Baymule’s 2024 Lambing plus 12-23

Baymule

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This morning I ran ewe lambs through the chute and wormed them. They are starting to look better. I’m giving them and the ram lambs a little alfalfa in morning’s and night.

Then I put Cooper and his harem through the chute. He has 4 White Dorper ladies that are matted up with their lamb wool plus last winter’s wool and in bad need of a beauty appointment. Plus Aerial, registered Katahdin and plus Frimplepants, first generation with a wad of wool that also looked awful.

So I got out my hand shears. First victim was Frimplepants. She was a mess. She does not like being sheared so I put a halter on her and tied her up. She got treats and lots of petting but she was not impressed.

Before

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After

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Frimplepants has the Golden Ticket. One of the last pictures I have of BJ, he was petting her, talking baby talk to her, while I snipped away at her wooly coat. When I look at her, I see BJ. So even with her wooly coat, she stays.

July 1, 2021

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Times were happier then.

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First up on the Texas Five was G40, AKA as Sugar. She wasn’t too bad. She had to be haltered and tied.

Before

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After

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Granny got a free pass, her coat was a proper tiny dreadlocked Dorper coat.

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Baymule

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Next up was Rip. She has a torn ear, real original name, huh? Rip is big, powerful, strong, and normally wants to go over the hog panel that makes a side of the chute. Bat-schit crazy comes to mind. Her partner in crime is Cleopatra, who was up after her. Both get whacked out in the chute. Wasn’t sure how this was going to go.

Rip was real matted up. I gave her several handfuls of feed, talked to her and petted her. She was calm, so I took a few snips with the shears. I offered the shears for her to smell, then a small wad of her wool. She was satisfied, so I continued. My back was getting sore, so I got a bucket to sit on.

Rip did nothing.

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She just stood there. I was amazed! At one point, she turned around and stuck her head through the cow panel. Ok, self restraint! LOL. More treats and petting.

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Finally all done, under the close supervision of Cooper.

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Trophy!

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Cleopatra was the last and most matted. My crazy girl also did nothing. She just stood calmly. Look at that mess on her back!

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I sat on a bucket and snipped a few threads of wool at a time. I’m always afraid I’m going to cut them, so I go slow. Cleopatra was so calm and still! I can’t believe my two panic crazies just stood there and let me hand shear them.

It was getting hot, like real hot, so I didn’t bother with the fringe around the mass of yukky mess. I got the worst of it off.

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I could make a door mat out of this!

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I’m amazed that Rip and Cleopatra both stood so calm and still. Good girls!

Yeah, I know this is my lambing thread and this activity is shearing, but they ARE bred and will lamb in the fall. LOL Besides, it’s my thread so I can do what I want to. Hahaha!
 

Baymule

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Sold a ram lamb this morning. I ran ram lambs through the chute. My friend picked him up out of the chute. He handed him to me, across a hog panel that formed a small enclosure. Friend climbed over the hog panel and we put the ram in a cage in his jeep. Ram lamb is off to be a flock sire!
 

Baymule

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Yesterday I washed up a little ewe lamb with a dried up dirty butt. This sounds awful, but I really expected her to die. I was so overwhelmed by trying to keep lambs alive, that I didn’t take the time to clean her up. But she has hung in there, she survived and she finally got a bath. She is so small that I just put her in the bucket of sudsy water. She is probably stunted, but I’ll give her a chance to grow and see how she does. Despite her tenacity to cling to life, if she doesn’t grow to full size, I won’t keep her.

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Then I washed up the borrowed triplets. They had very slightly dirty butts, but I want them to go home clean. They have had 2 butt baths already, so I could see if the squirts had stopped. My friends are picking them up this morning. They are weaned, healthy and done with the coccidia. Too big to stick in a bucket, I clamped their heads with my legs and scrubbed them clean.

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I got wet with lamb butt sudsy water, dripping sweat, and filthy. But lambs are clean!

I dragged 12 boxes out of son’s shipping containers and brought them home. These are boxes that were packed up in Livingston, put in the storage building and never saw the light of day again. That’s been 10 years ago. Mice have been in the boxes, they are gross, so out in the storage building they went here. No telling what I’ll find. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to throw away!
 

Baymule

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Another ewe lamb died today. Just when I think it’s finally all over, another one goes down. There are 3 more ewe lambs that look bad and one ram lamb. I think I’ll load them up this coming week and take them and all but 3 of the ram lambs to auction. The 3 ram lambs will be wethers. There are 5, possibly 6 strong ewe lambs that I think will be ok and grow to join the flock. This has been a disaster. My poor babies.

The ewe lambs that are strong and healthy ought to be able to overcome anything. Look what they have already lived through.
 

Baymule

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I know that is hard to handle.
It is. I’ve done what the vet said, plus everything I can think of. Poor babies were just so damaged by the onslaught of parasites that they just can’t get better. I’ll take the 5, maybe 6 that I have and be grateful for them. I sit with them and they are so sweet, they just want attention. 💔
 
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