Farm News (the blog) | Hatchtown Farm

I Can See!

I was in Portland by 10AM for an eye doc appointment. That has to be some kind of record! I hadn’t realised how long it’d been since I’d had my eyes checked. Really have to stay on top of these things as we age but it was surprising that my prescription hadn’t changed very much. Well, I now have 2 new pairs of glasses and I CAN SEE! It’s really nice to have that extra back-up pair…just in case.

Progress!

Lark is much better today — barely needed help to get up. She was unhappy about being by herself (a good sign!) so we put her half sister, Spot, in with her. Spot is a lovely girl but not the friendliest ewe so we felt this was an opportunity to spend some up-close & personal time with her. And she’ll get to know us a little better.

A Quick Update

Lark is still having difficulty getting up but we can see where she’s scootching herself around in the pen so at least she’s trying…a very good sign. I’m helping her up several times a day and she moves around the pen pretty well. More vitamins, etc. Appetite is great, all systems are working well.

First Egg!

Woohoo! The chicks that I started months ago have finally got down to business…an egg! Usually, once one hen starts to lay, the others follow right along. This isn’t the best time of year for hens to start laying because it’s cold and the daylight hours are short. They really need 14 hours of daylight to lay regularly. We’ve been soooo looking forward to having our own eggs! Lark is still not able to get up on her own…another coarse of vitamins, etc. Appetite is great, tho, and all systems are working well.

Lame Lark

We had gathered all the ewes in the shed yesterday to make necessary coat changes and check on who might need worming. When we opened the gate to let them out, there was a bit of a mad rush for the paddock. Lark had a problem on the ramp …her 2 front feet slipped off along with her left rear foot. Her right rear foot stayed put causing her to do a split. She pulled herself together and trotted off with the others so we didn’t think anymore about it.

This morning when we showed up for chores, she was visibly weak in her back end and having trouble getting around. We were keeping an eye on her as we did chores but by the time we were done putting hay out, we’d decided to pen her & give her a good going over. After checking her out, it seemed that she was actually favoring her right leg but her left was also weak. Couldn’t detect any warm spots or swelling. She’d surely pulled/sprained something when she did that split. We’re thinking that some R&R will be the best medicine for her so we’ve set up a cozy pen for her in the shed. At this point, she’s laying down and not really getting up on her own. We gave her a hefty dose of vitamins and some banamine to make her more comfortable. Her appetite is good and all her systems (pee, poop, cud) are working so that’s good. I think we’ve done what we can for her at this time. Keeping fingers crossed that she’ll mend if she gets some rest. Thankfully, she seems to be able to keep herself upright. This is always a concern with a sheep that are “down” because if they roll over and can’t right themselves, they can die. We’ll be checking on her regularly.