[Jacob-list] lice and lambing

[Gillian Fuqua]

Finally I have lambs here. 3 sets of twins, ram and ewe each set.   
Very few great beauties which means I am contemplating getting rid of  
my ram.  I'm off to see the babies he produced for a friend of mine.   
My husband seems to be of the opinion that if Tristan goes, that's it  
for rams.  Looks as if my marriage is in for another livestock  
challenge....  One bottle baby here who will stay, a ewe, I think I  
will socialize her to be a meet and  greet girl and do some education  
stuff with her.  When do you guys start your bottle babies on creep  
feed?  More importantly, when do you get rid of the middle of the  
night feeding?

On the lice question.  I try to do as much stuff organically as  
possible, and as is affordable.  I used a surface pesticide for lice  
last year.  When my daughter had lice (I know it is a different bug),  
I used olive oil and tea tree oil.  I had to leave it in for two  
hours and then comb out nits.  I just don't see doing that for a  
sheep.  Although, based on what the olive oil did for my daughter's  
hair, it might be nice on wool!  I suspect that the solutions that  
our forebears used, may have contained kerosene or some other foul  
substance.  I think that as we look for non chemical responses to  
flock management issues, we have to look at issues of cost and  
practicality.  I think we also have to remember that not all "modern"  
interventions are bad.  I always think of this when frends of mine  
talk about having babies at home.  My daughter was a model pregnancy  
but would have been a disasterous home birth given some complications  
right at birth.  I try to keep this in mind in my flock management  
and work to achieve balance.

Sleep deprivation makes me philosophic

Gillian