Newborn Tunis lambs. Photo courtesy of Susan Husk, Ferrisburg.

• separation from other ewes
• acts more territorial than usual
• pawing the ground
• restlessness, nervousness and acting uncomfortable
• udders filling out
• increased breathing rate
• sides caving in and ewe “drops”
• expelling the mucus plug
• water breaking
• straining to push lamb
• expellation of the mucosal plug
• straining and pushing
• cervical dilation
• passing of the water bag (delivery should be 30-60 minutes from now)
• arrival of lambs (twins should take at most 2 hours to be delivered but no longer)
• expellation of afterbirth (usually occurs within a few hours but may take as long as a day. If not passed after two days assistance may be needed

Since the normal gestation period of sheep is around 140-145 days, look for these signs around day 135 or so. These signs usually mean that delivery will be during the next 2-15 hours. The ewe will feel most comfortable if not disturbed and the birth may proceed more smoothly.

For more details visit http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/ansc442/Semprojs/lambing/lamb.html

Reprinted from a page developed by Robert Pearl, Melissa Heckart, and Chris Wehmer. Spring 1998. Purdue University

2009 marks the last year of eligibility for two of our long time members, Lindsey Rouche and Megan Watrous.  Their leadership  and mentoring of younger 4-H members at regional competitions will certainly be missed.  On a brighter note, they both plan to continue their affiliation with Vermont 4-H as leaders and we all look forward to working with them.

Special congratulations to Amy Davenport.  Amy was one of 5 or 6 Youth Show participants to receive this year’s  Spirit Award.  This award is presented annually to those exhibitors who assist others and show leadership skills.  Amy was also chosen as the Northeast Tunis Youth Ambassador for 2009.  Her duties will include promoting the breed and representing the Tunis Association at regional events.

Prices at the New England Sale did not appear to be impacted by a sluggish economy.  The highest price paid for an Oxford Ewe was $1,700.   Lets hope that she lives long enough for the buyer to get some return on investement.  On the lower end, sales of $150 were not uncommon.  The number of animals sold seemed to be in line with historiacal sales numbers.  There was quite a bit of used equipment and some sold at very reasonable prices.  Two of our members won buyers credits through the National Tunis Association and came home with new additions.  Megan Watrous bought two Southdowns, a ewe and a ram,  to add to her flock.  Romney prices remained relatively good this year, as per Graham Stewart of Anchorage Farms.

Details follow:

Sheep and Goats: What they can do for you
July 29, 2009
1:00pm (Eastern); 12:00pm (Central); 11:00am (Mountain); 10:00am (Pacific)

Register at www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2009/sheepandgoat.

Your hosts, Linda Coffey and Margo Hale, will discuss:
Multiple benefits of sheep and goats
Selecting breeding stock
Evaluating animal health
Marketing meat, milk, and wool products including organic

Register now and mark your calendar!

My name is Amy Davenport. I am seventeen years old and have had Tunis sheep for three years. I started out with only two bred ewes. They both gave me twins, so my flock began to expand. I now have eight Tunis. I have other breeds along with the Tunis, such as Columbia and Oxford.

I have been a member of the Wonderful Woolies 4-H club for six years. Through these six years I have learned showmanship, sportsmanship, teamwork. and leadership. I am always willing to help others people show their animals even when I am done showing mine. I take being at the end of a class as an educational study to do better the next time in the show ring. 4-H and in general showing sheep has shown me teamwork is the key to success.

I have been a member of the Vermont sheep 4-H delegates to Eastern Exposition (Big E) for 6 years showing my sheep, as well as being a member of the Vermont Quiz Bowl, which won this past year. Plus competing in the Blocking & Fitting competitions with my fellow 4-H club members and we won for two years, as it is a team effort. In 2008 I was awarded the Shepherd Award while at the Big E; this award is voted on by all the participants from the 6 states attending and a participant from each state is chosen for their “outstanding teamwork and
dedication to their 4-H project” to win a sheep crook.

I live on a dairy farm with my family. My dad milks 40 cows and has a hundred head of cattle that he and I feed. My mother and sister help also. I have three horses that I ride. One of the horses does gymkhana with me. Another helps me get the cows from the cow pasture when it is time for milking. And I am teaching the other horse dressage so we compete during the summer in between getting hay in the barn and going to sheep shows. My 4-H club puts on educational workshops such as, lambing, feed idea, blocking and fitting, and parasite control workshops. Wonderful Woolies has been a great stepping stone into the working world; where we earn money to go places to broaden our horizons of sheep knowledge. For example, we had the vet come to ultrasound our 35 sheep and the 4-H club members came and learned how to tell if a ewe was pregnant or not.

My future plan is to become a large animal veterinarian. I plan to keep showing my Tunis throughout my college years and help other people become involved in becoming Tunis breeders and owners themselves. I love the Tunis that I have because they have great personalities, are able to take care of their lambs with little assistance from me, are able to handle a situation without getting extremely flighty, and are easy keeper when it comes to passing out the grain.

Reprinted from Tunis Spirit.

Entries will be judged on clarity, content, composition and appeal. More than $1,000 will be awarded, with awards of $125 going to the grand prize winner in each of the four categories listed below; $75 for the first runner-up in each category; and a $50 prize for the second runner-up in each of the four categories.

The four categories are action, scenic, people and sheep, and open.

Additional details can be obtained by going to www.sheepusa.org.

Amy Davenport in 2008 at the Youth Show

This year celebrates 25th annual North East Youth Sheep Show. The first show was held in 1985 with three breeds being shown in a one day event.   The show has experienced growth and changes over the years and now hosts fourteen breeds, as well as All Other Breed Show, and runs a full weekend. The event is sponsored by the New England Sheep & Wool Growers along with many of the national and northeast breed associations and private donors

This year’s show runs from July 16th thru 19th and is held in the Livestock Complex at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It is open to all youths under the age of 21 years with all breeds of sheep being invited. The exhibitors must solely own or lease their sheep or co-own sheep in a youth partnership.

The sheep and exhibitors should arrive by Thursday, July 16th, with animals being penned by 11:00 p.m. Activities begin on Thursday evening and continue right through the weekend with the finale being the selection of the Supreme Champions on Sunday afternoon.

The judges for this year’s show are Ed Julian, Steve Taylor and Stacey Taylor. Entry information are available on the NES&WG website (www.nesheep.org). Deadline for entries is the Friday before the show, July 10.  Interstate health papers and breed registration forms are necessary.

Vermont needs to assemble a team for Quizbowl competition and submit an entry form immediately.

The success of Sheep Camp depends on the effort and commitment of many volunteers.  As I think back on my first year of attendance there was Leslie Goodrich and Cindy Watrous, flanked by their children.  Seven years later Leslie and Cindy still offer their assistance and their girls are at camp, not as 4-H’ers, but as organizers, mentors and leaders.

Liz, Lindsey, & Meghan

Hannah, Abby and Lindsay

These Sheep Camp graduates offer so much to the next generation of shepherds.  Their enthusiasm, organizational skills, and smiling faces make returning a pleasure for us older folks.

Special thanks to all those, too numerous to mention, who gave tirelessly of their time this past year.   And to those who stepped up at the last minute to help make this past weekend a success.

Farewell to our good friend Mary Benoit, a tireless contributor for many years, as she heads for greener pastures.

Now lets all catch up on some laundry and sleep!

visit www.cartoongoddess.com for more art

Seven days to go.  Wow, it’s hard to believe that next Friday we’ll be loading sheep and heading for New Haven.

Just a few reminders for everyone.

Clothing

Bring plenty of warm clothes and at least one extra pair of shoes.  Raingear is always a good idea as the fairgrounds remains both wet and cold if the weather is bad.

Tents and camping gear

Most of us have figured out the benefits of a tent and some type of air mattress or cot.  For first timers, we are sleeping in barns that have birds nesting above…you can figure that one out.  Bugs are an annoyance at night without a tent.  Bring bug spray.

Sleeping bags should be the type for outdoor camping in order to offer the necessary warmth.  Some type of mat or tarp underneath makes the nights more comfortable also.

Flashlights come in handy for evening trips to the bathroom.

Sheep

Each 4-H’er should have a flock health paper and proof of rabies for sheep 3 months of age or older from their veterinarian.  Anyone coming with livestock from out of state needs interstate health papers prepared by your vet within  thirty days of June 26, 2009.

At a minimum check your sheep for hoof rot, sore mouth, and pinkeye before leaving your property.  If for some reason your sheep is ill and can’t come please contact one of the organizers or your club leader.  Chances are someone else can bring an animal for you to borrow.

Please refer to the article posted on June 10 on Show Season Biosecurity for more details.

Label all your equipment, every little bit of it.  There is no easy way to identify things that get mixed up.

Hand clippers, hoof trimmers, and hand cards are expensive to replace.

Volunteers needed

Being prepared for Friday afternoon means lots of running around and organizing all day Friday.  If you can come to the fairgrounds earlier in the day and help set up pens, etc.  that would be a big help for the

Vermont Sheep Committee members.

Come well rested and remain safe!

With the long-awaited almost-arrival of spring, we have been focusing our efforts on preparing for the upcoming animal and agricultural events that Vermonters are so fortunate to be able to enjoy. The agency’s animal health employees are fortunate to be able to partake in these events and to work with producers, fair superintendents, and other colleagues who are responsible for participating in, and organizing them.

In this column, I would like to review with you some of the exhibitor guidelines that are in place to minimize the spread of disease.

If you are planning to exhibit your animals at a fair or any other area where animals will co-mingle, please keep in mind the following:

Abide by all animal health requirements established by the event organizers and make sure that your animals are vaccinated according to your veterinarian’s recommendations.

While at the event, use appropriate means of limiting contact of your animals with the public and other animals.

Do not share feeding, watering, cleaning, or grooming equipment used for other animals.

Supply your own feed and bedding and keep it separate from other animals.

Avoid using stalls recently occupied by other animals unless the stalls have been cleaned and disinfected.

Have disinfectant available for cleaning equipment when necessary.

Quarantine animals returning to the farm from an event for at least two weeks before reintroducing the animals into the flock or farm population.

If your animal develops signs of illness or disease during an event, contact the appropriate fair officials and then remove the animal from the premises.

Abide by all vaccination, testing and health certificate recommendations and requirements when transporting any livestock species to any fair or festival.   If you are uncertain as to the requirements for a particular species, contact
the agency’s Animal Health office at (802)828-2421 or visit our website at www.vermontagriculture.com. Vermont is host to more than 20 fairs, field days, and festivals around the state. Each one has something unique to offer, and they all support Vermont’s heritage, so remember to visit them this season!

Vermont has many great livestock events to enjoy, whether you do so wearing the hat of an exhibitor or that of a visitor. If you follow the proper precautions to minimize the chance of animal health problems, you can participate in these venues and keep your livestock healthy before, during and after.

SHOW CLOTHING SWAP

New this year will be a clothing swap designed to pass outgrown show clothes on to the next generation of shepards. If you have show clothes that are in good condition that your child can no longer wear please bring them along and we will have a table set up for distribution. The same goes for barn boots, barn coats, and any other items that you are willing to pass along.

VERMONT BASKET DONATIONS FOR THE YOUTH SHOW

Each year Vermont brings a basket of donated items to be raffled off as a fund raiser at the Youth Show in Springfield, MA. This year’s show is scheduled for July 16-19 and Sheep Camp will be the only time that all clubs are together before this show. We are hoping that each club will be able to donate at least one item for the basket. This year’s theme seems to be gardening and plant related based on the items that we have to date, but any type of contributions are welcomed. Last year’s basket was a big hit so lets do the same again in 09.