Can anyone recommend one milk replacer(Advance) over another(Merrick)???? I am assuming it doesn't really make any difference, but thought I would ask just to be sure.
I guess I have been lucky. Only one bottle baby in several years(a triplet). I used LandOLakes brand then, but I can't seem to find it online or locally. The LandOLakes was OK, but the lamb REALLY liked it after I added some canned goats milk to it. :) Anyway, I am thinking we may be bringing another one in to be raised on the bottle this weekend. We are watching it closely. I have to brag on my Anatolian, Turk. After an up and down adolescence, he has finally grown into a responsible adult. He is doing an excellent job, never letting the sheep wander into the woods and the "bottom land" without his escort. He always picks a strategic spot to oversee them. He no longer lets outside activities distract him from his job. He never pesters/chases the sheep. He seems to actually CARE about his charges. Our house is located on a high "point" that gives us a birdseye view of the top pastures as well as the woods and bottomland. With all the leaves gone now, we were able to witness the following event yesterday: Yesterday morning, we noticed the smallest of a pair of newborn twins was lagging behind the mother and other twin while the flock was descending down thru the woods. Turk was perched at the top of the hill watching. The lamb got stuck behind one particularly large log and the mother waited for a while for the lamb to make it over. She finally gave up and continued on without it. The lamb repeatedly tried to make it but was just too small. After a couple of minutes, Turk made a move down to the lamb. He licked it, smelled it and then watched the other ewes move into the "bottoms"(about 100 yds further down). The lamb then scampered back up the hill in the opposite direction of the flock. Turk followed it and after it stopped, he gently picked it up, turned, and went back down the hill to the edge of the thicket and deposited the lamb near the closest ewe! It immediately scurried over to its mother, apparently no worse for the wear. I was stunned. Turk then plopped down near ! the flock, seemingly content that all was well. To me, this speaks volumes of Turk's intentions as well as intelligence. I cannot be happier with him NOW. This hasn't always been the case. In his younger years I told him several times that I had a bullet with his name on it. I had seperated him several times for extended periods, then put him back and observed him. Each time he harrassed the sheep, I scolded him and seperated him again. This went on for two years. He didn't really ever mess with the adults, just the small young adults and the lambs. Drove me crazy. But it is like something clicked in his head last year, overnite he became an excellent guardian. I was very skeptical of him at first, but I have secretly watched him many times since then and he reinforces my trust in him every time I observe him. Oops, sorry to ramble, I was wanting to know about milk replacer! :) Thanks, Chris B. =============================================== This message is from the Blackbelly Sheep mailing list (http://www.awrittenword.com/listserv/index.html). To respond to this message, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe or change your membership options, go to http://lists.coyotenet.net/mailman/listinfo/blackbelly To search the archives, go to http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
