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Tag Archives: Modesto

Life in the North

16 Feb

ewes in the Bighorn Basin

Faithful blog readers know that due to extreme winter conditions in the Red Desert, our usual wintering ground, we have trucked most of our ewes north to the sugar beet fields in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin. The Bighorn Basin is several hundred miles to the north of us, almost to the Montana border, but is also several thousand feet lower, and less snowy. We have some ewes who experienced “early conception,” probably due to a rogue buck lamb who escaped docking. At Powder Flat, we are set up for shed lambing (usually in March) and have a great crew. Pat and I went up to visit the ewes and herders, and to collect the pregnant ewes and bring them home to lamb. The Bighorn Basin is also experiencing an unusually snowy winter, though for them it is several inches of snow, not several feet. We have a good crew there too–Pepe, Modesto, Alejandro and Joel. It’s a long ways from home, but has feed available for the ewes.

ewes near Burlington

Border collie on the job

Tres Amigos

pregnant ewes ready to load

Modesto and Pepe

Home at last

Dogs give a welcome home

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2020 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Counting on, Modesto’s bunch

02 Jul

ewes and lambs in the Johnson corral

July 1st brings the on-date for the Forest grazing permits. We worked Modesto’s bunch at the Johnson corrals, in the Routt National Forest.  We not only counted the ewes and lambs, but put numbered paint brands on the “marker” ewes, and gave Rhen an opportunity to practice his mutton busting.

Cora keeping an eye on the sheep.

Belling number 2, Juan supervising

 

numbering the marker ewes

Rhen practicing mutton busting

Siobhan and her team of Border collies

Counted, belled and numbered–heading for summer pasture

 
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Posted by on July 2, 2019 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Sheep

 

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Sheep on Fall Pasture

12 Nov

sheep on Loco

Modesto

guard dog in November

 

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2018 in Animals, Dogs, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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“Preg Testing” the bucks

01 Dec

Dr. Cleon Kimberling at the microscope

Each fall, before the bucks join the ewes, we ask Optimal LIvestock Services to fertility check them. Renowned, and sort of retired Dr. Cleon Kimberling and his partner Geri Parsons bring their traveling lab to ranches around the West. Dr. Kimberling started this service when he was the extension sheep vet for Colorado State University. Back in the day, Dr. Kimberling would arrive with a crew of veterinary students. Dr. K would bicycle over the mountains from Fort Collins while the students drove the van. CSU no longer offers this service, but luckily for us, and others, Dr. Kimberling and Geri Parsons are keeping up the good work. He is still an avid bicyclist, and a working vet. Rhen was fascinated by the whole process, and told his parents that we had “preg tested” the rams.

 

bringing in the bucks

Modesto holding the foot securely

Oscar and Geri

Geri testing, Rhen learning

free at last!

Rhen checking the results with Geri and Dr. Kimberling

 

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2017 in Animals, Events, Family, Folks, Folks who help us out, Friends, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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To lamb or not to lamb, that is the question

12 Mar

If it’s March, it must be time to pregnancy test. We breed the best of our Rambouillet ewes to Rambouillet rams, thereby ensuring a new crop of replacement ewe lambs, as well as their brothers/cousins. Since purebred whiteface lambs are more vulnerable at birth, especially the twins, we pregnancy check the moms so that the ewes carrying twins can lamb in the sheds. The rest of the Rambouillet ewes are bred to our Hampshire rams. Their lambs have hybrid vigor and usually do fine with drop lambing on the range. Our friend Geri Parsons from Optimal Livestock Services comes up each March at mid-pregnancy to check the ewes and call out “single”, “twins”, “open” and even “triplets”. Meghan and her crew appropriately marked the ewes with a paint dab on their heads to signify their status for later sorting. Geri usually braves chill winds and long drives for several days to accomplish this task. Here’s some photos of this year’s pregnancy checking.

Ewes, waiting for the verdict

Pepe at the chute, Geri’s office in the tent

 

It was REALLY MUDDY!!!

Chris bringing up the ewes

Pregnancy testing crew–Sam the Border collie, Modesto, Maeve, Meghan, Pepe, Tiarnan, Geri, Chris

 

the view from Eagle’s Nest, looking east

 

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2017 in Animals, Events, Family, Folks, Folks who help us out, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Guardian Dogs on the job

22 Dec
Livestock Guardian Dogs on the job in the Red Desert

Livestock Guardian Dogs on the job in the Red Desert

Modesto is also on the job!

Modesto is also on the job!

two noses are better than one

two noses are better than one

 
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Posted by on December 22, 2016 in Animals, Dogs, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders

 

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Tres Amigos

21 Dec
Pepe. Eamon and Modesto on the Red Desert

Pepe. Eamon and Modesto on the Red Desert

 
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Posted by on December 21, 2016 in Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders

 

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