Baymule’s Journal

[Mini Horses]

Glad you're better....like "2 Tylenol & home"

Maybe a family get together at Christmas!!

 

[SageHill]

Thanksgiving is canceled. I have a runny nose and sore throat. Because of my sister’s health problems I stopped at a drug store and bought 2 Covid tests. I’m positive for Covid. Bummer. I called DD and my sister and came home.

Well crud. That's just dang frustrating after all the prep you've been doing. Glad it's a mild one.
I'm with @Ridgetop - chicken soup, add in tea and honey.
Feel better soon - and DO take the time to take it at least a little bit easy.

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Son said he’ll go get us some BBQ and tater salad. LOL

Now that is my kind of Thanksgiving!! Sorry you will not be able entertain everyone. Even though it is a lot of work, just having those people around is uplifting. Maybe Christmas??

 

[Baymule]

Christmas will be at my sister’s house.

 

[Mini Horses]

At least you can congregate with everyone....take a few dishes of food....then help clean up and go home! May be perfect for this year.

 

[Baymule]

Well, it looks like I’ll be having spring lambs. Lucy was wagging her tail at Ringo and the 2 old lovers were nuzzling each other through the cow panel. So I turned her in with Ringo. He’s having a party. He now has 4 ewes, 3 will be due in April and 1, a registered ewe will be due in January. Ringo and Lucy make some very pretty lambs. I just weaned Uno off her a week ago, but she is in pretty good shape and in heat. What the heck, why not. My breeding schedule is no schedule, so at this point, anything that produces lambs, I’m good with.

 

[Ridgetop]

As long as you can get them back on some sort of lambing everything is good. Worry about a schedule later when life has settled down and you are completely moved in. Since you keep all ewe lambs the time of year they are born will only matter with respect to Barber Pole worm activity.

Turning ewes in with rams as soon as you pull the weaning lambs is a good thing. You can easily get them into a 9 month lambing cycle, More lambs = more sales = $$$, but you will find that the lambs hit the best sale times in spring only every 2 years or so doing it that way. By dividing the flock (once it has increased) into different breeding groups, you can make sure that one group or another always is ready for sale at the prime time. It means lambing more frequently, but you can do the math and determine if having lambs all year to sell at auction will average out as much $$$ or more that bringing a trailer load of lambs at the prime season. Ratio of more lambs = fewer buyers = less $$ per head. Since you have grass and don't have to buy much hay you may find that lambing every 9 months gives you more return. Plus if they lamb anytime close to fall you can hold over the weaned lambs on grass for the premium $$.

I just subscribed to Livestock Weekly. This newspaper gives weekly prices at the larger Texas cattle, sheep, and goat markets. The prices are listed for the weight ranges. Often the lower weights bring higher prices per lb. in lambs. Gives you an idea of what weights at what auctions will be more of a return. If you are bringing just a couple of lambs, this may not be very useful, but once you have a truckload of lambs, it can help your bottom line.

I am still building my ewe flock so don't have a lot of ram/wether lambs to sell at a time. But once I have a larger flock, I can add ewe lambs to the load at the best sale times for more $$. It would be worth going to the sales 5-6 hours away with a trailer load.

 

[Baymule]

Absolutely! We will both be increasing our flocks. My poor ewes have been moved twice in 6 months and it’s been hard on them. I’m hoping for ewe lambs!

Ringo is limping on his front right. I checked his foot, just a tiny bit of trimming needed, not enough to make him limp. I checked the gland between his toes, it was fine. So I worked up his leg and shoulder. Very sore. I massaged his leg and shoulder. It must’ve felt good because he stood transfixed and peed and peed and peed and peed. LOL no idea how he hurt his shoulder but he sure liked his massage.

Conversation with my daughter this morning;

DD-you know you got Covid on purpose, just so you didn’t have to take my kids and cook Thanksgiving dinner!

Me-Yes I totally did! I got a lot of strange looks when I was licking those cart handles at Walmart, but it is so worth it!!

 

[Mini Horses]

@Baymule how you feeling? Better, I hope.

Herd building here is still in it's infancy. (?) But some kids in spring will help to pay bills and "see" some results of cross breedings. I have done this before but we know all animals differ, plus genetics impacts. This helps see things to come from crosses of dairy/meat. Yeah, I will keep some dairy have even had thought of pulling all kids and "bottle" them. Just a thought at this time....but, lotta milk!!

While I have registered and commercial stock, my goal right now is a commercial meat animal. I'm looking for market kids to grow fast and fleshed. I'll also be searching markets for best pricing income for my situation. This is, after all, for $. Oh, I love the animals but a majority of the kids will be sold!

It will be fun for all of us -- each expanding their farms.

 

[Baymule]

I’m better, slept past 7 this morning! Has to be the nighttime Musinex.

@Mini Horses it will be fun as we go along growing our flocks. You are on your way. Have you looked at Savanna goats? Those are blockier and meatier than Boers. If you got registered stock, you could sell registered breeding stock and have another avenue to sell.