Great news, Biddie was her old self this morning, out of her stall, butting heads, complaining for more food, and full of energy.  She gave us a lousy scare; it looked like a stroke.

We heard from the usual assortment of freelance vets, unwanted counselors, and social media busybodies who said we were doing the wrong things.

To the very assertive men and women who assured me we would kill Biddie with Bloat by giving her grain and nuts to you. Again.

It’s time to talk.

And not, I am sure, for the last time. These mysterious and unknown people always say they’ve been raising sheep for 40 years or that they raise commercial sheep and thus know more than people like us could possibly understand.

And one more thing: they never change their minds or admit error – ever!

For me, the challenge of this blog has never been about writing, typos, coming up with ideas, Dyslexia, the pressure of a daily journal, the cost, or even the nasty trolls who have, like Marmorated Stink Bugs, invaded and infested the country’s social media and almost everyone on it.

Just as the trolls have taught me to believe in myself or sink, the digital Stink Bugs have taught me to be thoughtful about my decisions, do my homework, and listen to paid and professional people who know what they are doing.

And stand my ground.

I wasn’t confident about animal care when I bought my farm; I had never set foot on a farm; I was easily undermined and made uneasy. I have worked very hard to learn what I needed to know, and I am not insecure about it now.

That means not listening to them and their alarms.

I’ve been writing online for more than 40 years, and I have learned again and again to be careful about who I listen to.  That’s not a wrong lesson for offline life, either.

The problem with free advice is that it so often sucks.

You do get what you pay for.

When Maria told one man our sheep were healthy and had never suffered from Bloat, he wrote back immediately and said, “no, Maria, you’re wrong. Your sheep are always getting sick.” I’ve gotten those messages for years; they focus on Maria now. She is more pleasant and patient than I am, but she is learning what I’ve learned.

Just delete them. They do eventually go away.

People who love dogs and other animals often seem prone to thinking they know more than anyone else or love their animals more than anybody else. This, I’m obliged to say, is generally horseshit.

I have been bullied into taking responsibility for my decisions, especially regarding animal care and my life. The good thing about that is that I take my choices seriously. I believe in them.

The reason is that more people than one can imagine it is their right and duty to tell you and me what to do or to disregard what we believe.  Their tone almost naturally has a noxious and superior quality to it. I am a passionate follower of Beavis N’Butthead. Because I am stupid, I am free. Because  I was never told or taught what to think, I can think.

Whenever a sheep gets sick or dies, or whenever we even mention grain, the Bloat Police tell us we are killing our sheep. At first, this wasn’t very pleasant to hear. Do these people know more than we do? Do they know things we don’t know? As it turns out, the answer is no to both questions.

During my first winter with them, all the sheep farmers I met and knew and all of the animal vets (three of them) I called or invited to the farm taught me how to boost the energy of my sheep and donkeys too in blizzards and brutally cold days. I learned that I needed to give them small bits of grain and fresh, 2nd cut hay, which we saved for emergencies.

As you know, I take the stewardship of animals very seriously, and so does Maria. We take nothing for granted.

And I am forever touched by the generosity of farmers in sharing what they have learned with people like me, who come to it later in life. I am not a farmer and have no wish to be. I’m a writer who writes about farms and other things.

As with any animals, from dogs to cats to donkeys, overfeeding them anything, rich or significant, can be unhealthy and dangerous. Overfeeding is a primary cause of death for dogs. You have to learn a lot, but when they are apart of your daily life, you learn quickly.

Sheep sometimes get seriously ill from being bloated (much less than cattle.) Bloat in sheep is a surplus of gas in the rumen (part of the abdomen.). Bloat is typically caused by two things in mature sheep: excess grain or overeating fresh, lush grass in the Spring.

When sheep overeat grain too fast or consume lush legumes like clover or alfalfa in large amounts, the gases build up and cannot escape fast enough, causing Bloat and, sometimes, death.  I am forever shocked that so-called sheep experts would think we don’t know that.

 

It is essential to give animals grain in tiny amounts. We usually sprinkle a handful or two in the feeders, and not every day and only when there is bitter cold. Not much in the way of legumes, grass, or alfalfa in January. Bloat in sheep is simply a surplus of gas.

The rumen is the first digestive organ. It occupies the left part of the abdomen and is the largest of the numerous gastric reservoirs in a sheep’s stomach.  The rumen expands with foam, and the animal can die quickly from respiratory or circulatory failure.

There are bloating vaccines, but in my experience, the best treatment is to limit the grazing time in early Spring, when the grass is green and prosperous. We rotate graze in several pastures, usually two or three hours at a time, no more than twice a day – early morning and night.

The rest of the time, they are in a fenced area with little fresh grass.

If the grasses are too rich or tall, we close the pasture and move the animals to a different one.

For sheep, a small amount of grain in the mid-winter (when there is no lush grass)  is the equivalent of Gatorade on a hot day or hot chocolate in the winter for humans. It gives them an energy boost on sub-zero days when standing around in the snow and ice can drain the strength and affect the circulation of almost any living creature except for Polar Bears and well-bred Yellow Labs.

I’ve done this for over a decade, Maria for nearly as long.

It works. We see it every year, every winter. It’s the first thing we gave Biddie, who we thought was dead and lying on the frozen ground. Along with fresh hay and water and shelter, it worked. She’s as good as ever.

We can’t do much to keep our animals warm; they live in a three-sided Pole Barn; ruminants don’t like being confined in closed waters and cutting off fresh air, which isn’t healthy.

It’s like so much in the animal world; the best thing you can do for domestic animals – horses, sheep, donkeys, cows –  is to keep an eye on them and monitor and restrict what they eat. In my 15 years, we’ve lost a handful of sheep, all but one, due to old age.

One died of unknown causes. We’ve had more than 100 sheep over these 15 years, that’s a good record, and we are proud of it.

Taking proper care of animals has been one of my life’s most creative and meaningful experiences. I have learned so much from them and about them. I understand that when people write openly online, many people out there will assume they are stupid or need direction.  People who think they are brighter than others have no restraints on them or consequences for the information they spread.

In some European countries, giving medical or other advice without proper training is illegal.

Biddie lives and prospers. May she last for years.