Me and Miniel

At this point, we are still encouraging Miniel to make it. She has setbacks which results in depression.

We still don't know what the future holds for her, but she is still with us today and for that we are grateful.....

Winter Wonderland, Indeed!

A Winter morning's greeting....................

Winter Solstice Magic

Spinning Cory's Fleece....

CORY

We received Cory's  2010 fleece last month.  It was processed into a silvery roving by Woolly Knob Fiber Mill. I have spun three double ply skeins so far with future plans including a sweater for my husband.
Cory is one of a set of twins. Linc is the other twin. They came to Dor Galen as bottle lambs in 2004 so they are really gentle, friendly guys who love having their ears and backs scratched.

LINC and CORY

 

LINC

An Image to Set a Holiday Mood

Bbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......................

It's a cold December day!  Winter arrived yesterday here and caught us unawares. The water hydrant froze in the barn and we had mucho trouble with water hydrants plural last December. I think we went through three new hydrants last winter until we finally found one that worked and these were brand new hydrants, mind you! All of these hydrants were made in China. I think that this year we will find something made in America, but we will pay a pretty price. My husband will try heat tape on the current hydrant and see how that works.
Meanwhile, Miniel is on the back porch in the sunlight practicing getting up on her knees then lying back down. I can hear her little hooves strike the wooden floor as I type away......

More Government Control of the Food Supply......

For everyone interested in eating locally produced foods, read this link.....

Miniel and Meningeal Worm

As far as we and the vet have been able to determine, Meningeal worm is the infection we are fighting in Miniel. She has been wormed twice and now is being treated with steroids only to control the inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. The vet left it to my discretion to give her 1-2 cc's daily of Dexamethasone to control the symptoms. She is still displaying signs of neurological involvement , but the signs appear to be not as severe as a couple of weeks ago. We can only hope there is no permanent neurological involvement as she has been unable to walk for two weeks.

Lack of Posting due to our sick ewe......

I will blog about everything as soon as we can get Miniel back on her feet. To everyone with a medical degree, it's like having a total care patient, except she's on the back porch instead of a hospital room. I named our back porch " The Sheep/Goat Recovery Unit"... and have minded visitors to "Watch Your Step"! I should have some extra beautiful flowers next summer!!!

Calling All Shepherds and Sherherdesses!!!

If anyone can help solve the illness that has struck our sheep, Miniel, PLEASE HELP!
We finished six days of Penicillin treatment last Saturday, October 30th. After this regimen of Penicillin, we wanted to give Miniel's body a rest from the antibiotic. She was improving, but now has gone backwards in her progress. She has been lying down more in the past couple of days and it is very difficult for her to stand. When she is able to stand she is very shaky on her legs........her forelegs more than hind.  I started the Penicillin again last night and again this morning. We had been giving her 2 cc's Penicillin S.Q. and that is the dosage I continued. Our farmer friend, Tim, is coming over tonight with a different antibiotic and some worming medicine in case it is liver flukes that somehow managed to get in her central nervous system., although the vet didn't see any signs of worms. We continued the Probiotic every couple of days to ensure that her rumen is working. She continues to eat and drink appropriately passing formed stools.
I know there are shepherds and shepherdesses  in the blogosphere...............we would appreciate any and all suggestions, comments, etc.
Thank you so much!!!!!