We marked the poddies today, always seems like we are betraying their trust, but they are very stoic and forgiving. We have refined our methods, having tried everything over the years.
We vaccinate with Gudair, then 6-1 with B12 and Selenium. Follow this with a scabiguard vaccine. Then  a numbered PIC tag, a brass stud tag, and finally a de-tailing. We used a gas knife, as this has proved less painful to the lamb than a rubber ring, (we swab the area with a fly repellant). We like to mark lambs as young as possible, and have found the cradle pictured as the best for a mixture of lamb sizes. We still use a rubber ring on the testicles, the suffering seems fairly short lived. 

We have decided this year that we will fertility test all our sale rams. Because so many of the people who buy our rams have small flocks and only one ram, a problem with a rams fertility can cost a years production. Unfortunately, unlike shedding, fertility cannot be assessed by eye.

Semen is collected from each ram and checked for sperm motility with a microscope. This gives a good idea of the rams fertility, but only on the day.
Our vets tell us that sperm has a six week turn around, so a sickness, or too much grain, for example, can cause a problem with a rams sperm, but in six weeks they should be right again. There are also a small number of rams that have a fertility problem with no obviously cause.
Along with our brucellosis testing and Johnes vaccination we hope to minimise any problems for our ram clients.

Every year at lambing time we get poddys, and this year we have twelve. It is hard to resist a lamb that is alone in the paddock or looking thin and tucked up. So home they come to join the others. Sometimes they are sick and there is the challenge of trying to work out what is wrong and treat them. With the sick lambs we win some and lose some. This year we have had severe hypothermia in a very new lamb (died), severe diarrhea in a day old lamb (died), lamb with swollen joints who couldn't stand (survived). Each win or lose teaches us a treatment or intervention to try the next time. Having access to antibiotics and vitamin injections is a huge help as well as being able to tube feed lambs that will not suck, or who are very weak.

We think the lamb with swollen joints picked up an infection through his navel, known as joint ill. He couldn't stand, had swollen knees, a temperature,and wouldn't suck. Antibiotic treatment and tube feeding for a couple of days helped him regain an interest in life. Once he could stand and would bottle feed, he was on the way to recovery. He is now competing with the other lambs at the lamb bar and weight bearing on the affected knee. We will keep him as a ram, and fertility test him at a year old to see if this type of sickness and treatment impacts on lifetime fertility. These little experiments help us learn along the way.

We marked the full blood lambs yesterday, that had lambed within the new fox fence. With the stud lambs, we go around twice a day, and put a numbered neckband on any new lambs, ( before they are too mobile) we then know their birthdate and parentage. Well we were delighted to find that NONE had been lost to foxes. This is a first for us, twin lambs are particularly vulnerable as we found in our earlier maiden ewe lambing. The new paddock has been a great success, but meant we have had to supplementary feed, and the faeces buildup can cause other problems.

One of the less fun things about living on a farm is the rubbish. We have to manage it and take it to the tip, harder than putting the bin out and having it taken it away. Yesterday we could no longer put the trip off, ( our home was  girt by rubbish). So off we went to the Braidwood tip, where we can dump our rubbish for free. When we got there Martin spoke to the woman who runs the tip. 

Martin: "I have come with my two wives "(me and my cousin Sue, squashed in the front of the ute)
Tip woman: " Well you can't leave them here".

The big talk fest is over. We met lots of people interested in Dorpers and lots of Dorpers went to new homes. It is so nice  to hear about the things that people are doing with their farms and lifestyle blocks and it would be good to think that every plan could succeed. A particular highlight for the group was winning  "Best Livestock Display" very exciting.

Thanks for the photos Laura.

Field Day eve, everything is almost ready. The tents are up, the pens built and  the sheep are settled in. An early start for the big talk feast. What could be better, hanging out with sheep friends, talking sheep with visitors to the site and catching up with customers from past years? A great way to spend the weekend.

We will be at Murrumbatemen Field Day again this year with the Southern Tablelands Dorper Group. We will be selling young Dorper X (F3, F4) ewes for $220.00, these are nice little sheep some white, some Dorper looking and a few mixed colours, they will make very good foundation ewes for anyone wanting to make a start in sheep.

We will also have a couple of young rams to go with them.

Finally the Llamas seem to have settled in and become part of the system, we now find them somewhat charming.

The fox lights are interesting. They flash in a random manner, multi directional, blue and white light, with short and long bursts of light. They cost around $70 each and run off a torch battery which is said to last around twelve months. The lights come on automatically as it gets dark. They sit on the fence post, hand on a wire or you can suspend them from at tree.

The lambing within the fortress is going well with two lots of triplets and plenty of twins. So far so good, but the proof will be at lamb marking.
Just In: May need to rethink placement of lights, neighbours report that they feel like they are suddenly living next door to an airport and keep expecting a plane to land.