First on the list of priorities when she arrived was to apply a splint in order to stabilize her leg so that she wouldn't damage it worse. Then a couple of days of R&R to let her settle in. She's one bright sheep because she sussed out the situation quickly and soon relaxed. Good. By the way, I don't believe that most sheep are sharpest knife in the drawer. Occasionally I get one that can think.
Next, sedate her and fix that leg. While she was sedated, it was the perfect opportunity to shear off the excess wool. She will need to be sheared twice a year in order to prevent flystrike.
It's been a few weeks now and she's using the leg to walk. So I've removed the protective support splint to see how she would fare. Just fine. As long as she doesn't panic over something stupid and race off across the pasture, her leg should do fine without a splint while it continues to heal. The reason for removing the support splint early is that it's been a major headache tending to it. Twice a day I've had to remove and reapply it because of the rain we've been having. Leaving a wet splint on invites flies and infection....a no-no.
I haven't named this new girl yet, simply calling her Baaaaa, my generic sheep call. But now that I'm confident that her leg is healing and that she will be staying on the farm, it's time to dub her with a proper ewe name.
Any suggestions?
With that whitish face marking, it looks like a Greek letter - how about UBmicron - can't type "mu" here. Or, UBsoblack...aw, that's lame (she is, a bit, too)
ReplyDeleteNot politically correct but she won't know the difference. I suggest Crip.
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