Happy 5th Birthday

Happy 5th birthday to my Covid cat, to the cat from the pig farm, to the cat whose mama was killed when he was very young. Oliver is 5 years old today. I got him when he was six weeks old. He was the most adorable kitten. Very photogenic. And so tiny.

His 1st picture:  6 weeks old

So tiny

Oliver was born on a pig farm on the Eastern Shore. His mother was killed by one of the farm dogs, so he had to be raised by hand from a young age. It's also why they were able to rehome him at such a young age. Jennifer, a childhood friend, had made a post about three kittens on Facebook. I arranged to get the orange one. My mom and I met Jennifer's mother halfway, at the fire station in Clarksville, where we had both lived. Pat seemed reluctant to part with the kitten. 

Crissy gradually accepted Oliver. Oliver was especially fond of Zak, who sadly passed a few months later. I took Oliver with me to Mom's in the evenings. She enjoyed him for awhile. When he got older, I stopped bringing him to her house. 

Growing up:  6 months old

14 months old

A favorite pose:  almost 3

When Oliver was 4, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (high T4), highly unusual for a cat his age. Usually, it affects much older cats. Max got hyperthyroidism in his later years. Hyperthyroidism is treated with medication. Diet and iodine treatment are other options. Oliver takes his medication easily. He gets a half tab once daily. I toss it in the back of this throat, close his mouth, and he swallows it.

Before getting treatment, Oliver displayed the classic symptoms of hyperthyroidism:  always hungry, drank a lot of water, weight loss, and dull hair coat. He also became very irritable. Oliver was no longer the lovable cat he had once been. That was a symptom that Max never had. Even hyperthyroidism couldn't take the sweetness out of him.  I had to ask the vet to test Oliver for hyperthyroidism. The vet was surprised when he tested positive. It took a little while to get the medicine right. 

Oliver on his 5th birthday

After several months Oliver failed to gain weight, while his T4 was normal. Additional blood work showed signs of an infection. He was dewormed and treated with an antibiotic and medicine for his gut (for 10 days in December). He was easy to medicate. He stopped vomiting. Previously he was vomiting almost daily. I also changed to a more expensive cat food (hair ball formula) and began to feed beef Fancy Feast exclusively. For the past several months, I have been trying to put weight on Oliver. Cash likes the extra meals and snacks.  

Oliver and Crissy

Oliver and Cash

I don't think Oliver will ever be a fat cat, but he seems healthier now. His T4 will get checked next month and I'll find out how much weight he's gained back. He's not as lovable as he once was, but he's not nearly as irritable as before. He still "nurses" occasionally and sleeps with me on the bed sometimes. He and Cash aren't best buds, so he usually yields to Cash at bedtime.

Threes

Fourteen of the ewes had triplets. Eleven ewes are raising triplets.  I removed one of the lambs from a 9 year old ewe that had triplets. One ewe had a dead lamb in her litter. Another ewe only milks from one side. She's a good milker and can usually raise two good lambs. If she has three, I raise the extra one. This time, I had to feed two of her lambs. I think one of the lambs couldn't figure out which side to get milk from. Regardless, she only raised one, so it's time for her to go.

Ivanka has triplet ewe lambs

It was Rosie's first set of triplets:  also three ewe lambs

One of the Week's ewes with her second set of triplets

Her third set of three, first time raising all three

Her second set of three

This ewe was very sick when she lambed last year.
What a comeback!

Triplets grazing together with their mom

#1949: her first time raising three

The goat (Louise) had triplets, too.

Some ewes have triplets every year. Some have one or two sets in their lifetime. Most ewes have triplets at least once. Nigerian Dwarf goats are very prolific, too. I expect Louise to have three every year.

Looking for trouble

The goat kids are about two weeks old. They're fun to watch. They're always getting out of their pen and going exploring. Wherever they can go, they go. At the same time, they never venture too far from their home in the back bay of the garage. Stretch doesn't like them to leave the garage. He always herds them back in. Of course, they come back out. Sometimes they get into the pen with the orphan lambs.

Looking for trouble

Sheep: goat encounter

Contemplating their next move

Who me?

Who's your Momma?

This year, I had seven lambs that I raised artificially. Six of the lambs I separated from the flock. The other one, I kept with its mom. Four of the lambs were from the two sets of quads. In total, there were four males (all quads) and three females (all triplets). I always name the bottle babies. This year's names are Niner, Decker, Darlene, Eddie, Toby, Timmy, and Katie. 

I decided to bottle feed instead of bucket feed. It uses less milk. I'm not sure bucket feeding saves much time, since it takes longer to clean the equipment. To me, the labor is in making milk. I can more closely monitor the lambs with bottle feeding. They drink very fast. I feed two at a time.

Darlene front and center

The first ewe that had quads was a 4-year old Weeks ewe. I thought she would be able to raise at least 3 of the lambs, but after a day or so it didn't look like all of the lambs were getting enough milk, so I pulled two. The other ewe that had quads was a ewe I would have least wanted to have quads. I had to help her raise her first set of twins (as a yearling). Last year, she did better. I removed two of her quads for feeding. The artificially reared ones are bigger than the dam-reared ones. I probably cull the mom.

1911 is a ewe that has only milked one side for several years. She has been raising two good lambs on one side; so I keep her. She's an excellent milk producer. Last year, she only had a single, a big ram lamb that was first to sell for breeding. This year she had triplets. I immediately took one of the lambs, tube fed it colostrum, and began bottle feeding it. I figured she'd raise the other two. But either she didn't have enough milk (this time) or the second lamb couldn't figure out that only one side had milk. Regardless, I began bottle feeding a second of her lambs. 1911's tenure has probably come to an end. I'll  likely cull her after she weans the lamb she is raising.

Niner:  one of the quads

1621 has been one of my best ewes, but she is 9 years old now. Last year, she raised a beautiful set of twins. I kept the ewe and used the ram as a clean-up. The previous year, I pulled one of her triplets for artificial rearing (it had gotten sick). I had to rear one of her triplets this year. It would have survived on its mother, but bottle feeding has made it do much better. In fact, it's probably the heaviest bottle lamb. I named the lamb Eddie after her grand sire.

All of the orphans are doing well. Two are weaned. Three will be weaned in a day or so, and the other two will be weaned next week. I have used five bags of milk replacer for the 7 lambs. Hopefully, I'll have a little left over from the last bag (for next year).  I wean orphan lambs at around 35 days. I could probably wean them earlier, and should. After weaning, they stay together as a group for awhile, before being merged with the younger ewes' lambs (in the back).

Eating some hay

Orphans are inevitable with the prolificacy of my flock. Most of the ewes raise their triplets. Unfortunately, neither of the ewes that had quads this year was able to raise all of their lambs. I've had ewes raise four lambs in the past. One of my ewes (#1773) has raised two sets of quads.  I'd rather have a ewe that has triplets and raises twins than one that only births and raised two lambs. The third and fourth lambs are bonuses: gifts. They are free. Plus, I can only identify ewes that can raise triplets if I have lots of triplets and occasionally quads born.  Besides who doesn't love bottle babies, a.k.a. bummers?

2025 Lambing Summary

The 2025 lambing season is finished. One ewe lambed early, the result of a wayward ram. One ewe did not lamb. She is either open or will lamb late, hopefully the latter. The 1 and 2-year-old ewes were bred to lamb three weeks later than the mature ewes. This is the summary:

38 births
1 ewe late or open
3 births assisted: 8 percent of ewes, 9 percent of lambs
First lambs born: (February 18)  March 11
Last lambs born:  April 18

34 mature ewes
5 yearling ewes
Age range:  1 to 9 years
Average age:  4.6 years
Median age: 4 years

38 ewes lambed in 2025

90 lambs born:  88 live
2 dead (2.2 percent)
47 male (53 percent)
41 female (47 percent)

89 percent multiple births
2 sets of quads (5.3 percent):  8 lambs
14 sets of triplets (36.8 percent):  42 lambs (1 dead)
18 sets of twins (47.4 percent):  36 lambs
4 single births (10.5 percent):  4 lambs (1 dead)

14 sets of triplets

Lambs born per ewe:  2.37
Live lambs per ewe:  2.32
Lambs raised per ewe lambing (n=38): 2.13
Lambs raised per ewe exposed (n=39):  2.08
7 artificially reared

Lambs born per mature ewe (n=34):  2.48
Live lambs per mature ewe:  2.42
Lambs raised per mature ewe:  2.24
Percent triplet moms raising three lambs:  85 percent

Lambs born per yearling (n=5):  1.6
Live lambs per yearling ewe:  1.4
Lambs raised per yearling: 1.4

Yearling ewe with twin ewes

Average birth weight of quads:  7.6 lbs.
Average birth weight of triplets:  8.7 lbs.
Average birth weight of twins:  10.1 lbs.
Average birth weight of singles:  14.0 lbs.
Average birth weight of ram lambs:  10.1 lbs.
Average birth weight of ewe lambs:  8.8 lbs.

The sires of the lambs were the two new North Carolina State University rams (named Munchkin and Thunder) and Falkirk, a homegrown ram out of a Weeks ewe and USDA ram (both NSIP). Sterling was a clean-up ram, also sired by the USDA ram.

Munchkin: 46 lambs
Thunder: 22 lambs
Falkirk: 19 lambs
Sterling: 1 lamb

Born Outside

Almost all of the lambs are born inside the barn:  hoop house or carport. This ewe decided to have her lambs out in the field. I waited until she was done to put her in a jug in the carport. It was a split set of twins. The red ewe is a 2 year old, with her second set of twins. 

Video of 2324 cleaning her lambs

Two more ewes to go in the younger group. Two mature ewes failed to bag up and are either open or late. I hope late. Ditto with Thelma the goat. Winding down this year's lambing season. Yesterday, I tagged the 82nd lamb.

The Baby Goats Have Arrived

Louise gave birth to triplet kids five days ago:  2 bucks and a doe. It doesn't look like Thelma is pregnant. Else, she is very late. I think Ramen may have prevented the buck from servicing her. Ramen still tries to nurse his smaller mom. He's an annoying goat. I wouldn't mind getting rid of him.

Baby goats are adorable, a different kind of cute compared to lambs. Nigerian babies are so tiny. Because of their size, they can easily get in and out of the pen they're in -- which they do. It's fun to watch them, as they explore their surroundings and prance around on all fours. 

Video of Louise and her babies

Birth of third kid (video)

I plan to let one of the bucks, probably the brown one, breed his mother. Yeah, I know it's inbreeding, but the kids will be fine, and I'm only raising the goats for fun. I'm not spending $200 again to lease a buck that only bred one of my does. Hopefully, I'll be able to sell the little doe kid (all white). Wonder if any or all of them will sprout horns. I don't plan to disbud.

1 day old

Three in a row (4 days old)