New Baby reindeer to my herd

Wow poor Lexi, her wound does look horrid! As I scrolled down through the pictures I kind of thought two things, 1st OMG that looks bad and then, her cleaning up like that is gross! I hope no flies get to her as she heals!

 

Fly eggs (Fly Strike) can be a major issue, particularly with sheep if they are scouring. Flies lay their eggs on poohey bottoms or wounds. Eggs can be seen easily with the naked eye BUT in warm weather they can go from eggs to maggots in hours. For a shepherd this is a nightmare if they have 100's of sheep. Conversely sheep can cope with the pour on drugs to kill maggots.
Luckily I have always seen eggs before they develop as drugs burn reindeer skin... but if need be than that has to be the way to go to prevent maggots eating flesh.
Fly eggs, they lay in clusters, vary in colour depending on species, that cluster would be very small BUT visible to the naked eye.

 

Thank you Karen. We will hope your weather stays cool and that Lexi heals quickly!

 

Weather back to ridiculous. Lotte for some reason has taken up residence in chute (and no shade there) loads elsewhere but why the chute?? Got to love them.

 

It looks like a nice cool blue (like the pool). Lotte is waiting for the water!??!!

 

An update on my "Unicorn" baby of last year, baby Belle...
She is actually growing a second antler this year, it isn't big BUT it's growing .. I thought she would be forever a Unicorn (it can be a genetic issue).
I am posting a photo of her kissing her mother, Katya, in January. It doesn't show her lack of antler well but it does show he difference between Winter and Summer coats for reindeer..
Katya & Belle, with only one antler in January.

Belle Summer coat and trying hard for second antler. How they grow and change if scary!
Belle 6 months later.

 

Bless her heart, I hope that she continues to try hard to get that second antler. Love the picture of her and her mum.

 

for some reason I can't see the pictures.

 

Did you try cleaning your flash cash and browser cookies(do i sound like Shooger)?

 

Yes joan you do lol

 

Such a nice set of photos; Belle has a pretty face!

Here is a question about antlers; not sure if you have addressed it before. Are there many reindeer that have one full antler and one "stubby" or who are always unicorn? I tried reading up on the subject, but can't find much.

 

Willow, yes some reindeer are forever unicorns (mainly genetic but it can be caused by damage to the pedicule). I haven't seen very lobsided antler growth before but I have seen, in some herds, very stunted, bilateral growth in antlers (Frodo as an example but more obvious in other peoples cows). I believe that could be poor nutrition but for Belle that doesn't make sense as one antler grew well last year and all the rest of the herd were fine.. I don't know but just wonder... I had two calves that had antler breaks last year and I think the cause may have been Elsa with her happy paddling of any baby that wasn't hers... maybe just maybe she only slightly damaged Belle's pedicule very early? Who knows. But Willow thank you for for looking - there is so little information even on the WWW for reindeer. It's trial an error mostly.
I have a friend (in Germany) panicking about her young bull looking thin... he's the same age as Gandalf (only hit a year in May).. I know since January Gandalf has gone from a big bull calf to a massive gangly teenager. He isn't carrying loads of weight but he has grown in height by about 12 inches since January... Picture not great but to show comparative height to a 7 year old cow Year old Gandalf in background... I couldn't expect him to be chunky with that amount of growth

Gandalf itty bitty of cuteness, only 5 months ago... over 12 inches (closer to 18 inches of growth since then. Then my arm extended downwards, palm at right angles was his height... In 5 months he's taller than the adult girls!

 

Thanks for the additional antler info. Gandalf is such a handsome young man!

 

Thanks Joanc123.

 

I lved the picture of Bella and her mother

 

Okay, time for an update...
Katya is worrying me beyond (Herman Munster's mother). I did faecal worm counts about 6 weeks ago at which time she was carrying loads of weight (Herman was only a couple of weeks old).
I do faecal counts in batches, ie adults, yearlings, calves and separate worm counts for any reindeer that is a worry at the time... Her group (adults) came back very low worm burden but I wormed anyway.
She started to drop weight rapidly afterwards (but I see her feeding both the Monster and other calves). Didn't worry at first as thought wormer would kick in but lugged out scales again today and she's lost anther 1/2 kg! She's eating her head off and another faecal sample at vets... BUT she did this when feeding Hector too... Scary beasties!
Paddocks are parched with this unusual dry weather in UK...
Everything a temporary nightmare AND signs from boys say they may be going into rut early this year... and still have to dig in water pipes before they do but ground like concrete..
We'll get their... Hopefully

 

Fingers crossed that is just Katya's nature to lose weight while still nursing Herman (and others) bless her heart!
I hope the heat leaves soon and you get some sort of gentle rain fall!

 

Maybe a backhoe with a small shovel could knock it out quickly. Probably a small fortune unless you are good buddies with a farmer.
Good Luck Karen, with Katya and the pipe project! Hugs from across the pond.

 

We really need down pours of rain for weeks.. UK is not used to 8 weeks of heat and no rain... Praying for continuous thunderstorms for days... Grass is dead, ground like concrete - nightmare..

 

Hope that Katya is OK and that she will be back to normal with her weight once the Monster and others stop feeding from her. Will be doing a rain dance for you here, we so desperately need it!