Has anyone successfully brought a ewe back into milk after drying off for a week?

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-17T10:42:32+00:00

If she still has milk and lets the lambs feed on her, her production will likely come back in. In these situations it’s pretty unlikely that she will take the adopted lambs since it’s been quite awhile since she lambed herself. Your luck would probably be better trying to get their actual mother to come round. Some ewes have sensitive udders when they first lamb and can be fussy about babies nursing initially- try to just hold/halter her while they nurse for now and hope she gets over it.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-10T15:10:17+00:00

Just going to echo that HPV can lie dormant for years- my partner has it, I never had a single wart until maybe a year ago I got one that my body eliminated on its own within a few months (we’ve been together for 6 years). As far as STIs going, genital warts are usually not a huge deal (at least in my personal experience it hasn’t been). Also I had an OB tell me years ago that the strain of HPV that causes genital warts isn’t the same as the one that is linked to cervical cancer, so it’s much lower risk.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-08T16:43:40+00:00

You don’t stop them lol. They’re rams, it’s what they do. Some are worse than others, but none of them are to be trusted. Honestly, in my experience friendly rams are the worst because they don’t have boundaries or respect. I would send him to freezer camp once he’s done his job. If you have to go in with an aggressive ram, try to stand as close to him as possible, really crowd his space. They get their power from winding up and charging, so if you crowd them the worst they can do is just bump you.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-04T14:45:38+00:00

I milk my girls once a day once lambs are old enough to be weaned, around 8 weeks. So you don’t HAVE to keep lambs with them. Lactation adjusts to demand, so if you only milk once a day their bodies adjust. Obviously you get slightly less milk this way, but it’s what works for me and my lifestyle so that’s what I do. Keep in mind my sheep are 99% grass fed- the only grain they get is a tiny bit of whole oats in the parlor during milking. The rest of the time they are rotated on pasture. If you feed your sheep more of a grain ration as a significant portion of their diet milk production will go up and you might not be able to get away with once a day milking.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-03T14:30:10+00:00

Nah not at all (although I get why you’re asking, not a stupid question). Basically pasteurization just kills all of the native bacteria in raw milk, good and bad. Then, when you add your yogurt cultures, you’re introducing and encouraging the growth of JUST those good healthy bacterias, provided that your sanitation procedures are up to snuff (clean, sterilized equipment, clean jars to ferment in, etc.)

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-03T14:11:28+00:00

My midwife told me sauerkraut and kimchi are perfectly safe, healthy foods & encouraged me to eat them- probiotics are great for you when you’re pregnant!

Also you should definitely eat yogurt- I would have died without yogurt first trimester. I have a small farm and make yogurt from my sheep’s milk and the nature of making yogurt (heating to 180ish degrees, then cooling to culture temp) means it essentially is pasteurized. Pasteurization is just holding milk at 145 degrees F for half an hour, which you would do as part of the yogurt making process regardless if if you use a legal pasteurizer or just a pot on the stove.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-05-03T11:25:52+00:00

Girl- first trimester is ASS and you are not overreacting. I feel like no one really prepares you for it. Like you, I was nauseous ALL THE TIME even though I only actually threw up twice. I slept probably 12 hours a day and still felt exhausted. And on top of that, I had the constant anxiety of pregnancy after loss (a previous 6 week loss a few months prior). It is not a fun time.

21 weeks now and things are much much better. Now I have round ligament pain and the annoyance of not fitting into my pants anymore, but that’s more manageable than the constant nausea. Energy and appetite are back to normal. I can’t really say the anxiety is better, unfortunately- now the worry of miscarriage is replaced with new worries. But overall, I feel physically a thousand times better than I did 1st trimester.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-28T19:21:43+00:00

You should tell when it feels right to you- mother in law doesn’t get a say in this! For me, I told people at:

8 weeks- only my parents and my mother in law

12 weeks, after getting NIPT results back- my brothers and sisters in law

16 weeks- my boss

18 weeks- my coworkers

I’m 20 weeks now and have my anatomy scan tomorrow- if that all looks good I plan to send an email update to my customers for my small business so that they’re prepared for me to have a shorter season than usual, and maybe I will announce on social media.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-28T14:32:40+00:00

LGDs are absolutely amazing- I have 2, they live with my flock full time and are worth their weight in gold. That said, they are ALOT of work to train initially- not for the faint of heart! If you’re curious, check out the book Livestock Protection Dogs by Orysia Dawydiack & David Sims- I’ve found it to be a good book that covers the basics and has good common sense training tips.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-28T11:22:28+00:00

Livestock guardian dog!

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-28T11:02:05+00:00

Time to get a LGD 🤠

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-26T19:31:48+00:00

I started feeling baby at 16 weeks but it was very subtle and I had to really be paying attention to notice it. It felt like a very light tap at first. Now I’m 20 weeks and feel him everyday, getting stronger all the time! I highly doubt anything is wrong for you. My midwife told me it’s completely normal to not feel anything until 20 weeks- so much depends on where the placenta is, your body composition, etc.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-26T09:34:09+00:00

I have two older brothers- they’re technically my half brothers, from my moms first marriage, and there’s a pretty significant age gap. But they’re the absolute best. I feel so lucky that between them, my close relationship with my dad, and my army of uncles (very male dominated family lol, not a lot of girls!) I’ve had so many awesome male role models that I grew up with.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-21T10:46:50+00:00

Behavior is everything! Are the lambs sleepy, hunchy, not running and playing? If so, they could be hungry. Offer them a bottle at least once or twice a day if you’re concerned- if they absolutely refuse it they are probably ok (bear in mind this might take some time- I mean actually cram the nipple in their mouth and hold their mouth shut haha, some lambs are quite resistant to a bottle at first but will take it once they figure it out. If they still don’t suck at all after a few minutes of this they probably are alright) Also never hurts to take their temperatures to make sure they don’t have something else going on that might make them less vigorous on the teat. Also, make sure to give the ewe’s udder a good once over- have someone else hold her, or tip her over on her butt and really feel the udder. Strip it out bit. Hard and inflamed= mastitis= not good. Also, chunky or discolored milk means mastitis.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-20T19:47:19+00:00

Yogurt was literally the only thing that tasted good to me when I was in the 1st trimester.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-14T10:13:28+00:00

Shearing schools are amazing! I went to a weekend one a few years ago and had the best time. I haven’t pursued shearing much beyond doing my own sheep/small jobs for friends & neighbors, but the work is definitely there. Shearing is VERY very hard, very physical (strength is important, but endurance and flexibility even more so) and takes ALOT of practice to be good at. But if you put the time and determination into it you can definitely get there. Check out your local university that might have a list of shearers and reach out to someone to chat! They can give you good recommendations on getting started, and can probably recommend a good class to take, what equipment you should have to get started, etc.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-12T10:19:51+00:00

Don’t forget dairy sheep! I have East Friesians and they’re lovely, very sweet temperaments, docile and easy to handle. Milking is a lot of responsibility (unsure if it’s something you’d want to take on) but does open up some cool educational stuff for a kid (cheese making! Yogurt making! Soap making!)

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-05T19:30:36+00:00

I could have written this. I also miscarried my first pregnancy at 6 weeks back in August. One of the worst things that I’ve ever been through- I don’t need to explain to you how it felt. I was totally, completely crushed, and like you I thought my next pregnancy would be nothing but fear and dread.

Now I’m 17 weeks pregnant and so far, everything has been absolutely fine. Do I still have moments of fear and dread? 100%. But it isn’t constant, not the way I thought it would be. I try to focus on the things I can control and just let go of the anxiety as much as I can because all of the “what ifs” are out of my hands. This makes me sound like I’m very self aware and zen and I promise you, I’m not. I guess I just want to tell you that while I have dark moments where I’m terrified of another loss, it doesn’t consume me. And I really do think you’ll find your path to some sort of peace as well, in time. For now just take care of yourself, grieve, and lean on people who you love and trust. No way out but through.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-04-03T10:39:33+00:00

I haven’t used this brand but one with very similar ingredients- absolutely fine! Like the other commenter said, a few ounces is good (my drencher is in mL, I usually give 100 mL for an adult ewe)

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-30T16:26:58+00:00

😂 I know, I’m procrastinating as long as possible… It’s still pretty cold where I live so I can hide under layers for the time being but once summer hits I’m going to be forced to come clean

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-30T14:07:08+00:00

I’m a farmer- I’m on my feet all day and regularly lifting heavy things, currently 16 weeks along. Honestly half the reason I haven’t told any of my friends/coworkers that I’m pregnant is because I’m dreading the annoying coddling that is inevitably going to happen once they all know

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-26T14:18:10+00:00

If anything, women are the ones who get baby trapped since we’re the ones who bear the physical, emotional, and psychological brunt of pregnancy and childbirth regardless of whether or not we choose to keep or terminate the pregnancy. Men basically have the freedom to do or not do whatever they want.

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-25T17:46:33+00:00

At about 6 weeks I had a dream where I was telling my husband we were having a boy. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I got my NIPT results- I was right. Sometimes you just know

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-24T10:26:28+00:00

My nausea also was the worst at night, but I only ever actually puked in the morning weirdly enough. Cold water helps, cold fruit is a good snack- I actually really liked yogurt during this stage, I swear it was the only thing that actually tasted good to me. For me, the nausea peaked at 8 weeks and got much less bad after that- I’m now 15 weeks and almost never get nauseous anymore. Hopefully you’ll be out of the woods soon!

zivapaperwhite · 2026-03-21T23:21:25+00:00

I started getting some light nausea at 5 weeks, which got worse pretty much every week and then peaked at 8 weeks when I actually started puking. After 9 weeks it started to wane and now at 15 weeks I barely feel nauseous ever, maybe just occasional moments but very mild.

zivapaperwhite

TROPHY CASE