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Tag Archives: rams

Winter Romance

15 Dec

Leo with his herd of Border collies

It’s that time of year again. December rams mean May lambs. A sheep’s gestation is five months less five days, and usually we put rams into the ewe flocks on December 15th. A big snow storm was predicted for the 15th. Since some of the roads are scary, especially I80, we decided to haul bucks on the 14th.

The rams wait all year for these winter weeks. A ewe’s heat cycle occurs every three weeks, so we leave the bucks in for six weeks or so. The rest of the year, they are bachelors (except for the lucky few who get to hang out with the early lambers in October). For a few weeks, it’s all romance, all the time!

ewes on the Red Desert

loading the trailer, llamas supervising

rams in their working clothes

Meghan and Pepe unloading the Hampshire bucks

Meghan with Leo’s horse

looking for the ladies

ready to go to work

Guillermo watching the sheep

Guillermo, Meghan and Pepe

Pat, Pepe, Leo and Meghan

 

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2021 in Dogs, Family, Folks, Horses, Llamas, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Conversation Between Buck and Rambo

13 Dec

Looking for the ladies

Conversation between Buck and Rambo
or
Breeding season on the Ladder Ranch

There’s a rumor goin’ ‘round, ‘bout some ladies to be found–
the boss is hookin’ up the trailer, gassin’ up the truck
(The trailer lights aren’t working, again, but oh well.)

I’m hopin’ that you’re right, and it seems that time of year—
they’ve been pourin’ out the grain, dashed red powder on our backs,
lots of hay, and we all look fat and ready—well, you know.

 

Last year all the ladies loved my tuxedo vibe.
My black face is debonair, my moves make me look fine.
I jumped out of the trailer, and I think they liked my leap.

Ha—that woolless blackface face can’t compare with wooly charms,
and HOW ABOUT these curly Rambouillet horns. They love those!
I’ll rub them on this hay bale and that will make them shine.

We have to wait all year, just hangin’ with the guys—
they keep us in buck prison, and we KNOW how that can be.
It’s the ladies that we want, with their pretty ewey charms

YES! The boss says time to get to work, but it’s not work at all,
we can whisper those sweet nothings, but you know they’re loved and left.
raisin’ lambs on grassy meadows, while we move back to bachelor digs.

BOTH: Time to get to work!

Which one of these is not like the others?

 

 

Red bucks in the middle

It’s time to get to work!

 
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Posted by on December 13, 2020 in Animals, Events, Poetry, Sheep

 

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Winter Romance

27 Dec

Bucks in the chute

 

 

December romance
Sweet nothings from powdered rams,
lead to lambs in May.

 

 

Cora bringing them up

off to find the ladies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2019 in Animals, Dogs, Poetry, Sheep

 

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Shearing 2019

23 May

ready for the shearers

 

 

heading up the chute


Alejandro helping ewes up the chute

bucks ready for a fleecing

shearing with skill

 

down the ramp

Ten pounds lighter!

shorn sheep

 

Cora with wool packer

wool ready to pack

Oscar and Meghan

Pepe processing ewes

all hands and the cook

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 23, 2019 in Animals, Dogs, Events, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Winter Romance

18 Dec

bucks in waiting

 

 

 

December rams
bring May lambs

Put me in, Coach!

Maximiliano and Timeteo

Meghan loading bucks in the trailer

Love at last!

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2018 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Jumping for joy

28 Dec

ram heading for work

The rams hang around for ten and a half months, waiting for the day when they are called to go to work, fathering lambs for the next season. We put the bucks in over a period of days and weeks. We figure that the first bucks to go in with the ewes are getting tired, so we send reinforcements. They sometimes resent being worked through the chutes, but are happy to jump out of the trailers to join the ladies. When we were loading them, I said, “Hop in boys–all the corn you can eat.” Meghan said, “All the ladies you can breed!” I added, “…and all the wind you can tolerate.” Such is the life of a buck in the winter.

through the chute

Siobhan and Sadie facing a reluctant ram

Avencio

guard dog on the job

guard dog watching his ewes

Avencio, Pat and Oscar

Guillermo and Pat

Leo

Oscar with the dogs jumping for joy

on his way!

Oscar too!

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2017 in Dogs, Family, Folks, Horses, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Romance on the ides of December

16 Dec

Avencio unloading the bucks

 

The ides of December means that it’s time to put the rams in with the ewes. Romance in December brings lambs in May. A sheep’s gestation is five months less five days. I wish we could predict now just when the shearers will arrive and what the weather will be like on the 10th of May.

on their way…

Bucks in their working clothes

romance is in the air

Guard dog checking out his new charges

 

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2017 in Animals, Dogs, Events, 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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Bucks leaving

16 Jan
Pepe, Meghan and Sam with the bucks

Pepe, Meghan and Sam with the bucks

 

Mid-December brings true love to our ewes and rams. The rams, at least, have been waiting in the wings since, well, last winter. Mid-January brings rest to the bucks, who have been working hard for a month. It is time to bring some of them home. Here are Pepe and Meghan loading bucks for the trip home. You can see that it is deep winter on the Red Desert. We were worried about not having enough snow for the ewes to eat for water. Now we are worried about too much crust on the snow for them to graze. Pepe and the other herders feed them corn every day to keep them strong. And pregnant.

Waiting to go home

Waiting to go home

Meghan hooking up the horsetrailer

Meghan hooking up the horsetrailer

Dos Amigos

Dos Amigos

 
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Posted by on January 16, 2017 in Animals, Dogs, Family, Folks, Peruvian sheepherders, Sheep

 

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Bucks in waiting

07 Sep
Bucks in fall

Bucks in fall

This time of year, the bucks are like teenage boys, with two things on their minds–one of them is eating. Here the “boys” are more or less contained in the Mouse Pasture. The Mouse Pasture got its name because the fence was built by long-time (and late) Ladder Ranchhand Bob Holmes. My Dad said the fence was so tight, it “would hold a mouse.” They still seem to be able to crawl under the gate.

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2016 in Animals, Sheep

 

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