Baymule’s Farm

[digitS']

Used to be Bro's and my job ..

. with the calves.

Dad handled the knife but I woulda guessed that you did the bands.

digitS'

 

[Marie2020]

Carson would do great on the "Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" show

 

[Carol Dee]

The girls look like they are having a wonderful time with you and the sheep. Have they helped to name all those new babies?

 

[baymule]

We have only named a few, I’m not keeping all of them! The triplet ewe lamb I want to keep, they named her Marbles. I get interesting names from the girls. My favorite is Frimplepants. No idea where that came from. They really want me to keep the triplet ram lamb, all colored up with that beautiful face, they named him Dexter, but Dexter will be going to another home.

Went to the Ladies 50’s lunch yesterday, took the girls. A bunch of old ladies having fun. The girls told that they helped me castrate lambs. One of the ladies asked what did they do to help. Granddaughter #3 said, “I holded him.”

 

[AMKuska]

We have only named a few, I’m not keeping all of them! The triplet ewe lamb I want to keep, they named her Marbles. I get interesting names from the girls. My favorite is Frimplepants. No idea where that came from. They really want me to keep the triplet ram lamb, all colored up with that beautiful face, they named him Dexter, but Dexter will be going to another home.

Went to the Ladies 50’s lunch yesterday, took the girls. A bunch of old ladies having fun. The girls told that they helped me castrate lambs. One of the ladies asked what did they do to help. Granddaughter #3 said, “I holded him.”

I know where Frimplepants came from! (Or at least one, if there's more.) It's "The Princess in Black" series. My daughter has read the first book many times! It's about a princess who is beautiful and respectable and wears fancy dresses for everyone to see, but has a secret double life as a super hero dressed all in black fighting monsters.

Her trusty unicorn is named Frimplepants, but when Frimplepants helps Princess Magnolia fight crime, he is disguised as the faithful pony, Blacky.

It's a very fun series!

 

[SPedigrees]

We have only named a few, I’m not keeping all of them! The triplet ewe lamb I want to keep, they named her Marbles. I get interesting names from the girls. My favorite is Frimplepants. No idea where that came from. They really want me to keep the triplet ram lamb, all colored up with that beautiful face, they named him Dexter, but Dexter will be going to another home.

Went to the Ladies 50’s lunch yesterday, took the girls. A bunch of old ladies having fun. The girls told that they helped me castrate lambs. One of the ladies asked what did they do to help. Granddaughter #3 said, “I holded him.”

I know my vote won't count, and I know nothing whatever about sheep, but I'm with the girls in that I would never part with that ram lamb. He's so pretty!

 

[baymule]

Yesterday was a glorious day. It was sunny, the wind blew cold, but tolerable. We left before daylight to go to the feed store, 45 minutes away. Carson always goes, in HIS back seat. I fold the seat up and there is a pull out tray that I keep a blanket over. But I folded the seat down for girls to sit on. I bought a super bag of feed, 3 costly bales of alfalfa and 2 protein tubs. With the cold weather, I’m giving the moms more feed and boosting them with the alfalfa. First time trying the protein tubs.

We got back, had brunch and unloaded feed. I scoop it into two 5 gallon buckets and dump in the metal trash cans. It takes about an hour. Then called Carson to ride in his back seat, girls sat on protein tubs as I backed up to shed to unload the 100 pound bales of alfalfa. I felt bad about not taking Carson to the feed store, so took him and girls for a ride to the paved road, made a U turn and came back. Fed sheep, watered and gave them alfalfa hay. I set out the protein tubs.

DGD #3 wandered out in the middle field to be with ewes, lambs and Buford. She moved slow, became one of the flock and petted lots of the ewes. She was in her element.

DGD#2 sat in my lap and we watched the triplets. Cardinals were brave enough to flit down, keeping a careful eye on us, to steal a pellet of feed from Tiny’s tub and fly away to eat it.

Nova, Tiny’s triplet sister came running off the field and went into the hoop shelter. Buford went in behind her and came back out. Nova came out, went back in several times. She was “talking” in that low rumbling voice reserved for lambs. Uh-huh, she was about to give birth!

I set the chair over the fence, the girls and slowly went into the lot and I sat in the chair with both of them in my lap.

Nova pawed the ground, laid down, got up, laid down, got up, “talking” the whole time. She laid down and started pushing. Toes and a nose appeared, she kept pushing and a dark colored lamb slid out. Nova got up and started licking her new baby. The girls were enchanted. We watched as the baby raised its head, blinking its eyes, and struggled to get up. I kept up a running commentary, explaining what Nova and her lamb were doing. The lamb tried getting up, fell down, and kept trying. I expected that it was life or death, the lamb MUST get up, suck and be ready to run. Puppies are born with eyes closed. They are predators and moms take complete care of them. Prey animals are born eyes open, must get up, suck the warm colostrum and be ready to run for its life.

The baby found the nipple and after several attempts, finally latched on and sucked.

Nova went down again, toes appeared. DGD#3 exclaimed it’s backwards! And indeed it was. Toes and a tail. She stood up, baby hanging out, licking first baby. We hoped second baby was alive. Breech babies sometimes breathe in the amniotic fluids and die. Nova pushed again and baby plopped out. It laid there, covered in goop. I got up and wiped its nose with a paper towel I had in my pocket. We sat back down, finally baby raised its head and girls cheered. Nova started licking it, talking , encouraging it to get up and soon it was on its feet and started sucking.

Buford was a good boy during this process. He’s never been in with a ewe giving birth. I pen him at night with Cooper the ram, next to the ewes, so he is next to the ewes, but not in with them. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity for training him to respect the ewes and not interfere. He did go up to investigate a few times and I called him back.

He retreated to a safe spot where he could keep watch over Nova and lambs.

He finally laid on the ground next to the chair and we heaped praise on him.

We let the lambs get full tummies, then moved them to the pen with Tiny and her triplets.

I tried to get pictures of her giving birth, but it was too dark inside the hoop shelter.
Here they are! The white lamb is a ram, the chocolate lamb is a ewe! Yes! A colored ewe lamb! KEEPER! We named her Cocoa. White ram lamb will be wethered and join the slaughter lamb crew to grow out. Cocoa will be recorded with the Katahdin club as 75% Katahdin. Her lambs will be 87.5% and eligible for full registration at 1 year old after passing the hair coat inspection.

 

[baymule]

This is a protein tub. It gives extra protein and minerals for the sheep to lick.

This is the ewes going bonkers over licking the protein tub.

This is Tiny’s triplets, a couple of days old, dried off, cleaned up and looking good.

 

[flowerbug]

...The girls told that they helped me castrate lambs. One of the ladies asked what did they do to help. Granddaughter #3 said, “I holded him.”

never trust women of any age...

 

[ducks4you]

Just lovely and HAPPY DAY!!! All lambs survived!!
I used to buy protein tubs for my horses. They gobble the contents and THEN you have an extra gardening tub!
...just sayin...