RSS

Monthly Archives: March 2021

Bringing the bucks home

Leo getting the bucks ready to load

In mid-December, we haul bucks out to the Red Desert so they may romance the ewes, thus guaranteeing lambs in May and June. “December rams bring May lambs” as the old saying goes.

Now it’s time to bring the rams home so that they may resume their bachelor lives, and create challenges until next December.

Here we are loading rams on the top of the aptly named Cyclone Rim. We are on the Rim seeking snow drifts for water for the sheep. The bucks are still in their working clothes (red powder) which will come off when they are shorn in a month or so.

Welcome home, bucks!

Leo with the bucks

down the chute to the trailer

Pepe, Leo and Seamus

Leo’s camp on Cyclone Rim

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 26, 2021 in Animals, Sheep

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Cattle and sheep and dogs, oh my!

Ladder Ranch crew–Rhen, Eamon, Edgar, Leo, Pat

Rhen on the chute after guiding his Dad who was backing up the truck.

Sometimes we have multi-species days. Pat, Eamon, Rhen and Sharon headed to Powder Flat to load heifers on trucks so we could move them to spring country north of Dixon. We are full-on lambing at the Powder Flat headquarters, so there was plenty going on there already.

heifers heading for the truck

Eamon on Aspen, ready to trail up the road

meanwhile back at Powder Flat. . .

 

guardian dog puppy in training

burning old straw by the lambing shed

Leo and Rhen feeding a bum lamb

Ladder branding iron

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 20, 2021 in Animals, Cattle, Dogs, Horses, Sheep

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Early Lambing at Powder Flat

Hampshire ewe with comfy lamb

 

Each March, we lamb our purebred ewes, Hampshire and Rambouillet, in the sheds at Powder Flat. We raise our rams for the commercial range ewes from these two farm flocks. Luckily, we have a good crew and the early weather has been mild.

Pat and Edgar with pen for outdoor dining

guard dog hard at work in a circle of ewes

guard dogs on the job

guard dogs on the job

Hampshire ewe and twins

bum lambs in warm straw

Leo feeding the bum lambs

Meanwhile, Maria is hanging out with the bucks

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Horses along the Little Snake

the horses heading to the Lemmons Meadow

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 6, 2021 in Animals, Horses

 

Tags: , ,