Baymule’s Farm

[Dahlia]

I got my dirt pile Friday. I moved dirt Saturday and got the dirt pad for the chicken hoop coop to be built on. It may not look like much, but that’s between 30 and 40 trips from dirt pile to dirt pad on my little 23HP Kubota tractor. Plus raking it smooth periodically.

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Sunday was church, lunch, took the rest of the day off and watched a movie.

Yesterday I started on the hoop coop.

I worked sheep until noon. I ran both flocks, the middle field first, then the front field.

Then I proceeded with raiding the shed remnants. I got out my chainsaw. Filled it with chain and bar oil. Got a hammer and wrecking bar. Of course, I didn’t have the foresight to get the hammer or wrecking bar, which meant more trips to the portable building to get what I needed.

There were 2 boards laying on the ground, so I tossed them over the fence.

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The back wall lumber was leaned on the back wall of the shed part that didn’t blow down. There were 4 sheets of heavy plywood leaned on it.

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I pulled nails out of the plywood. Had to go get the hammer. Some wouldn’t come out, had to go get the wrecking bar. Put nails in my back pocket. Filled my pocket up.

I used my chainsaw to cut the bottom and middle 2x6 off the 4x4’s.

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Then I pulled the 4x4’s and top 2x6 over, it fell on the plywood. I put blocks under the 2x6 to lift it off the plywood and cut it away from the 4x4’s.

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I dragged the 2x6’s over the fence. I picked them up, 1 at a time and carried them to a table. I cut 2 nine foot pieces for cross members. I measured the 2x6’s from the back wall, they were 13 feet and some inches before I cut them loose.

I carried the boards to the front yard, laid them down and screwed them together.

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I dragged up 1 cow panel and 2 hog panels. I laid them on the frame, popped up one end and dropped it in place, 3 times. I put bricks under one end of the cow panel and stapled it to the board. Then I did the other side.

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I put a hog panel in place and stapled one end. It was uneven to the cow panel.

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I started on the stapled end, using hog rings to even the panels up with each other.

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I love your hoop coop! Great job!

 

[baymule]

B40 had a tiny ewe lamb yesterday morning, Little Ringo is the sire. I did not jug her, she was being attentive and making sure the lamb fed. I caught her and tagged her with a scrapie tag. When I fed ewes there was a mad stampede of greedy girls, the lamb was crying for her mother, but mom was busy. When feed was all gone, B40 found her baby and took care of her. Pretty good for a new mom. I didnt get a picture, I’ll have to do that today.

Across the driveway in the middle pen, Bon Bon had twin rams. One was stuck in a pallet and was weak. He needed milk! The big deal was that for the FIRST time , Buford was in the night pen with ewes and lambs and he was perfect. He respected the ewe, gave her space and didn’t mess with the lambs or the afterbirth hanging out of the ewe. I heaped praises on him. I opened the gate and let ewes and lambs out on the field. Then I led Bon Bon to the working chute and set her lambs down. I fed her and finally got the white ram lamb to latch on and get his milk. His mouth was not warm, a cold lamb is a dead lamb, so I found him just in time.

Bon Bon wasn’t sure that he belonged to her, so I made sure he got to eat several times. Rocky is the sire of these two lambs, both rams.

Buford is not snarling at me. He is grinning. He grins when I scold him and when he is all excited. This grin was telling me that he was unsure, was he in trouble? Did he do something wrong? I reassured him, petted and praised him. His grins are so darn cute!

This makes 33 lambs now.

 

[flowerbug]

... The big deal was that for the FIRST time , Buford was in the night pen with ewes and lambs and he was perfect. He respected the ewe, gave her space and didn’t mess with the lambs or the afterbirth hanging out of the ewe. I heaped praises on him....

glad i already had breakfast but also know that if you post pictures i may see bloody bits so it doesn't bother me.

glad he did well. no playing with babbies!

 

[ducks4you]

Looking for names for the B40 tiny ewe lamb?
How about "Bambi?"

 

[baymule]

Looking for names for the B40 tiny ewe lamb?
How about "Bambi?"

I like it! Bambi it is!

And here she is, with her mom, under the watchful eye of Carson. Newborns bring out the hunting dog genetics. Sometimes he stares intently. They are about the size of a cotton tail rabbit, which is why he is not allowed in the field.

This evening I noticed Bambi has wads of poop clinging to her. So I caught her and washed her dirty butt in a bucket. It was dried and hard. Mom’s milk must be very rich. Carson watched with great interest. When I took her back to her momma, he went bobbing for lamb turds.

 

[ducks4you]

D'Awww!!!

 

[baymule]

Cinnamon, registered ewe from @margali on BYH had a single white ewe lamb yesterday morning. I gave middle granddaughter naming rights, it’s 5 days past her birthday. Name is unknown as of yet. I put them in a small pen to bond. Cinnamon was ready to go out on the field with the rest of the Ewe Crew yesterday morning. Lamb was trying to follow mom, so best to pen them up a few days.

 

[baymule]

I have catching up to do!

Live lambs at 38. Monday, 2-17-25
BTX ewe had triplets, 2 ewes and a ram. Rocky is the sire of these three. She had triplets last year, didn’t clean out good and got an infection. I went to the vet for Lute and a strong antibiotic. She got better but could only feed one lamb, so I bottle fed the other two. Buford guarded her while she was giving birth and wouldn’t let the other ewes get close to her.

She dropped the placenta and is doing great.

I moved her and lambs to a small pen so I can give her extra feed and hay plus some alfalfa hay. With triplets she will need extra feed. Buford laid by the pen, guarding her and lambs.

 

[baymule]

Dessa had twins yesterday . Up, nursed, placenta expelled. I moved her and lambs to Coopers pen, he is out on the field with ewes. I’ll feed her extra for a little while.
They are white. Little Ringo is the sire. 1ram, 1ewe.

I have not got pictures, was dealing with ice. Hauling boiling water, ground is frozen, water buckets are blocks of ice. LOL

This makes 40 lambs now. 2 more holdout ewes to go!

I’ll get pictures this morning. I forgot to take my phone with me for evening feeding. I was carrying buckets of water to ewes and pictures were not that important. LOL

 

[baymule]

I finished the hoop coop. Had it all ready for baby chicks.

Then February decided on one more fling and threw a farewell party. Temps dropped in the low 20’s and took a dip in the teens. Suddenly the coop was not adequate. It was too cold and the coop was built for Texas heat. Modifications had to be made!

I wrapped the whole thing in one giant tarp.

I hung heat lamps. Temperatures were hovering at 80 to 95F degrees. Yay!

Pick up day was Wednesday the 19th. It was very cold, especially for East Texas. The warmest I could get the coop with 4 heat lamps was 60 degrees!

I had to go north. 3 hour drive to a small town between Greenville and Commerce in north Texas to pick up chicks. I like to pick them up versus having them shipped because they spend 3 days in the mail. If I take a day to go get them, just hours after hatching, I can have them home the same day, warm with food and water.

I left at 6:50 AM, it was sleeting. I went to Yantis where a BYH friend lives, had to go right by there anyway, and visited for an hour. She rode with me to the hatchery so we could visit some more. I dropped her off and headed home. Got home at 4PM, church was at 6PM. Would I make it?

I dragged a big livestock water tub in the house. It was already rigged up for chicks out on the porch, but it was just too cold. I put in feeders and water and gently put the babies in the tub. I ordered 75 meat chicks, they gave me 5 extras, so I have 80. They are in the hallway.

Chicks are happy, warm and fed.

A friend’s autistic grandson is raising a meat pen of chickens for the fair. They have culled 45ish pullets at 3 weeks old. They only show cockerels. I’m picking them up today. They will be ok in the small coop, completely shrouded in a tarp, with heat lamps. I’ll feed them out for another 4-5 weeks and slaughter them. I’m thinking chicken pan sausage. I made a couple pounds of sausage from chicken in the freezer in January, my son in law loved it. He has terrible allergies and processed meat has nitrates in it. His doctor said no nitrates. So I’ll make him sausage.

I’ve been running like a racehorse the past few weeks with lambing and getting ready for chicks. Now I’m getting 45ish more! I have to have them all in the freezer by first of May. Going to a sheep seminar May 9 & 10. It’s too much to ask someone to care for meat chickens, they are work intensive.

In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be weaning some of the earlier born lambs. I’ll need to run hot wire for the ewe lambs to make them a pasture.