait a day for it to dry( I believe this is to condition the filters??)---then fill it again. Then you can drink. Ahhhh----no taste. Well minimal. It's not like distilled water that is completely devoid of flavor and kind of weird because of it. BUT, and a big but here, we couldn't taste or smell the chlorine at all. Supposedly it's also removing some other "stuff" for us too. That's really why we wanted it since we could have removed chlorine by just sitting our glass/container of water in the sun.
Also, since no power is involved (another plus for the Berkey) we can have clean water as long as we have access to water---irregardless if a storm knocks out our power or the city shuts off our water because of problems. We can---but hopefully will never need to----use water from our barrels of rain water or even out of our pond! Cool isn't it?
And last but not least---since it's a counter top model---we can take it with us where ever we go.
Now---and here's the clincher. I read that some people save money by making their own. Having never seen a Berkey---I just didn't get it. NOW I do. We would absolutely make our own from now on if we wanted another. However---we would still need to purchase the filters from Berkey/Doulton. But the initial price is reduced by coming up with your own container. A savings of at least $100. The containers (in this case)are thin stainless "pots" that nest together to allow the water to drip from the top one to the bottom one. When the Berkey first comes it is unassembled and so there for all the top "pot" is, is just a basic pot with 4 (or more for the bigger versions) equally spaced holes. A thick rubber gasket on the inside keeps water in, and a nice plastic wing nut on the outside (of the top pot) tightens down the the gasket and the filter so they don't leak. I don't know if replaceable filters come with new gaskets and wing nuts---but they may.
The bottom "pot" has a hole in the side where a spigot, installed with a thick rubber washer on the outside AND inside, is located. Voila---easier than pie.
Just make sure---if you make it yourself---that you use non rusting metal or food safe plastic. Oh yes---and a lid for the top to keep out dust and such.

Last thing here about water filters: sand filters are really the way to go if you want to be "self sufficient" and without relying on electricity. This is the concept---easily done---that is used in many places without potable water.

Now---my next "self sufficient" acquisition: A Reading apple peeler. (click on "more views" to see the parts)
I have had those cheap "other style" apple peelers and broke them. Annoying little things that are flimsy when doing lots of apples and without replacement parts when you break them.
Because this type of peeler is considered one of the best (we have actually seen one used in an old Amish tourist place that was original) and you can still get complete replacement parts from Lehmans----I am saving up or going to buy one on Ebay. This next apple season won't see me without home made sauce again.

New Guys on the Block---plus a gal

So after I posted early this morning we went outside to round up the ewes for the state vets visit for our annual scrapie check. As we were setting up we noticed that one of the yearling ewes looked as if she might be lambing. Well, as it turned out we were correct. Poor Paris---our shyest ewe overall---had to be rounded up and then put into the barn while the poor thing is starting to lamb. Of course I never would have gotten her in the barn without my husbands help so we had to do it.
The other reason for doing it is if she had had trouble lambing we could then help her without doing the commando routine out in the pasture trying to sneak up on her. Believe it or not---laboring ewes can run to a certain extent if they feel it necessary. Paris lambed like a pro considering all that went on--completely unaided. Way to go.
Anyway, we only have a small barn---16 x 32. Very small actually because Icelandics just really don't need serious barn space in our climate. Our barn is barely more than a "just had my lamb" space and a small amount of square bale storage and a place to "trap" them for shots/tagging or vet checks or whatever. Really we wouldn't have even had one except it rained so much the first year we had them I wanted a place to feed them were I didn't have to be in the rain the whole time---so the barn is more for me to stay dry in the winter :-)
But....in there today we had one pen with Princess and her two new lambs. One pen for Tippi and Aleda and their slightly older lambs. One pen for poor Paris---trying to have her lamb and another for the 4 girls not YET lambed. Jeepers! I didn't even have enough panels---I had to sacrifice a 16 footer to the cause and cut it down.
All worked out in the end though and the vet got everyone looked at and now we are good for another year. Finally---I have been able to get around to posting pictures of today "lamb haul". Oh yes---Paris had a precious little white ewe lamb that looks like a little angel lamb. Of course so far---to me---all the little white ewe lambs look like angels. Their faces are just a bit different looking than when color shades them :-)
One more thing---the little brown ram decided that it's never too soon to start caring for horns.

Was it the drought?

Last night I had another set of twins born to one of my ewes: two more RAM lambs! What's up with that?!?
At first I just thought it was dear old Tex getting heavy on the ram lambs and my luck would change. However this ewe was bred to an entirely different ram---one that has generally thrown mostly ewes for me and never have I gotten ram twins from him so....Was it the drought?
Nutrition supposedly can and will affect conception rate of sheep. In the fall most shepherds "flush" their ewes and rams. Flushing is when you raise the quality and quantity of food right before, during and slightly after breeding to encourage more eggs to drop. Though I did that---and have received all twins for my trouble so far---I do wonder if something about the drought changed something about the matings and so that is why I am so heavy on ram lambs. On the other hand---it could just be "luck of the draw" this year and it was just what I was meant to have.
Regarding droughts affecting the number of lambs though: quite a few people have commented this year that they are getting many more singles from ewes that have always had twins or even triplets. So it just goes to show, yet again, how important good nutrition is for something even so simple as fertility. Obviously drought is a lot harder to control than minerals are, but something to consider when raising animals and getting them ready for breeding. Nutrition is key to everything.

I will post some pictures of the cuties later this morning. It is still to dark to take pictures in the barn since I never got electricity down there. Also the state vet is coming early this afternoon for our annual scrapie check which we missed in October. So it is going to be a busy morning. At least the weather is suppose to be nice :-) Maybe some rain tomorrow which will be good for my patch of oats I planted but look like nothing more than a "patchy" stand of garden I forgot to pull grass from right now.
Have a good one.

And another lamb

Another new little ram lamb born yesterday to our ewe Tippi. He actually was a twin---but his brother died. So sad. However he made it and is cute as a button---and on the move!
Black as sin and though it doesn't look like it he has fairly large horn buds. That was his and his brothers problem--horn buds (plus his brother came backwards). The horn buds slowed them down and required a bit of help. So far all of Tex's rams have had large horn buds. I will have to watch the few yearlings I bred to him to make sure their lambs (if ram lambs) make it out o.k.







And here are a couple pics of Aleda's twins. Doing well and bouncing all over the pasture. Sproing! Sproing! Very cute. They are all on the move so getting these few non blurred pictures was a feat in and of itself. So healthy though :-)

Soon...about the 9th I should have another ewe due. Maybe---even though I saw her breeding they trick me continually so....
Check back---the pictures will keep coming.

Some have come

First---apologies to some of you for not answering your comments. I have been "away". That's how we'll leave it :-D But I do apologize for seeming to ignore.

Anyway---I have lambs and other things to blog about so maybe I will have more presence here in the coming weeks and months.

My first lambs have arrived. My ewe Aleda has had two beautiful lambs for me early this morning and accomplishing it without a hitch just like the pro she is. Aleda has always given all the "classic" signs of immenent lambing the 24 hours preceding her lambing so we have never failed to know when she would lamb. Her milk bag will gain a large amount of size the preceding day, she will take herself off to be alone and away from the others and her flanks will sink in to tell us that the lambs are getting their selves ready and in position. Thankfully Aleda is kind to us like that unlike some of the others that try and trick us for weeks previous to their lambing. They continually leave us hanging and watching and wondering. Oh well, we are speaking of sheep here.
Here are some pictures of the first of this years lambs--standing lamb is a ram and laying lamb is a ewe--- and one of Mikey (their guardian) saying a quick Hello. Oh yes---and a quick picture of the bluebird box. Hopefully they will all show up---you know how blogger is with pictures :-(

Don't forget earth hour tonight

At eight tonight March 29 ---whatever your time zone---earth hour begins for your area. This is an event started last year in Sydney Australia involves people and cities around the globe. Here is an excerpt from an article to explain what it is if you have never heard of it:

Twenty-six major cities around the world are expected to turn off the lights on major landmarks, plunging millions of people into darkness to raise awareness about global warming, organizers said.

Will you participate? It not only asks that cities and businesses to turn off light on major buildings and landmarks but restaurants to have diners eat by candlelight for an hour and home owners to also participate.

Here's a link to the official site for Earth Hour to find out more about it. Try and participate if you can since it's just so darn easy. (earth hour site does seem to be a bit backlogged so you might have trouble getting it---good luck)

Some natural help

As I posted about recently I had to take my son to the Doctor's office expressly for the purpose of getting a note for him to prove to school he was actually sick.

Generally we rarely set foot in a Doctor's office unless we have serious pain or raging fever that could be something more serious. We are overall a healthy family with no ongoing issues (severe asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart issues etc) so most "common" illnesses are just something we have to overcome and wait out.

Here are some "natural" remedies and ways to deal with colds AND flu that may save you the time and expense of going to the Doctor's office since it is not always necessary to go to the Dr to get better. ( Some people go to get antiviral drugs when they have the flu but these can cause side effects and even the CDC says they may shorten the duration by 1 or 2 days, which is not very much.)

First--Wash your hands!! The flu virus (and cold) is spread by someone sneezing or coughing their germs onto surfaces. These germs can live in this hostile environment for up to 3 hours. This means that the person who used the debit card machine 2 hours before you is still there in a sense. You then use the debit card machine (or touch their change or the counter they touched) and then poke your fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth. Those are the three ways that viruses generally get into the body---obviously cuts and other things can be entrance vectors but we are trying to be simplistic here. Also--- studies do prove that at the first signs of illness, extra vitamin C and zinc, whether in lozenge, nasal spray, or juice form can help to at least reduce the severity of colds and influenza. By how much? No one really knows for sure but hey....pina colada blend orange juice tastes great so I don't mind drinking it.

Secondly---lay off the aspirin if you start to develop a LOW fever. Fever is the number one top notch way for the body to kill a virus (such as cold or flu)---though it does make you feel kind of yukky for a bit. A low fever is considered anything below 102 degrees. I would go so far as to say that anything below 100 is a safe bet that you or your child will not die for sure. Above that is your personal choice whether or not to give aspirin. Obviously you have to use your better judgment. If the fever is accompanied by extreme pain, vomiting, convulsions etc---definitely a Dr is in order. This is something anyone can research a bit more on line for their selves.

Three--Have coughing? Then you must need to get rid of some phlegm/mucous. Drink LOTS and LOTS of fluid. Fluid helps keep mucus moist, so it can be expelled easier and also helps to keep sinuses moist and keep those nagging "stuffy head" headaches at bay. This is a must for anything involving mucus and the lungs.
Also---my personal favorite: Steam. Don't waste your time trying to steam up your bathroom. Boil some water in a pot and poor it into a large bowl. Drape a towel around your head and over the bowl and breathe as deep as you can---through your mouth and through your stopped up nose. It will absolutely help stop coughing and break up the mucous. Do this a number of times a day (and night---especially if you wake up coughing). I have done it up to 10 times a day because it just helps so well. Another thing......add some eucalyptus or camphor oil. Easily found in the essential oil section of your local green grocer or health food store. I used eucalyptus the last time I had a "croup" type cold. Between the steam and the essential oil, I quickly broke up the problem and worked into a productive cough (with much less coughing to boot)

Here's a small excerpt from another site about steaming:

Steam inhalation is an effective treatment in respiratory conditions and is highly recommended for treatment of the common cold, sinusitis, bronchitis, allergies and asthma.

1. Steam relieves inflammation and congestion of upper respiratory mucous membranes.
2. Steam relieves throat irritation by moistening the air.
3. Steam relieves spasmodic breathing (Asthma, Croup).
4. Steam loosens secretions and stimulates discharge of mucous from the throat and lungs.
5. Steam relaxes muscles and relieves coughing.
6. Steam Keep mucous membranes from excessive drying

For very young babies steam is one of the few ways to help with cough or croup since cough medicine is not recommended for them---not that most of the cough medicines help that much anyway. If you read labels the majority of cough medicine (even some prescription ) is made with Guaifenesin. This is a medicine used to help expectorate mucus. The funny thing about this medicine is that you really need to drink lots of fluid to help it do it's job (it says that --really). So.....is it really doing the job then or are the fluids?

Lastly for us---a bit of green phglem does not send us to the doctor. We use our judgement to decide. If we are feeling better, coughing is productive, and no fever is present or no longer present then we consider that our bodies are taking care of the problem on it's own and antibiotics are not needed. If fever is now present when it wasn't or coughing is less productive or worse then a visit to the Dr. is probably in order.

My point of this post? People are smart and can learn to care for their selves without wasting time or money in a dr's office for a cold or other minor things. I think we have all been brainwashed to believe we need some one to tell us we will make it or to commiserate with us----I'm not sure which.
Studies show that the major reason Dr's give prescriptions is to make people feel as if the Dr actually did something for them or to "be on the safe side". I mean---how many times have you made it out of a dr's office without a prescription? However antibiotics CAN NOT do a thing for flu or colds and studies are starting to show that cough medicines aren't really doing much either. Worse is that we still are overusing antibiotics by going to get a prescription for one because we just don't want to take the time to do simple things to help our body like steam inhalation, drink fluids and REST.

Well, hopefully it will be along time before anyone in my family has this again. But, just in case we do....we know some tricks to help care for ourselves while our body fights the enemy. Hope your family has good luck avoiding the dreaded flu and cold season next time.

A Little Bit of......

Sheep Sleep












Turkey Love

The Flu

So yet again the "flu" has risen it's nasty little head here in our home. My son now has it and unfortunately will miss this whole week of school. Missing school is no big deal as far as I am concerned since I know he can easily make up the work but...big but here....he had to go to the doctor to receive a note to say "yep---he's really sick, Mom isn't lying." At the cost of my co-pay since I am a lucky one and have insurance.
So I had to make an appointment...drive there...spend time waiting...and then shell out the co-pay all so my son's school will believe he was sick. Idiotic isn't it?
Of course the Doctor seemed offended when I told him we were there only for the note and that I already knew my son had the flu. How did I know that I was asked. Why...because I and some of my neighbors have had it. "Well," he says "we will have to check for ourselves."
So they did---with a very large Qtip up his nose and a vial of some sort of "flu detector" stuff.
Five minutes later we are given the big negative about my son having flu along with a script for prescription cough medicine we don't need. Of course the Dr doesn't guess as to what it might be and I....ever the suspicious person especially when your a jerk to me ....decided to go home and do a bit of research on this supposed "test".
With just a bit of quick internet looking I find these nice little facts easily enough that the Doctor didn't mention to me (maybe I seemed to stupid to understand or need explanation):
*Detectable Influenza virus is only shed the first day or two of symptoms and very hard to distinguish after that (my son has been sick 7 days now) Hence---testing is most accurate and best done during this time.
*These supposed "rapid in office tests" are only 70% accurate with nasal swabbing and less so with throat swabbing even during the shedding period.
* The FDA itself also says that these tests are only moderately to reasonably accurate depending on the time of year----very early flu season testing and very late flu season testing equals less accuracy. (This is late in the flu season isn't it??)
* Lastly---the Doctor must also use his BRAIN and consider how his local has been affected by the flu to help with his diagnosis.

Is this all I can ever expect from the medical field for the rest of my life? Is there no doctor out there that can think for himself and believes (truly believes) that you don't need a script for everything and that you only need to see him if you are really really sick??

Lastly---I thought about balking about this and telling the school board that though I was a lucky enough person to have insurance what exactly did they require from someone without it? That I personally wasn't going to buy into it and what the hell where they going to do about it? Kick my son out of school?
Originally when I called the dr's office I was going to just pay cash (thinking a quick visit for a note would be simple enough) but they told me it would be at least.....get this...a $100 but probably more. That included the 30% discount I got for not having or paying with insurance. Hah!
This is bureaucratic bull crap in the highest form. Both the Doctor, the test and the school requirements.

I think I was born in the wrong century or something. Thanks for letting me gripe.

Nagging

I would like to do a little bit of nagging today in my post. Usually when I speak on this subject I have to post about, people start to look around and say "yeah, yeah, yeah". Here in this forum---you can't do that. Though you can just switch to another web site :-)

My subject of choice today is vitamin deficiencies and human health. Let me bore you by starting near the beginning of understanding for us--- and I will try and keep it somewhat short since I believe I have posted on this a bit already.

When we began to raise our cows and sheep we, because of one of our black cows turning red, realized we had a problem with copper deficiency on our property. Now as we have been told over and over again----sheep do not need copper so we were NOT suppose to worry about them and just treat the cow. However, during research into this subject (I am not one to accept the first explanation someone gives me) I found that, through soil testing, it was actually the health of my soil that was affecting the absorption of copper in my cow. We have too much of some good things and not enough of others. These extremes all effect absorptions rates of various minerals from the soil, into the plants and eventually on to the animals and my family (either through eating the plant ourself or the animal that ate the plant).
At first we just supplement the cows with some extra copper---but we started to realize that there was more to the issue than just adding a bit of copper to the cows and doing nothing for the sheep. Also we had some minor health issues that seemed, when studied from a holistic viewpoint, to have to do with other mineral issues. We could have done just the "normal" thing most livestock owners are taught and purchased medicine from our vet---but we didn't want to always treat our animals---we wanted truly healthy animals.
Well, to make a long story and long research condensed---we chose to take a step that most veterinarians will never think to suggest: We eventually sent in a liver from a sheep to a testing laboratory (that we had butchered) and had it tested for various minerals. We couldn't butcher the cows since they were breeding stock and not eating stock, so the sheep was the next best thing. This is something I highly recommend for those that keep livestock---especially if you lose an animal. Just cut out the liver (I know---some find that yukky) and freeze it to send off.

This past year we tested for more things than ever and found out that though we now supplemented our animals with a number of healthy things AND that overall they are doing very well----we still were surprised to find ourself low in some nutrients. Our more expanded testing we did through the Colorado Veterinary Diagnostic Lab told us that we had successfully raised our copper and selenium up and that a host of other nutrients were very good. It did though go on to tell us that we were borderline deficient or outright deficient in some other nutrients we had never really considered: Cobalt (B12), magnesium, and zinc. All things now being attended to in our mineral program.

The health of the soil---as pointed out above---affects all "veggies" that grow in it. Whether or not that "veggie" is for a human or a cow/sheep/chicken/goat is irrelevant. We ALL get some of our vitamins and most of our minerals from the plants that grow in soil.
IF the beef or chicken or whatever did not get those nutrients in their food---you will not either.
After we started to learn about our problems we encouraged others to test their animals too and lo and behold---many many many livestock owners found that they had deficiencies in the mineral/vitamin health of their livestock even though they did what the experts recommended.

Now on to some observations and articles:

Recently a friend was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Then...another friend was too. One lives near me---the other very far away. Right about the time I found this out from both of them (within a weeks time) one of the magazines I read came in the mail. Just by chance it had an article about Vitamin D deficiencies (there is also another link within this article to explore) and that experts are now realizing that many people, especially those with fibro, may have vitamin D deficiencies. Of course I told both friends---one took me seriously because she too has checked her animals and realizes what aspect correct vitamins/minerals play in health. The other----her eyes glazed over and she said that she would just drink a few more glasses of fortified orange juice. However amounts and absorption rates vary with each glass. 100% does not necessarily mean you get 100%. Also---in regards to vitamin D did you know that if you live in a Northern local you receive less rays to help you each day? Did you know that you need approximately 30 minutes a day (on a large amount of your body--not just hands and face) to receive your "daily" amount of D? Did you know that I was dumb enough to think the world was small and that I did not live in the North? hahaha North in this case is....north of the equator! So, anyone above Atlanta or Las Angeles lives in a "northern" aspect. Go figure! Funny how we view our world sometimes!
Anyway one of the biggest problems with figuring vitamin/mineral intake, either from eating food or taking supplements, is the absorption rates. Take a glass of milk. Say it has 1500 mg of calcium in it (lets assume here the cow was fed a healthy diet and not some funky food they like to feed). You don't necessarily receive ALL 1500 mg---it ranges depending on what else you ate, what's in the body already to help it get absorbed etc etc.
Also---did you know that just because you buy vitamins you may not be buying the one best absorbed? Calcium is a good point and one piece of information I actually learned from my mother's cancer doctor. Calcium Citrate is the version you should be taking and not the other forms --one of which is oyster shell.


Now, vitamin/mineral supplements can help we all know----but maybe not as efficiently and easily as we are led to believe. That is why you need to check to make sure you take the BEST form of a given mineral or vitamin. The form most easily absorbed.
My family has taken Calcium supplements for years (since my mother's bone density came back borderline during cancer treatment) with added vitamin D (in the form of "D3" which is one of the better forms).
We now also take a copper and a B12 supplement since we realize we may not be getting enough in our diet because we eat quite a bit of our food either from our own soil (which currently still needs some improvement) or also food from the store that is not organic. Organic does not imply that all minerals/vitamins will be there---it depends on how they care for their soil. It does however give you a better chance since the "organic care" of soil including compost and other organic amendments help the soil to reacquire or else to "unbind" the minerals.

Some really good places to learn more about these types of things are:

Pat Coleby's books on natural livestock care (she has one for cows, horses, sheep and goats). Even if you don't own livestock the information on soil health and vitamins and minerals is easy to read, and easy to understand. It will get you headed in the correct direction for sure. This is were we started-----and we highly recommend it----but we do not exactly follow the mineral mix for the livestock anymore.

Acres USA. This "magazine" is quite informative. I don't always get use from every article and the editor is very outspoken (which I like---but maybe some others wouldn't) but it is good and very well geared to organics/soil health/better livestock care etc. This one is NOT just for those who raise livestock. It is for those that garden too. They also have an excellent book store with many books that deal with the subject of nutrients (and our lack of them).

The reason I posted this is for this: more and more I realize what nutrients mean to overall health. I also realized, in dealing with "high up" officials during my search for information, that most doctors/vets/livestock people will just regurgitate exactly the same thing over and over. They know nothing more than the standard information supplied to them that seems to me to be obsolete and worse---incorrect. Your children and your health depends on the correct nutrients. Please...make sure you are getting it.

Signs of Spring (and lambs)

Not only have I noticed many daffodils and forsythia blooming around here, but we now have a few dogwoods (just a few) with some flowers on them and a number of trees with swelling buds.
This, along with the warmer weather we had the last few days, reminds me that spring is very close and may be peaking from around the corner of my house ( I just can't see it because we're siding you know?).
The big storm on the news came through and brought much rain and lots and lots of wind to us along with a drop of temps. We went from high 60's, low 70's to the 40's :-(
Within the next few weeks we will start to see more and more warm days though AND some lambs.

Yes, I was working up to the lamb part of my title.
Though I have my first ewe "officially due" on April 9th----she is just the first I actually had seen get bred. Without a marker on the rams chest that leaves a green (or red or orange etc) spot on the back of the ewe it is sometimes impossible to know exactly when a ewe was bred or even took. Just because you see a mating does not mean that the ewe took that time or at all for that matter.
Most of the time however---I don't see them breed. They are sneaky or maybe just private. I mean after all...... who wants a crowd watching when you do the deed-- right?

During feeding about a week ago we noticed that we have a number of ewes developing some nice bags. Or nice Jumblies as Austin Powers might say.
Nice jumblies are a sure sign that we are at least within a months time at most.
So considering when I first started groping my sheep's jumblies----I suspect I may have a set or two of lambs by mid March. Yeah!
Everyone loves a lamb---they are just too cute.

Not only do I have one or two adults that may be due then but I also think one of my yearling ewes is also-----and I think she may have twins. Though she is not a really large sheep she is fairly large for her size in a round kind of way. She has also all but quit running around the pasture with the flock---a sure sign of an imminent lamb or squooshed multiples. So we shall see if I am correct. Last year I did guess correctly that one of my older ewes would have triplets so....we'll see if I can go 2 for 2 on guesses. If not..no big deal. At least I know that she actually is pregnant and better than that she, and the other early due girls, tell me that my young ram Tex absolutely did his job to the best of his ability. Quickly too. Another good thing.

Very soon I will have to start making my very late (about 11 oclock) and my very early (about 5:30 or 6) pasture rounds. That way I can catch any lambs that might be born while it's cold out. Icelandics are usually very good about getting their lambs up and clean but sometimes a new mom kind of doesn't get it yet----and then her lamb can get cold and possibly die. I had that happen last year so we will be extra careful this year. Another problem is a ewe having twins while another ewe (usually very close to her own due date) gets a bit over excited and kidnaps the first born. Sometimes that "yeah---I'm going to have a baby" kicks in a bit hard and they get a little too excited about having a lamb and steal someone else's. We have to be careful of that since the kidnapper doesn't have milk yet----not a good thing for a little lamb.

One last thing I would like to leave this post with is a link to helping hypothermic lambs and how to tube and give intra peritoneal injection of glucose solution to them. For those that breed sheep it is a great thing to keep on hand for "just in case". Last year I had everything on hand EXCEPT the glucose solution which was how I lost my little gal. I didn't think I would ever need it and that tubing and warming would be fine----but that was just not so.

So---here's to an excellent last lambing for me. I truly look forward to it and am very excited as always. I will surely miss it next year (and for many afterwards) and I will have to re-live it each year vicariously through my sheep owning friends :-D

And more easy seed starting pots

In Mother Earth News there is an article (with good pictures) of a nice tidy seed pot out of toilet paper tubes.
So---here is a link to my old post about newspaper pots
and here is the link directly to Mother Earth News for the how to on toilet paper tube pots. The directions say to cut the tube in half cross wise so that will give you two pots per tube. Just think how many toilet rolls we use per year AND it doesn't take much room to store them---especially since they are flattened to start with. The pictures are better in the Feb/March 2008 article but the directions are pretty easy so there is probably not a need to buy the magazine to see it.

I actually think that these are easier to remember to "how to" without having to go back and re look each year at directions. On the other hand you can make much larger pots with the newspaper style---so it's really just a matter of what you need and what you have on hand.

More about Peas

I read a short article in organic gardening magazine the other day (april 2008 issue) about helping your peas grow better and faster.
It is very interesting and so I decided to type it verbatim here for those that don't get the magazine:

Stronger Seedlings: Peas get a boost from vitamin C!

Vitamin C and folic acid, two nutrients that are vital to our own health, boost the performance of pea seeds, according to a recent study at the University of Massachusetts. The researchers doctored pea seeds with different concentrations of vitamin C and folic acid. Ten days after planting, average seedling height of seeds soaked for 12 to 48 hours in either a vitamin C solution or a folic acid solution was 40 percent greater than that of the seeds soaked in plain water. Root length, seedling weight, and germination were also enhanced by both treatments. Food-science professor Kalidas Shetty, Ph.D., is now developing a natural treatment to boost seeds' defenses.
Our advice: Try this at home--dissolve half of a 150 milligram vitamin C tablet, or four 5 milligram folic acid tablet, in a quart of water. Soak your peas for a day or so; then plant.


I haven't done this myself but will attempt to remember to try it the next time I plant my peas.

This just goes to show you that "proper" vitamins (and minerals too) help everything :-)


P.S ---photo "borrowed" from Renee's garden site.