[Jacob-list] sheep memory

[Mary Hansson]

Don't quite know what to put it all down to, but think parasites of one
sort or another may be at the root of the issue.  The group of Twigg
sheep I brought home in May (and the ones that Katrina got) weren't this
big of a problem.  In fact, I didn't have a bit of sickness with those 7
sheep.  The 20 I brought in this fall have been the source of many tears
from about a month after their arrival through into December.  I have
lost more sheep this fall than in the prior 8 1/2 years of shepherding
combined!  

I will really have to watch the sheep for a longer period of time before
putting down their poor health this fall to THEIR problem.  It may very
well be.  I have been of the opinion their immune systems have never met
a bug, and their immune systems have never been built up and challenged
like sheep that move around or that meet other sheep more often than
every 15 years or so......  A poor shepherding issue such as parasites
or the unchallenged immune system would not be hardiness issues to fault
the sheep for.  I just don't have answers.  I know I would like more
than 2-3 weeks without the loss of a sheep to feel like I am done
digging holes.

Mary Ellen Hansson, ISeeSpots Farm
Jacob Sheep:  Those horny, fuzzy critters
Shop:  Knitting, crochet, spinning supplies
www.iseespots.com (336) 854-6209