bucks in waiting
December rams
bring May lambs
Put me in, Coach!
Maximiliano and Timeteo
Meghan loading bucks in the trailer
Love at last!
Tag Archives: Timeteo
Private Parts
sperm under the microscope
This is the time of year when we decide who stays and who goes. The rams are evaluated, intimately, by Geri Parsons and her crew (this year her one-woman crew) at Optimal Livestock Services for fertility, age, potential disease or injury, and condition. The ewes are evaluated by our crew for many of the same traits which indicate whether they will be productive for another year. We check their teeth, which affects their ability to eat the hard winter grasses on the desert. We check their udders, and their overall condition. The rams are basically judged to stay or go. The ewes are judged as keepers, good old ewes who are sold to someone who can give them an easier lifestyle, and “killers” who are culled due to age, condition, and injury to their udders.
Ashley Miller checks a Hampshire ram, with assistance from Christian
Lots of assistance
Pepe with a buck in Optimal’s custom-made chute
Geri at the microscope
Tested buck hang out in corral
Ewes in the corral
Avencio and Timeteo checking the ewes
Pepe, Avencio and Timeteo put a ewe in the chute
ewes reflected in the muddy corral
Pat with McCoy and Tiarnan on corral pole
Tiarnan, Pat and Meghan
Working the young horse
Our employee, Timeteo, had a lot of experience working with horses in Peru. He is starting to train one of our young horses, whom he named “Speedy Gonzolez”.
Speedy–first offering
thinking about it
Tim’s got him eating out of his hand (or possibly the pan).
meanwhile, back in the corral
making snow angels
On to the Red Desert
December 1st is the on date for our winter sheep grazing allotments on the Red Desert, north of I80 and Wamsutter, Wyoming. The sheep walk a five-day trail from our late fall pasture, Badwater, to the checkerboard Chain Lakes allotment, with the private owned by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. It also serves as critical winter habitat for antelope. We maintain the water and the fences, and provide “boots on the ground.” One band of sheep winters in Chain Lakes and two move on to the aptly named Cyclone Rim allotment. A few weeks ago, this blog showed photos of our search for water holes on Cyclone Rim.
We are still thirsty for snow and watering spots. For almost the first time ever, the sheep had dry days on the trail, although not back-to-back. Normally by this time of year, we have enough snow for the sheep to eat for water. They are very hardy, and most years go much of the winter surviving on snow and without access to fresh water. The sheepherders are asking us for snow, as if we could bring it like firewood and dog food. We tell them, “Do what we do, pray!”
Richar, Afrenio, Timeteo and Christian bringing up the sheep
waiting their turn
The bucks will be turned in with the ewes in a few days, in order to bring those spring lambs. To make sure the ewes are in optimal condition, we decided to worm them in advance of bucking. On this day, it was coldish and windyish, but certainly a relatively pleasant day.
looking forward
two noses: yearling ewe and Edgar
done and done
guard dog supervising
evening grazing
a day off
Loading the Wool: Destination China
Most of the sheep were sheared last May. Since we didn’t receive any bids on it, we stored it in our new hoop shed, north of Dixon. Our friendly wool broker, Mike Corn of Roswell Wool, advised us that the market should be active come fall, so we waited for that time. Sure enough, we sold the wool to a buyer who will ship it to China for further processing. Here are photos of the wool being loaded onto a truck for California. Due to California’s Byzantine regulations, this truck will take it to Bakersfield, where it will be reloaded for transport to the port, where it will be loaded again onto a ship.
Wool bags stored in the hoop building
The truck got stuck in the mud and we used the tractor to pull it out.
Timeteo loading the bales onto the tractor
Loading the wool into the semi, where our employees stacked it in an orderly manner.
Dads count too–or counting on the dads–or
Most of the year, we think about the ewes–are they eating enough? are they pregnant? did they lamb? did they have twins? did they elude the coyotes and bears?
Of course, in order to have those little lambs hit the ground in May and June, we need to have dads. In the livestock world, dads (be they bucks, bulls, or stallions) count too, and we want them to be the best most productive sires we can find. And, since it costs money and opportunity to support them for most of the year (well, actually, for all of the year, but they only work for a couple of months), we want to make sure they are the optimal sort of dad.
Who you gonna call? Optimal Livestock Services of course! Each fall, retired Colorado State University vet Dr. Cleon Kimberling, and his partner and sidekick Vet Tech Geri Parsons travel throughout the Rockies to test rams. They check rams for fertility, disease, and other factors, such as age and condition, that can influence their ability to breed ewes.
Dr. Kimberling mans a traveling lab, where he examines sperm samples from rams. Geri, with help from our crew, collects the samples in test tubes, records information about each individual, and gives all the info to Cleon, who studies and collates it. At the end of the process, we growers are given a computer printout that rates each ram according to fertility, health, age, and other variables.
We then mark the rams who fail to make the grade. They get a truck ride which ends in a vacation in Mexico. I’ve never asked Dr. Kimberling what happened to his vet students who failed to make the grade.
Geri testing buck
Geri marking a test tube
Dr. Kimberling at the microscope
Maeve helping Dr. K.
Pepe and Timoteo securing a ram
Crew hard at work: Pepe, Sharon, Geri and Christian
Edgar and Sadie
Pepe, George and Pat, photo by Maeve
Pepe and friend by Maeve
Free at last!
Dock them lambs, tote them panels!
Ladder Ranch docking crew
Once the lambs are on the ground, it is time to think about docking them. This means that each bunch is gathered into a large pen. The lambs are dropped into a smaller pen, then are passed along an assembly line, where they are earmarked, the males are castrated and they are placed into the Dinkum Docker, a sort of slide. There they are vaccinated, their tails are removed with a hot knife (which cauterizes the wound), daubed with pine tar (which disinfects and keeps the flys away) and daubed with a paint brand. Soon they are looking for Mom, who is also looking for them.
Looking for Mom
Evaristo and Cesar putting lambs into the lamb pen
Meghan on the Dinkum Docker
Eamon is running the hot tailer. Meghan is holding legs and putting pine tar on the wounds.
Timeteo and Salomon carrying lambs
David (in blue shirt) brought lunch to a hungry crew
Modesto, Siobhan and Bahnay taking a break
Mothering up
Teofilo loading panels, getting ready for tomorrow
The bum lambs are headed for the Home Ranch
Ladder Ranch
