Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience. You need experience to gain wisdom.
–Albert Einstein
We began the Dorset sheep flock in 1975 buying a ewe from Dave Harmon’s daughter (Holly) at the Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia, MO. That first dollar spent is displayed on the desk downstairs. After a couple of years we bought Barb Gillis’s flock (10 ewes). Our intention was to build a flock as a 4-H project for our children. Jenny was born in 1971; Julie in 1976; Andy in 1978. So we were getting an early start! Stan and I were both involved in 4-H; Stan showing dairy cows and me showing sheep. Stan enjoyed the cows, but we didn’t have a place for that so he chose sheep and rented a barn at Joe Stutzman’s farm and May Hoffman’s barn and pasture. During this time, we lived in the 201 W Franklin house in Carlock. Raising sheep was a stress release for Stan working as a policeman. In fact, as he found out he loved it and was good at it. When he left the sheriff’s department because of health issues, he built a larger flock (over two hundred head of ewes) and we moved to Blakeney’s so the sheep could be where we lived. We traveled to many sales and shows all over the country. Stan had a good eye for buying sheep that would work well with our flock. We always traveled together. In the beginning the girls were little; probably five and two when we first started. The girls and I could take up quite a bit of space on the bleacher seats with crayons, coloring books, books, toys, etc trying to keep them entertained. I would keep track of the sale prices. Andy was born in December of 1978. He went to his first sale in March to the Ohio Dorset Sale. So now we had baby things added to our stuff. Crazy? Maybe. Certainly not lying on the beach somewhere, but we were together as a family.
After having a basic flock, we began showing at the county fairs during the summer. We wanted to get our name out there as a breeder. Stan was still working so that meant we went evenings to the fair so Stan could trim sheep. Those were some late nights. Stan took off work for show days. Yes, our kids were part-time “fair rats”. We were winners from the beginning! Like I said Stan had a good eye for buying sheep that worked well in our flock. From county fairs we added state fairs. We rapidly became nationally known as Rader’s Dorsets. Our kids were 4-H winners, too. I think Jenny enjoyed the showing the most. Julie and Andy participated in showing and did well, but I think their strengths were in other areas. All of us worked together out of our love for each other and, especially, our love and respect for Stan and his hard work. We dealt with much jealousy, most noticeably, from fellow sheep breeders in our county. When you are at the top of your game, people want to tear you down. Our endeavors grew into selling sheep at sales, off the farm and even our own production sales. I suppose I have two favorite memories of these sales. The first was at the 1982 National Dorset Sale (Ohio Dorset Sale). We had raised twins, Big Mac and McRib, on a goat or bottle. McRib was sold privately to Penn State. Big Mac was sold at the 1982 National Sale. Jenny was holding Big Mac in the sale ring. As the price continued to rise, Stan took the head excusing Jenny from her duty. Big Mac topped the sale at $5100! The buyer was Warren Schroeder of Grant Park, IL. We were surprised, thrilled and grateful. My other favorite memory was in Missouri. We had a production sale during the time of Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia. We had moved the sale sheep and all our needed equipment to MO. It was a big production with several workers to help. My memory is of three little kids, Ben, Chad and Grace, with their backs to the camera. On their show shirts we had printed “Papa’s Kid”. So cute!
Stan was a talker and promoter at shows and sales. Other breeders respected his success and wanted to “pick his brain”. People called frequently and Stan developed many sheep relationships. It was not unusual to get a sheep phone call in the middle of Sunday lunch. The experience of raising sheep developed into knowledge. I often told Stan he should have become a vet as he knew about sheep medicines and techniques to use. He even knew how to do some surgeries. Amazing! All from experience and a love for the job. Book learning was never his thing. Now he is passing on some of that knowledge to Chad who seems to have a natural talent, too.
I asked Stan to write down some of that knowledge. Even people who call say, “You should write these things down. What will I do when you aren’t here”. Here are just a few tidbits:
Use iodine on the navel of a lamb at birth (7% iodine).
If needed, stick a piece of straw up the nostrils of a newborn lamb to get it breathing.
Vaccinate lambs for overeating at the time of docking and three more times before weaning.
Never mix new sheep with native ewes during breeding or lambing season.
Sometimes a ewe will step on a baby lamb and cause a broken leg. If the break happens when the lamb is under two weeks old it is a fairly easy fix. A below the knee break is easier than a back leg above the knee. That can be tricky. First, wrap the leg with gauze. Using an old yardstick, place two splints and wrap all with vet wrap. The leg needs to be fixed before it becomes a compound break Healing usually takes 2-4 weeks and the bandage can be taken off. This procedure does not usually work for older sheep.
If a sheep appears to be blind especially during the months of August, September or October it could be a reaction to a weed. Stan’s cure is spit from tobacco or throw salt in the eye. Also, give the sheep 2 cc selenium.
For white muscle disease (the sheep have no control of its back legs) give 2 cc selenium.
A vaginal prolapsed ewe can be a common problem. Take two strings off a bale of hay or straw and tie them together in a knot so they are one length. Lay the long string over the ewe’s neck so the parts are equal. Pull the strings between the front legs to the rear. Criss-cross over the loin. Pull one underneath the left rear leg and the other underneath the right. Keep the string taught and tie two knots underneath the tip of the vulva. Take the leftover string to the criss-cross and pull to the rear and tie.
Stan can also fix a uterus prolapsed ewe, but it’s too detailed for here. My suggestion is to call the vet.
As a precaution when treating sheep give a tetanus shot and antibiotics.
Common medications Stan used are: oxitocin to help ewes dilate cervix; selenium for white muscle disease, tissue repair, ovulate more eggs; dexamethasone as a steroid; duraxin for infection; penicillin for infection’ thiamine for white muscle disease, blindness, anything that passes from the blood/brain barrier; BUSE (MUSE for horses) for white muscle disease, polio; spectinomycin for E-coli; Vitamin A for several things; Vitamin B12 for appetite; Vitamin C for digestion; Vitamin D to replace sun.
