Lambs, tags and getting out of the office!

It's been a long time coming but I was able to get away from my desk and out to the lambing barn.
The smell of fresh bedding and the low rolling tones of ewes talking to their lambs was a pleasant change to the stale coffee and ringing phones of the office.

What's going on outdoors? Well, it's lambing season, all the lambs need to be tagged with their flock ID tag and/or Scrapie tag. The lambs needing tags provided an excellent opportunity to produce a Premier How-to video with the staff.

While in the barn, the farm-crew noticed a lamb that was not in the best of shape. It appeared dehydrated. The lamb was treated and is now on the mend. Its dam only had enough milk for the lamb's stronger sibling, so the ill-lamb was moved to the orphan pen. 

Dehydrated lambs can easily become dead lambs—which results in less lbs produced and less $$ in your pocket. It's easy to miss so be aware. 

Signs a lamb may be dehydrated:

• Gaunt or not well filled out.  

• If a twin, triplet, etc—its sibling(s) appears healthier and stronger. 

To determine if a lamb is dehydrated—

Pinch the skin along the back. After pinching:

If the skin stays momentarily tented or peaked, the lamb is dehydrated. Immediately treat the lamb (consult your veterinarian for proper procedure). 

Causes of dehydration:

• Scours. 

• Ewe lacks adequate milk to support the lamb(s).

• Larger/stronger siblings outcompete their sibling for milk.

• The lamb has sharp teeth and the ewe won't let it feed.  

If a lamb appears unhealthy but is not dehydrated, consult your veterinarian. 


With the lamb cared for we were able to continue on with the How-to video. The shepherd, Heather, demonstrated proper eartag procedure while longtime consultant, Gordon, provided voiceover narration. 

Topics covered were:

• Lubricating tags—this provides easier insertion for those with weaker hands. 
• Proper tag placement—in the center of the ear and away from any veins. 
• Applying Catron IV fly spray during fly season. 
• Making sure that there is room for ear growth if using loop tags.

A quick note: the tag applicators below may differ but the process is the same for each style of tag. 

Applying SuperLube.

Finding the veins to determine proper placement. 

Applying Catron IV to ward off flies. 

Providing room for the ear to grow (when using loop tags). 

It's lambing season therefore it's also ear-tagging season at Premier. Premier Shepherd Heather is applying antiseptic SuperLube to an eartag prior to insertion. 

Lambing Jugs

With lambing season already here for many, a few of the questions we've answered have pertained to lambing jugs. Our lambing system tends to shift from year to year but one of the constants is our use of lambing jugs for indoor lambing.

Q. How big should they be for different breeds? 

A. Usually the following:

• Small breeds—4'x4'
• Medium breeds—5'x5'
• Large breeds—5'x6' or 6'x6' 

Q. How tall should they be?

A. Use your own judgement. Ewes that are flighty or are jumpers, taller panels are recommended. For calmer ewes, shorter sides are acceptable. 

Q. Should they be open or solid?

A. Solid sides have merit in older drafty barns—they block drafts. 

For barns that are not as drafty or if lambing in warmer weather, open sides allow the ewe to see other sheep (in our experience, this helps to calm them). 

Q. How long should the ewes stay in them?

A. Standard for most flocks is 1-3 days. 

• Big healthy single lambs—1 day in the jug 
• Twins—2 days
• Triplets—2-3 days

Q. What is the best bedding to use?

A. A variety of bedding types can be used. We have more or less used them all. 

• Straw is probably the best/easiest to get (Around $3.25-$5 bale). 
• Wood shavings are soft and work well but cost a little more ($6-$10 per bale locally).
• Corn stalks, though rough, are cheap and plentiful in our area. 
• Corn cobs work well if available. 

Q. What is the best way to water ewes in the jug?

A. We have a few different systems in place for watering our ewes. 

• The first is a PVC pipe that runs the length of the barn. Holes are cut into the pipe every 4'-5' to allow ewes access to the water. Water constantly flows through the pipe which keeps it from freezing. 
• For pens not next to the water pipe we use individual buckets. 

1. Buckets are filled via a hose. The shepherd walks along the jugs and tops off the buckets. 
2. A large stock tank is filled and buckets are taken out of the pens, filled by dipping into the tank and returned to the jug. (In talks for being put into practice this year, not official yet.)

Q. How do we feed them in the jug?

A. Welded wire bale feeders, square buckets, BYO feeders and even tile drainage tube have been used in recent years.  

Goings on, happenings, catalogs and a lamb named Houdini.

Stan will be providing a lambing update in our Feb/March Newsletter. Make sure to sign up if you're not currently receiving our newsletters.

I myself have not been outside much this winter/lambing season. The weather (though mild) has been too cold and the coffee perfectly warm and comforting. In truth, the reason for my lack of polar expeditions was catalog season—non-stop since last fall. The result of my tireless efforts (with assistance from Stan, Jody, Kerrie, Rachel and others) are the Poultry, Equipment and upcoming Fence catalogs.

For those of you eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fence catalog, you may start camping by your mailbox around the 3rd week of March. Until then, the website, blog, Guide to All Things Sheep and newsletter should suffice as your source of info from Premier.

Though I've been inside, I have heard a few tails tales from the lambing barn.

The most notable occurred one morning when one of our shepherds (who shall remain nameless) burst into Graphics and thrilled us with the account of The Phantom Lamb.

While doing chores in the pre-lambing area (where the ewes are kept prior to being put into jugs for lambing) the shepherd heard a faint baa. A quick scan of the pen offered no insights to where the young voice had originated. More baas, but no lamb in sight. Frustrated and ready to move on with chores, our shepherd was moments away from dropping to his hands and knees to check under each ewe for the invisible lamb.

Another baa lead him to a baleage bale situated in one of our bale feeders. A ewe making motherly ewe sounds (you know, the deep throaty grumble that ewes make when speaking to their lambs) was inspecting the bale. Knowing that the ewe did not believe the bale to be her lamb, our hero checked the bale up/down and all around for a lamb trapped against a panel. No lamb.

Another lamb like bleat emanated from the bale. The ewe circled and searched the bale ring. Again, no lamb.

Our shepherd, stopped and pondered all the possibilities surrounding the situation. Could the lamb running around the bale in order to avoid the shepherd and the ewe? Is the lamb hiding elsewhere? Are gases from the silage process escaping the bale and making baaing sounds?

During this thought process, our hero noticed movement from one of the holes in the bale. The loose baleage moved! Had years of raising sheep using non-organic methods caused a mutation in the forage or did a lamb decide to play a drawn out game of hide and seek?

Quickly, the shepherd reached into the bale and below the loose baleage. After finding his target situating his hands in just the right position, he pulled and the lamb (head first with its legs under the chin) came out! Once our hero released the lamb, the lamb bounded straight to its mother for a belly full of milk. The shepherd, having just assisted a bale in giving birth, walked away to continue doing his morning chores and hoping for no more errant lambs.

Upon the ending of the tale, the Graphics folks were doubled over in laughter and I was preparing my next blog post. Names were removed to protect the dignity of the shepherd and all embellishments were added by myself, writers privilege.