SAR on the Farm

So I'll confess right now. I'm a procrastinator. Why do now what you can do later under pressure and time limits? So I put off packing and doing a bit of paperwork for a trip that was to start at o'dark thirty the next morning. I've packed a thousand times now so that can be done even half asleep. The paperwork, well that takes a fairly clear mind but I'm used to working "second" shift since it fits with my life on the farm and getting things done while the sun shines. We don't usually eat dinner here on the farm until the sun has set. My husband doesn't believe in wasting daylight. He also works full time off the farm so when he gets home from work he's ready to do things like check electric fences that are shorted out or check to see which mares are ready to be moved to the lower barn in preparation for foaling watch. Me I was thinking about getting some things done since I had to get up at 2:30 am. if I got my shower before bed. Otherwise, that got moved back to 2:00 am. if I had to take my shower after getting up. Had to be out of the house by 3:00 am. to make my flight out of Madison, WI.

Terry (the dear husband) comes to kennel while I was feeding dogs and cats to tell me he was going out to check the fences and to check the mares. Ok, see you later.....off he goes on the Kubota to do his thing.

It was only 15 minutes and he was back. He walks into the kennel and says, "I can't find the foal!!". Me, "What? We don't have any foals.Did Jim bring over a mare and foal and put them in the pasture and I didn't see him?" Him, "No, there's a new foal somewhere in the pasture and I can't find it. There's a placenta by the kestrel box and it's fairly fresh." Me, "Are you kidding me?! What do you mean you can't find it? You can't lose a foal honey, they're not that small and they're always right with their mother." Him, "Well this one is missing and there's NO mare running around screaming or giving me any indication that she's missing her baby." Me, "Seriously? Are you just kidding me?" Him, "NO, I'm serious. I'm going back out to look for it. Come out and help me." Me, "Ok, give me a minute to put the dogs in and I'll be right there."

I locked up the dogs since the mares can be very dangerous if a dog gets near their foal. As I'm putting them away and thinking about what to do next, I miss a very important thought....change your shoes. I had on some clogs since my plan wasn't to be out walking in a very steep gully, in a creek, or in ankle deep mud (we had been having rain for a couple of days). I head out the gate to the pasture and that's what starts the whole craziness for the next hour and a half.

It was a warm evening and I had on a large t-shirt and some cropped pants. I had been thinking about looking for morel mushrooms for a couple days but hadn't taken the time to do so. I decided that I could look for the "MIA foal" and look for morels in the sweet spot where I usually find them every year. It's a spot I have to pass as I start my trek down into the ravine toward the creek. Terry had gone off farther into the pasture to start his search of the creek bottom ravine. It didn't take long and I had stashed 10 very large morels in the bottom cup of my t-shirt.

As I walk down the hill no problem. But trying to walk up the hill in clogs with one hand holding my shirt bottom up and only one hand to balance, and it's been raining and there's no paths basically down in there. There are gooseberries, blackberries, and a number of other undesirable things to either walk through, fall on or grab including some new poison ivy growth. Ok, now I'm thinking a change of shoes would have been a great idea and time well spent. I just kept telling myself what good balance exercise this was and that I should do this more often but with the right footwear.

I didn't see or hear anything while down in that area but I did notice that it looked like the horses and been down in there and they never go in that area usually since they have a watering hole that is easily accessible a bit further into the pasture where the water pools up from one of the natural springs. I got to the top of the hill and decided to walk along the edge of the trees and listen and look for the MIA foal. Usually the foals are a darker color though sometimes they're almost white. I knew that the mares that were closer to foaling usually had darker foals so I knew it might be well camouflaged and probably hard to see now that the sun was going down and the ravine was getting darker especially in the bottom where the sun never reaches.

I had to cross a waterway that was really deep mud. I gave a big sigh and just decided that for safety sake, and so that I would be physically sound to go to work that next morning, I'd just slog right through it. Trying to walk on the high spots and or the rocks would be too dangerous (think clogs).

I made it across and as I topped the next hill what do I see on the other side but Terry holding a little foal in what I call foal hug position. One arm in front of the chest, one in back of the lower butt. He's panting, red faced, sweating profusely and looking like he's about to have the big one. He looks at me and says, "I've called Jim, he's coming to help me, you get in the Kubota and go find this baby's mother!". So, off I go as fast as I can to the end of the pasture to find the mares and try to "herd" them back toward Terry and the foal. I was so glad the little filly was ok. I was so afraid we'd find something we didn't want to like a dead or injured foal. So I was glad that both Terry and the foal were in a standing position.

Herding horses with a Kubota is like trying to herd cats. They squirt in all directions, they can easily out run you, and they can go places that you can't like steeply angled areas. And remember again, it's been raining for a couple days. I tried to go where no Kubota should when it's muddy. It was drive and get stuck or run and get stuck or fall down. I did manage to put it into 4 wheel drive and get out of there but for a while I thought I'd be walking back to the barn for the tractor. So off I went again after the 7 horses that were doing a great job of evading my attempt at getting them to move toward the barn and gate to the shed where we usually put them to catch or sort off which one we need to.

 I finally get the mares up by the gate where the foal is now riding in the back of a pickup truck, held tightly by Terry. We hope that the mare will call to the foal when she sees it and it will signal us which mare is the mother. Now I know you're all thinking how could we not know which one is the mom. But in this case, there were a couple choices that would have worked. There's one mare that looks and we're pretty sure is the mom but no sign of birth on her legs or tail and an udder that doesn't really make you think it's her and she's still fairly large. And one with a bigger udder and no signs of birth and but still appears pregnant. Of course hoping that one of them would quickly indicate the offending (aka deserting) mare by nickering to the foal would be to much to hope for. So off we go to the barn with the foal.

Then Terry tells me to go and get a halter. Halter? It's clear down in the barn, at the end of the barn. How about we try catching and leading the mare with this nice dog slip lead that I carry in the Kubota. Well, that worked but as they catch the mare and start to the barn, I RUN down to the barn and get a halter to put on her just in case leaving the herd isn't what she had in mind. She was good though and by the time I got the halter and got back to where she was walking with Jim, he just slipped on the halter and took her the rest of the way.

They get the mare into the barn and she seems to now accept the fact that we've recovered her foal for her. It was obvious that she had tried to get it to come up out of the ravine and had finally given up hope and gone off to eat with the herd out of instinct. Now that she had it back, instinct was kicking in again and she accepted it just fine. But, all that was happening in the barn while I was out trying to get the rest of the mares into the shed just in case we had the wrong mare and to be sure that we don't have that happen with another one that had been pasture bred the year before. They have to go down a little dirt alleyway to get into the building. That alleyway was calf deep mud from the horses slogging through it to get to their mineral and the water fountain and to lay on the hay out of the rain for the last couple of days.

As Jim and I got the mares into the alleyway we followed them up the alleyway to lock the gate behind them. As I got about half way down the alley, first one shoe and then the other got sucked off my foot. I stopped and retrieved the shoes and decided that I might as well just go barefooted for a ways until I was out of the deepest part. Now those shoes are also so slippery that when I put them back on, I think that I'm going to slid right out them.

We get the horses locked in finally and off we go to the barn to find that Bert has gone home for some oxytocin, Terry is trying to get the foal to nurse and the mare is finally talking to her baby. By now, time has flown since we're having such fun. I need to go and pack yet, take a shower to get off the stinking mud, and do a bit of paperwork things.

Let me say I love my new Mustee sink in the mud room (appropriate name of room!) and I spray off the shoes because if you let it dry, horse manure mixed with mud turns to green cement. So I also climb onto the counter, put my feet in the sink and hose off my legs and feet. I notice how tired my legs and feet are from trying to grip the shoes with my toes and from all the running and such. All I can think about is how much the cramps will hurt tonight when they wake me up. And guess what, I'm right. They hurt like heck!!

All in all I finally got into bed and with the cramp episodes managed to get at least 1.5 hours of sleep. I couldn't wait to get to work and my hotel the next night so I could rest and recover. I always get more sleep at work than I do when I'm home, wonder why?

As a follow up, the foal, which is in the picture is doing well. We were worried at first since the mare didn't have any milk and we didn't know if the foal had gotten any colostrum. But, the foal seems to be doing fine for now and the mare seems to be producing some milk for it. The next two days were followed by another two foals. When they finally get outside in the sun, I'll share a couple pictures of them.

Another Day on the Farm

http://youtu.be/KfPujxtsSfU

Enjoying the weather with the Dogs

I needed the dogs to remind me today to stop and look at the birds and the flowers and the horses and every other beautiful thing on my path.

Flowers on the Farm (a few of them anyway)

 

There are many more flowers on the farm right now but I just didn't have the time to take the pictures and process them. So, this little sampling will have to do for now.

Would ewe believe it?!

Ok, this morning's chores didn't go as planned. I had planned to just offer a bottle to one of the quads, check on the red #111 lamb that I thought the mother was going to reject, and to check on the last ewe waiting to lamb. Of course there's the usual of feeding the couple of penned ewes and giving them water since I try to keep 2 ewes in the building so that they don't feel like they're alone. They're calmer if they have company next to them.

I had already fed the dogs and cats, and moved on to the sheep shed which is also our hay shed. In there is the sheep hay (small squares) and the horse pasture hay (big round bales). I have a couple of pens in the back for the ewes to lamb in if the weather is cold and/or wet. That's practically all we've had for weather here. All the ewes but the first one have lambed in the shed this year. What's that say about the weather? It's been cold and wet.

I went in to check on a ewe and her lambs to see if they were getting to a point where they could be let out with the flock. I usually keep them in a pen for about 24 to 48 hours if they're in and not on pasture. It's harder for the lambs to stick close to their moms when they're in a more crowded situation. Out on the pasture they actually separate themselves to some degree and the lambs find it easier to find and stay with their mom. Also some of the ewes are really rough on lambs from other moms that stray into their space. That was the reason I had kept this one ewe in as the companion for the ewe waiting to lamb yet. So her lambs are actually about 3 days old or so.

One of the little ram lambs seemed a little less active than the other one. It had some poop sticking out from under it's tail. Now if you've never dealt with very young lamb poop, it's sticky. It's REALLY sticky. In fact I think that when it dries, it's probably comparable to that product they call Liquid Nails. Somehow, he had gotten his tail probably pushed on when he was pooping and got his tail stuck to his butt and then he kept pooping and soon he had a poop blob stuck to his butt and he really couldn't poop. We all know if you can't poop it's a really bad thing!

So...something had to be done. I knew that soaking a lamb's butt would be a tough one. And knowing what I know about the poop, it would take a long time to soften up. So...I got a 5 gallon pail, filled it 3/4 with hot water from the house. I carried it out to the shed and then used some cold water to make the lamb's bath. I took the little guy and sat on the floor of the pen and put him in hind feet first. I held him with my left arm so that the edge of the bucket wouldn't hurt and then with my right hand I began the hour long poop massage and removal. I had my hand in the water so long that my fingers were looking like prunes.

I got the job done finally and with a clean towel so as not to scent him with another lambs scent, I dried him off. He sure was glad to get out of that bucket but not as glad as I was to have him out. Of course by the time I was done, I was wet and he was dry. I had just soaked my arm in warm water and lamb poop for an hour. I had splashed it on my front and it soaked into my clothes of course. So once I could see that he was being accepted ok by his mom and he was nursing again, off I went to the house for an early shower. Usually waiting until the end of the day makes more sense on on a farm so you can go to bed clean at least.

I think someone needs to investigate lamb poop for some kind of new "green" adhesive. Trust me, it's water resistant and really holds strongly and isn't easily washed off though with persistence it can be done.

Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings. There's no more lambs coming but there's 2 mares in the foaling barn that look ready to grace us with a couple more additions to the spring birth numbers. Come on warmer weather so I can get out the camera and get some great pictures of all that's been happening here.

A Quiet Sunday on the Farm (c;

Today was one of those days where it's one thing after another. It started out with Dizzy having a lovely bay filly with a blanket. I was out the door before Terry so I checked on her first and then since all was well there I headed up to the sheep shed.

Up at the sheep shed we had another set of triplets. Only problem is, one must have been rolled in something from another ewe or lamb or it's mother thinks it's defective or too much for her to handle. My take on it, poor thing just got the scent of another lamb/ewe on it and now she thinks it's not hers. I probably didn't bed the pen deep enough and when she dug down to make a nest, she had the lamb on the dirt that was scented by another ewe already. She's giving it the barrel roll each time it tries to come up and nurse. The other problem that creates is that if it's nursing on one side then she moves off also and the lamb on the other side doesn't get to drink either. I had tried using some placenta from her to put more scent on the lamb but that didn't seem to change her mind. I've been up to the shed and held her 4 times today so it could nurse but that's a real hassle. Well, not as much of a hassle as making and feeding bottles right now I guess.The neighbor kids were over hoping that Tiny Tim from the quad set was going to end up a bottle lamb but he's 7 days old today and still doing well. I offer him a bottle twice each day but he's not usually interested so he's getting what he wants from mom at this point I guess. All 4 are strong and active so I guess I'm lucky with those so far. If by tomorrow night the little #111 ram lamb is still an outcast and it's learned to drink even better from the bottle, I'm sending it home with the neighbor girls. They'll be moving to Texas soon and they'd like to have a lamb just one more time before they go. This is only the 4th bottle lamb I've ever had. Last year a ewe that had triplets (first year ewe) rejected all 3. She's no longer with us, and then this year just this one lamb from this last set of triplets. Guess I'm pretty lucky he's learning to drink from the bottle pretty quick too.

Then the 4 older Boer nanny goats from Terry's brother showed up. Some friends dropped them off for us after they made a trip to buy some does and a couple bucks from him to start their herd. Oh my, are they a PITA!! They aren't used to being out on a pasture and they want to be up by the buildings. I tried to have Tag and Kip put them back out and into the valley around the creek & that was a venture of it own right. We got the goats so they'd eat the stuff down in the woods and try to help us make some paths through there. They don't move for dogs much and they know they have big horns and they're not afraid to use them. Poor Tag is sporting a cut on his eye, not bad but still. He is used to being able to bite a sheep on the nose when it gives him a hard time. That isn't happening with these goats. They need a lunge whip and a human to back it up to make them move off the gate even.

Scared the pants nearly off me when Tag went after one on my command and the darn thing retaliated and slammed him hard in the face with her horns. Neither he nor I are used to horns and I don't have a word for him to only bite from behind. I think I'll just use my lunge whip and grain to move them around. I'm not willing to try and train up the dogs to figure out those horns and that personality. I've only had a couple rams with horns and they were a long time ago and I decided horns weren't my dogs or my strong suit.

Terry had to go out and put additional hot wire up all around the pasture in order to keep them out there. They don't mind crawling under or jumping over something if it's the right height for them. So a short hot wire, and a tall one too were added today. Terry should be exhausted after all he had to do today. I know I am!

I'm headed for a hot shower, then a cup of cappuccino, and some courses to review. Right after I eat something! Later all!

While I'm doing chores each morning, I find myself thinking about what it would be like to be a great herding Border Collie trainer and be able to get out of each dog I work with, their maximum potential. I know that with my experience and knowledge level I can only scratch the surface of what my dogs are capable of doing. It makes me very sad sometimes to think that they won't be seen as the great and talented dogs that they are. But that's ok of course, since I love them all dearly and think they're all the best dogs on this earth. I sometimes think that they believe that I'm the best human on this earth too and that makes me smile to myself.

This morning, as most mornings lately, after feeding all the dogs, and the cats, I decided to have Tag (who's 7 now though it doesn't seem possible) go out into the fields and get the 17 ewes so they could come in and have some hay. The snow cover has gotten deep enough that scratching for hay out of the hay fields or missed corn in the corn fields or grass in the waterways is getting to be pretty difficult. They are more than happy to have their meals served up hay feeder style. When they see Tag they start bunching up, readying themselves for the dash to the dinner table.

As I walked out through the open gate into the corn stubble, I decided to try sending Tag in the opposite direction I usually do and to try using my whistle more and voice less. I know that I have a tendency to come across as gruff and controlling to my dogs and I'm trying to change my ways. Yes, I know, it's hard for an old woman like me but it can't hurt to try. I told him to heel in preparation for the "go-bye" command. I use "go-bye" with him since I had been using "come" so heavily in other situations like agility so I wanted to try and make things as clear as I could. I'm sure he's thinking "yeah right!" if he could read this.

He laid down quietly at my left side and had already spotted the sheep this time since they were on our side of the hill in the valley eating the waterway grass that hid beneath the snow. I put the stainless steel whistle in my mouth and a chill ran through me because it was like putting an ice cube in my mouth and my teeth are very sensitive to the cold. As soon as it was unstuck from my tongue, I spit the darn thing out! I decided that even though my fingers would be freezing, it was going to be more comfortable and accurate to use my finger whistle instead of the metal one. I hate winter for so many reasons and this is one more to add to the list, cold metal whistles.

I'm not real good at guessing distances longer than an agility field but I'd guess the sheep were about 400 yards or so from us. So not too far. I whistled "high low" using my finger whistle and gave the go-bye command and he took off like a shot. He arced out to the left as he should and dead ahead about 80 feet away were 6 horses standing and eating at the round bale feeder. The mares are all pregnant brood mares, most of them over 10 yrs.old and used to the dogs and hateful toward the sheep. Thus why the sheep weren't eating at the feeder with the horses. There is also another feeder in an open south facing shed where some of the other mares were eating or in for a drink from the heated water fountain. He gracefully arced out to the left past them and against the fence and continued on his way. I lost sight of him as he went into the waterway about 100 yards from me.

I stood patiently waiting, watching the sheep and looking for Tag out of the left corner of my eye. In a few moments, there he was perfectly lined up to go out behind the sheep and keep them from bolting in their favorite direction away from where we want them to go. Tag has learned over the last few weeks, where they go and where I don't want them to go and he's picked that up and prevents it on his own without a single word or whistle from me. I've learned to be more patient and allow him to show me that he's got them covered and he's doing the right thing. It's amazing to watch and nearly brings me to tears to see him so happy in his work and that I've finally allowed him to be the dog that I knew he was. A powerhouse of physical beauty and with a mind to reason and problem solve and plan ahead.

He was so far out this time and perfectly lined up and the sheep seemed to know that he had them locked into his plan. They took off at a run toward me, which they like to do no matter how far off the dog or even if the dog is laying down. I think they're so glad to be told to come in and eat, they just can't help but coming running for joy at the thought of all that great sweet hay awaiting them. I never called or whistled a lie down or steady and he dropped to the ground for just a second to show the sheep that he was in control but that he didn't expect them to feel like they had to run all the way back to the barn. It was a great thought but the sheep didn't take him up on his offer. They continued to run but did ratchet it down a notch and just jogged after that.

Tag knew he had to go "away" once the sheep reached closer to the area where the horses were. If he doesn't keep them from getting into the horse group, he has a much more difficult job of getting them to me. He has to ever so slowly as so not to disturb the mares, work his way around and through the mares to push the ewes out from under the aggravated group. The mares will lazily kick at a sheep to get it out from under them, but they really don't intend harm and are just trying to send the message that it's not necessary for them to have belly warmers, thanks anyway.

Tag couldn't push them too far down the slope though as then the ewes would intercept another group of mares that were just out standing and laying around having their morning naps. Since the mares are pregnant they tend to each lay down a while a time or two each day. He came around them on the high side watched them closely and then back behind them and then down to the low side and now they were within 100 feet of me. At that point I turned my back to all of them and start the short 100 foot walk over to the gate into the sheep pen. We have a barrier on it at about 4' up that allows the sheep to go in and the mares to stay out. A nifty little thing that my husband made for me that's made from a wood dowel and recycled horse shoes and a bit of hardware that was laying around.

Each time I do this now I just move to the side and soon the ewes are passing me up and trying to squeeze into the pen (100'x60') 3 at a time through a 36" gate. They make it just fine but not before one or two just about end up on the back of the one in front of them. They quickly take their spots at the full of hay plastic water tank turned feeder for the winter and at the 2 other hay feeders that really are made for hay out of recycled barrels and cattle panels and wood. Tag has come to a self imposed halt at the gate and lays down to make sure that no one dare try to escape from this place of plenty. I stepped up behind him and he turned his head back to look at me as if to say....

"Thanks for listening to me, thanks for letting me do my job today, thanks for letting me have so much fun and thanks for being my Mom, I really do love you you know even if you don't know what you're doing sometimes." And with that, I gave him a "that'll do Tag" and we turned and strode off to the house where the world's most wonderful and understanding Border Collie gets to spend the day laying at my feet and making me feel loved. How he has put up with me all these years is beyond me but he has and he's done it with such resilience that I marvel at how he can continue to grow in his skills as I slowly gain knowledge and earn his respect and trust.

I hope that tomorrow as I fly away to my real off farm job, that those that live, work and breathe raising sheep with the help of a great dog, take a moment to enjoy something that many will never have the chance to experience. There is nothing much better than the look on the face of your dog that is so happy in being a part of your life and your work that words alone could never describe.