Today we are going to discuss body condition scoring in sheep. As someone who is breeding sheep, it is important to be able to know what sort of condition your animals are in at various stages of production—and what condition they should be in. If your sheep is either too fat or too thin this…
Category: Homesteading
How To Build A Portable Shade Structure For Your Sheep
If you read our articles on barber pole worms, then you know that proper rotational grazing can significantly reduce the worm burden your sheep are exposed to. Realistically, rotational grazing can be tricky to implement for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is shade and or shelter constraints. So today we are…
How To Recognize Photosensitivity In Sheep
Her head is red and swollen, her eyes are puffy, red and closed, her ears are droopy and she is itching her face excessively. What’s going on? What is this? Diagnosis: Photosensitivity. You must act immediately One afternoon we went out to check on our dairy sheep and discovered that one of them had a…
Culicoides Hypersensitivity: Sweet Itch Doesn’t Just Affect Horses
Do you have a sheep that has developed bald patches on their belly or sides during the summer months? Or patches of thickened bare skin they itch and itch and itch, often until they produce raw bleeding spots? Despite having these odd itchy spots, you can find absolutely no obvious reason for the irritation. Did…
Cobalt Deficiency: Anemia Isn’t Always Parasites
If your entire flock of sheep are chronically anemic, it could be a cobalt deficiency. Not too long ago, our entire flock of sheep had severe anemia, as in they could drop dead any moment FAMACHA scores. Yet fecal egg counts repeatedly came back with low to no worm count. We dewormed our sheep anyways…
Electric Fence: What You Need To Know
Some people love electric fence, other people think they are dangerous or cruel. Still others don’t think that they work. The reality is that the truth probably lies somewhere in between. We built a high tensile fence on our farm and chose to electrify it. We have found it very effective and are sharing what…
How To Build A T-Trellis
If you are interested in growing kiwi, grapes, or another large vine, you will need a sturdy trellis. When growing a fruiting crop you need a trellis strong enough to hold not only the weight of the vine, but also the weight of the fruit. Having a properly constructed, sturdy trellis is the key harvesting…
How To Build A High Tensile Fence: Steps and Pictures
Lets take a step by step journey through building a high tensile fence. Fencing is an important aspect of animal keeping. Having a good fence is essential to keeping your animals safe and where they belong. It is also something that can be a large and expensive investment, particularly if you have to hire the…
How To Do A Fecal Egg Count At Home
If you are interested in reading other parts of this series: Barber Pole Worm Series Part 1-The #1 Killer Of Small Ruminants Barber Pole Worm Series Part 2-Controlling Worms Without Dewormer Barber Pole Worm Series Part 3-How To Properly Deworm Barber Pole Worm Series Part 4-Breeding Parasite Resistant Sheep Throughout our series on barber pole…
How To Get Started Breeding Parasite Resistant Sheep
If you are interested in reading other parts of this series: Barber Pole Worm Series Part 1-The #1 Killer Of Small Ruminants Barber Pole Worm Series Part 2-Controlling Worms Without Dewormer Barber Pole Worm Series Part 3-How To Properly Deworm Barber Pole Worm Series Part 5-How To Do a Fecal Egg Count Looking to breed…
