Syringes of Clovexin-9 and dewormer
About a month before lambing its time to give the sheep their annual Clovexin-8 shots and a round of de-wormer. The Clovexin 8 is a subcutaneous injection which means you stick a needle under the skin but not into a muscle.
We inject it under their arm pit because its one of the few places on their bodies without a thick coat of wool and the skin is loose enough that you can lift up a fold to stick the needle into. This was my first time giving an injection to anything so I was glad to have Chris there to advise me. By the third sheep I had the hang of it!
Etta getting her shot
Since we had the sheep on their rumps for the shots we went ahead and gave them their seasonal de-wormer (a liquid medicine given orally with a syringe) and trimmed their hooves. The hardest part of the process is catching them– we need to set up a small stall that we can corner them in rather than chasing them around the barn. Normally they will come right over for treats and scratches but somehow they know when we are planning to do something nasty to them and won’t come close.
We must have worn the girls out, afterwards we caught Etta relaxing with her head on Francine’s back!
Etta & Francine
Square Peg Farm 