Sometimes It's Better not to have a Picture

At least not a physical one; it is a clear photo in the mind. A few days ago Rosa, one of Annie's lambs, had greenish poop on her side. Oooh, I thought, now we need a good rain. The next day, when I saw Rosa, she had it all over her face, top of her head, shoulder... you get the picture. Time to check on Annie to see what was going on. Ooooh, there was the answer.

In the spring, when everything gets wet and lush all of a sudden, the sheep get greenish poop. That is O.K. but it usually doesn't get so runny. And to add to the problem, Rosa is a twin, who for some reason never took to nursing from the front like her brother, but rather took the rear approach. That is O.K. too if your mom doesn't have green scours (diarrhea). Is this too graphic?

Unfortunately, Annie is the most skiddish of all the ewes so I thought I was in for a big ordeal. The problem was, this discovery was made about 45 minutes before Karen was due to arrive to help me dock Mary Terra's tail so I had to work fast.

I got a bucket of water, a towel, some shears, a sheep halter, and of course some sheep feed and got Annie's attention. I decided to set up in the shelter behind the garage/barn. As with all operations, I got about 5 extra sheep in the enclosure but I got the 2 I wanted and slowly released the rest. Rosa wasn't bad- she squirmed a bit but was probably really glad to get her face washed. Then I went after Annie, who got all excited and pooped in the, by now empty, food bowl. All in all it worked out O.K. and I got the bowl, bucket, towel, and my clothes in the utility basin before Karen and her friend arrived in clean clothes.

I kind of amazed myself how organized and efficient I was and how quickly I got everything done. I am learning!! When I went in the house with poop all down the front of me, John was at his computer with his back to me and I asked him if he was having as much fun as I was and he said yes and then turned around and said, "oh maybe not".

I know all parents and anyone working with small children go through this kind of stuff-- somehow, it just seemed a bit harder with sheep but I am glad we have sheep here.