Recent content by ladycrofter

Yes if they are being fed on the ground, it lives in the soil. I lost a lamb once, feeding them in the same place for a week or two. Always used troughs after that.

Cal/mag doesn't cause kicking when lying down, they tremble and then die. It's listeria :( Just found this: Typical signs of listeriosis are initially inappetence and depression, followed by circling to one side (Gill, 1937). With unilateral facial paralysis and excessive salivation on the side...

Not a fan of blood testing, every sheep is an individual. What comes across as an average flock deficiency won't help the ones that are having serious problems. I would do everything suggested here - get tubs and salt licks out, a good dose of mineral drench, and more feed. Also good hay for a...

Spear thistle seed is partly light-activated so they can be hundreds underground, as soon as it's disturbed - 🌱🌱🌱😠 Found out the hard way decades ago. I used to pull them up, then in the autumn they would be a fairy ring of wee ones around the hole. I expect when putting in your new ley, the...

We had one with a weird sort of cleft palate nose, didn't live. Suppose qith a proper cleft palate, the mouth could bleed from pressure while sucking?

🙄 Predator

Ha ha yes if you finish off grass! That would be an excellent debate for pupils, they would need to actually calculate calories per kilo, killout, etc. And let's not forget to add in the milk from a native cow reared old- style who got milked once a day. I had pupils who could do this and engage...

Life is very inefficient. In theory you can feed 100 people with grain. Or feed the grain to cattle and the cattle feed only 10 people. Of course real life is more complicated! Grain is grown in some places in a very insustainable way, and livestock can produce high quality protein from...

Former biology teacher here: A basic but very poorly worded question. The answer they are looking for is that in ascensing every step in the food chain, there's ten-fold loss in energy. This is fact, not politics. It starts with plankton, then krill, and goes up to apex preditor. So you can...

Sh*t happens 🙄. I agree I wouldn't automatically tube her, but if she's milking out seriously bad, bloody stuff, you need to. Or if the quarter is hot or hard. Otherwise if she's just a bit clotty, she should come good with a calf on it.

Yes as said, you run the risk of mastitis which if bad can ruin a quarter. It won't milk well and seems to congest easily, encouraging further bouts of it.

Due to the age of your calves (not newborn) I would milk her out a bit as I found the teats can get dry, the plug can get stuck and the bag can get sore, not to mention what state the milk will be in when they finally start sucking there. They will smell the new milk on that side and hopefully...

Should have known better than to say we've sorted (the few) reluctant mothers with calcium :mad::mad::mad:. Five ewes - just bloody 5!!! left to go, and had to give up yesterday after 3 days at her. She's NOT having it. Calls for it it if I hide it, stamps at the dog. Will she let it suck...

Not had bloody snot before but I would ask your vet for a jag of antibiotic for it in case of secondary infection. Also get a salt lick eg Rockie in to them, it helps keep orf at bay. Once they've had it they're immune. Possibly she has an orf lesion inside her nose?

Same here, won't ever use it again!! No coincidence, she was very lively, then the next day off her food for 3- 4 days and not in great form. She's not a great eater anyway so it was very worrying. You have to wonder what's in it that it kills everything for months.