Baymule’s 2025 Lambing

[Mini Horses]

My, my, my --- and we keep saying that lambing & kidding time is so "wonderful" . Mostly, it is!

This makes me dread what's coming. And we have little choice but to make it work!!!! I've fought a few.. It ain't pretty.

So -- I'm thinking sell goats, raise chickens, sell eggs!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So -- I'm thinking sell goats, raise chickens, sell eggs!

Not a bad idea - but you know we wouldn't do it. We love it and besides we NEEEEEED all this drama, lol!

 

[Baymule]

I went back out at 3:00 and both lambs were curled up, looked ok. Neither one was screaming in hunger. I put the halter on Granny, tied her head high and the ram lamb got busy. It went better this time. Going out now for last feeding.

Y’all go ahead and laugh. Laughing keeps us from going over the edge!

 

[Mini Horses]

When her milk gets moving thru, he'll smell like hers and it should get easier.

 

[Baymule]

His tummy was empty. Ewe lamb was full. I put the halter on Granny, tied her up, pushed her against the wall and let the little boy eat! I let him eat until he just wasn’t interested any more. I got the ewe lamb up and started sucking. I had taken the halter off and Granny sniffed the ewe’s butt. So I pushed the ewe back and the ram latched on again. Pulled the ol’ switcheroo! I let her sniff the rams butt and she did a light snort, like that’s not mine! But he was full and happy.

Tomorrow it starts over.

I really should build a portable bolt together head gate. This gets old. Real fast.

 

[fuzzi]

I didn’t stay for church. I taught class, preacher’s wife helped and I came home.

I want to strangle Granny and I darn near did. I made a small pen with a half hog panel long wise and a quarter hog panel on the end.
I carried her babies to it. Granny was content to let me take them to Lammy Day Care. So I rattled a feed pan and she came running. I closed her up in it. Granny had a meltdown.

Take someone who has a phobia for rats, cockroaches, spiders and snakes and close them up in a 6’x4’ space with all the above and watch their reaction. I think their reaction would take second place to Granny. She was climbing the wire, screaming BAABAABAAABAAAAA, ewe language for lots of bad words, all directed at me. Then she started bashing both babies. I went and got a collar and a leash and snubbed her up. Nope. Not having that. Granny flung herself down and started choking to the point of tremors. Of course I had to rescue her, the whole purpose of this is so I don’t have a bottle baby, much less two of them.

It was drizzling rain. That always adds to the fun. The roof of the pallet shelter leaks. I’m an excellent builder if your expectations are very low.

The rams, Rocky and Little Ringo seemed to have called a truce and stopped bashing each other. Instead they ganged up on tearing apart the small tarp on the chain link wire wall on their house that previously served as a dog kennel for the former owners. The tarp blocks rain blowing in and helps to keep the afternoon sun from baking them like a pan of cookies. It was in shreds. They were CHEWING! Were the dummies EATING it? That’s all I need. So I put them in my front yard and went back to the Battle of Granny.

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I sat down in the dirt and grabbed her collar, got the little ram up to her udder and he was hungry! Granny of course took off to run NASCAR laps around the pen, dragging me in the mud puddle. I got a crash course in Sheep Are Stronger Than You 101. There will be a test on that later.

Let’s try this again. Death grip on collar, both feet against her side, pushing her against the wall. Push little guy up to eat and he did. Granny kicked him off, I pushed him back up to suck. Granny kicked him off, I pushed him back. Rinse, repeat. Granny fought me, I choked her, she dragged me, ram lamb somehow got to suck in the middle of all this.

And where was Frimplepants and her two lambs? Out in the rain, in the far corner, keeping her girls away from the riff raff that just invaded their peaceful abode. There goes the neighborhood.

I went in the rams pen and cut loose the shreds that remained of the tarp. Rain was picking up, they were glad to get back in their dog kennel.

I battled with Granny some more until the little guy had a full tummy. I let loose of the collar. Granny butted him away. By this time I was wet, muddy and thinking Granny could be guest of honor at a BarBeCue. Wet and bedraggled, I headed to the house.

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I changed clothes and made some homemade hot cocoa. I get to do this again in a couple of hours. This time I’m taking a halter so the temptation to strangle her doesn’t give me opportunity.

I’m getting some more hot cocoa and contemplating just why I have sheep …..

Try sheep, they tell me, goats are more difficult they insist...

 

[farmerjan]

Is this her normal reaction? Maybe time to keep the lambs and ship her off once they are weaned.... Especially if she is having such a hissy fit over taking HER OWN SET of Lambs... NOT like you are fostering one over on her... yeah, hoping the "milk through the lamb so manure smells right" will happen in another day or 2... but geez louise.... these are her own flesh and blood lambs....

There are always circumstances where you can make allowances for this "refusal behavior"... difficult lambing, some sort of trauma... but not for things with a normal presentation, lambing on her own, no problems...

If we have a cow that does that with a first calf... okay... new momma and all that.... have one with twins... okay... they are not real good at counting since normally it is only 1, but usually penning together with both and in a day or 2 they are tolerant if not mothering.... especially if they have licked them both off.... so they keep saying "HUH"...., not sure what is going on.....if they try to obliterate 1 of a set of twins.. okay... I can do a bottle calf since it is not in most sets of twins best interests to leave 2 on the cow as they often do not make enough milk to do justice for the calf unless they have dairy in their background... but if they do it again the next year... they are history. NO JOKE....
With sheep, and goats, you really need twins to make it a financially viable situation... Their job in life is to be a momma and raise whatever babies they have....

You have too many that do too good a job to have to fight with one being a jerk....

 

[Baymule]

I’ve said so many cuss words today that I oughta go wash my own mouth out with soap.

@farmerjan believe me, I’m considering that very thing. Some ewes have twins so fast that they haven’t finished cleaning up the first one before the other one pops out. Then they forget about the first one. The ram lamb wasn’t cleaned up real good, mostly, but not real good. I figure he was first. I had a ewe reject one of her lambs in the spring, she stayed tied up for a week, only untied her at night. Then another week in the pen to make sure she was feeding it. I took her to auction.

Naturally the shelter in this pen is one of my fabulous Pallet Palaces and is 4’ tall. I’m not. So I’m either stooped over or sitting in the dirt/mud. I’m thinking I need to build a head gate. Lock the b!tch in it and the lambs can nurse.

Bottom line, I’m going to win. No other options.