[Jacob-list] marking

[Linda]

We penned the ewes this morning to give CDT shots and check eyelids. 
I've always thought that marking them as you finish would be a great 
idea, but never have the standard marking ink or crayons around. Since I 
always have dry erase pens around (I write my grocery list on the side 
of the refrigerator as I think of things I need), I decided to grab a 
couple to try on the sheep.
They worked great. We only have 18 ewes, so a clipboard (or just memory) 
does work to keep track of who has already been checked/vaccinated, but 
can be slow. We work in a small area and both Dave and I catch. It's 
much easier to tell Dave to "grab one without a green nose", than to say 
"get Martha - no, that's not Martha." Sheep got a green mark after 
getting the CDT and a red mark if I'd decided to worm them. It took way 
less time than keeping track on the clipboard. I used to move the ewes 
out of the catch pen after vaccinating, but it's so much easier and less 
stressful to catch them when they are packed semi-tightly.
It's raining today and the markings were almost gone by afternoon.

Linda
-- 
Patchwork Farm Jacob Sheep <http://www.patchworkfibers.com>