we went just to look..sure we did! we need more animals like a hole in the head . well there was a little lamb there sick and thin could not leave w/ out it! she came in the ring no one bid on her they basicly laughed so i got her for 1$. i went to pay and a lady also paying{a goat dealer} made the comment she will be dead by morning. i replied no she will be fine and walked way. my vets house is on the way home so we stopped and got her wormed, antibiotices, iron and vitimans{sp}. now what? i have never had sheep, we do not what breed she is or how old. this morning she is up and grazing and drinking,should i still feed her sheep feed? how long should i wait to turn her outw/ the goats? i was thinking 2 weeks.what do you use to wash then, she is realy dirty? the best 1$ i spent,the vet only charged me 12$. the best vet i have ever known not out to make a buck but to help.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 16, 2000

Answers

Glad you have a good vet~~mine is wonderful,too! I couldn't afford my dogs if it weren't for him! Good luck with your new little one and keep us posted!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), August 16, 2000.

Renee, Bless you, you sweet girl! I wish you were my neighbor. We'd get along great. Please keep us updated on this baby, I want to know what her name is!!

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), August 16, 2000.

renee,

What ever you do, do not turn the lamb out with the goats until you know that she is 100% healthy. I'd wait the two weeks. Sorry, I don't know about the feed but I'm a "just getting rid of something and am not bringing anything back person."

Yesterday I saw 7 cages filled with bantam chickens that were a little larger then pigeons. I thought my son would like some so I asked the person who bought them all if he would sell me some. I picked out two hens and a rooster. He said give me $10 for them. The whole cage of 20 birds didn't even cost that much. He bought them for 35 cents a pound and the hens weren't even a pound each. I said,"No way" and put them back. Didn't go home with anything this time.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), August 16, 2000.

Good for you, Renee, I hope the little one makes it. I agree with Dee about NOT putting the lamb in with the goats for a while...a month wouldn't hurt! Not too long ago I posted here in a panic, having done just what you did, but with a little goat. After a week I put him in with the herd because he seemed fine. THE VERY NEXT DAY I found a spot on his mouth, and I just KNEW I had infected my whole herd with soremouth!!! It was an awful time waiting to see if everyone got sick! Thank God it turned out to be just a wart, and it fell off soon after that. I'd give her whatever she wants as far as grass and hay, and a handful of plain grain once or twice a day, til she's sturdy.

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), August 16, 2000.

The hardest part about keeping sheep with goats is feeding them. Goats need copper in their diet, sheep can not have it in their diet.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), August 17, 2000.

Renee, I've got a sheep in with my goats. It was either keep him or he would get eaten. I've had him since he was a lamb.

Quarantine her until you know for certain that she is healthy and strong. The goats will push her around, and she we eat last. My wether, Clem, is still at the bottom of the totem pole. The goats are pets to us, and overly friendly, and Clem acts like a sheep. I have to throw him down to sheer him, and he won't even take corn out of my hand.

I don't see any crisis about feeding the two types of animals. Since I have such lame fencing, I have what amounts to a free-range flock, and they get grain once a day. I usually have a mineral/salt block out, but the kind I buy is "sheep and goat", so no conflict. I gave BoSe to kids and moms this year.

I wouldn't wash her. She'll get rained on. Why mess with her unneccessarily? Animals get dirty, and they seem to clean up fine on their own. After she seems strong, dock her tail.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), August 17, 2000.

You sound as bad as me! Probably half my animals are dumps! I am a vet tech and have a small shelter for companion animals. Now I get calls from local farmers when they have sickly babies, usually when they are about to die. About half of the little guys live and I have to sell most of them (bullcalves, pigs, buck goats, ram lambs) but Iget great satisfaction from the ones that make it. Iamsure your little lamb would have been dead if it wasn't for you. Good Luck

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), August 18, 2000.

I'm glad I'm not the only one .When I go to auction to buy 1 calf I usually come home with 2 or 3 .I can't stand to see that poor little thing go to the feed lots were no one will care .Sometimes they make it some times they don't , but I try .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), August 18, 2000.

I can relate to your feelings. We got 3 dogs, 2 cats didn't buy a one. My bluetic hound wasn't dumped, they threw her out at about 50 bouncing her off our front porch. After a chase down and "country boy discussion", the fella that dumped her agreed to pay the vet bill.She's the best hound I have ever had. My wife laughs cause she treats me like her puppy. Good luck with the lamb.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 22, 2000.

I went to an auction last weekend just to look at what was billed as an antique moonshine still. (Academic/editorial interest only, of course.) But it wasnt there. Im wondering if the revenoors saw that auction bill and got there first. Jd

-- Jd (belanger@tds.net), August 22, 2000.