Stress and Anxiety

   Lately I have been experiencing the trials and tribulations of owning animals. First of all, Charlotte our two year old pregnant ewe has been losing patches of wool since shortly after she came back to us after breeding. I noticed loose patches of wool when I got her home on her left hip and next to her tail on her right side. Those loose patches fell out and there was Charlotte with a bare butt in sub-zero weather. I really worried when more patches of wool fell out, and after talking with other sheep owners decided it was time to call our sheep vet. It seems since she is eating ferociousy, acting normal, no fever or illness, no rash, no bugs or parasites, and the wool is growing in again that my vet's diagnosis is that our Charlotte is stressed! It seems that sheep can lose patches of wool when they go through a traumatic event, and for Charlotte leaving our farm and her flock and being bred for the first time was way too much of a stressful event. So now that she is home among her friends she is doing fine. We just need to be patient for her wool to grow back in, which for now looks like peach fuzz. Poor Charlotte! She is also eating some extra mineral supplements to help her along.
   My next animal fiasco involves my 2 year old chocolate lab, Holly, who has decided she can not stay home alone ( although two other dogs are at home) without chewing some item that belongs to me or my husband. This is the dog who did this for her entire puppyhood but upon turning two years old suddenly stopped her bad behavior. Well, it's back! I finally could have a life and go places without worry, but she has suddenly regressed. Last week we lost a slipper, my leather baby shoe I had in my sewing room on my grandmother's antique sewing machine, and a leather work glove. She doesn't just chew them, she swallows them! She ate the fingers off of my husband's suede and cloth work glove he left drying by our woodstove, and threw up each of the five glove fingers on our bed at 4 a.m. two days later. My beautiful little 55 year old baby shoe ended up in our backyard after her morning walk. No need to go into details on that return! So now Holly must stay in a crate when we go out or go with us. The diagnosis on this animal? Seperation anxiety. So, I have two neurotic animals on the farm. One is stressed and one has anxiety. Guess what? Now I am stressed and I have anxiety! I guess these animals are just coddled too much, but who can help it? They are just so cute and so sweet.
   Enjoy the brief weather warm up we have been promised later this week!

Holly got to go shopping at Tractor Supply to buy an owl to scare away pidgeons, because she can't be trusted to stay home without supervision.(I guess she got her way- again)

No longer a pair of baby shoes- just one.

Another sub zero morning. No chickens out this day!

Still snowing..

At least Holly enjoys the snow.