Baby Lamb Bummer

Since moving out to the ranch I have tried to make myself useful where ever I can.  First it was cooking an occasional meal for the crew, driving a ranch truck while feeding cows or sheep, and if absolutely necessary back up a truck and trailer (I have not been asked to do that since my one trip).

Lambing began early March and when you have 3,000 ewes having babies, not everything can go according to plan.  Unfortunately do to a number of reasons some of the baby lambs have to be fed with a bottle 4-5 times a day.  When there are a few of them its cute, when there are 87 (yep I counted) its not so cute.  Well let me rephrase that, they are cute, but at the 4th feeding of the day at 11:30pm and two of them are head butting you for more milk you find yourself getting irritated with a 4 day old baby lamb.

Clearly this isn't a 4 day old lambas 

Now that I am the self proclaimed "Bummer Lamb Manager" I have to deal with these little milk suckers everyday.  I try not to get too attached to them because in some situations they don't make it and then I get sad.  I've only cried once, it was an ugly cry too.  I had helped this poor little guy learn to stand up and walk, and I thought he was doing better, but I knew deep down that he probably wasn't going to make it.  Everytime I walked into the barn I would hold my breath to see if he was alive, and one morning he wasn't.

Since Henry is the only person I know around here and knew the situation with the little guy I go find him as snot is running down my face and tears are pouring out of my eyes.  He of course has no idea how to handle me and I just stand there sobbing "HE DIED!!! WAHHHHHHHHHH"  I had a day to feel sorry for myself, and the little dude who I had nicknamed "lambers" (real original I know).  Even as I write this I get teary eyed again thinking about his cute little wooly face.  RIP Lambers, RIP.

The only other one I have a slight obsession is "Midge" she was born the size of a pea and was SO TINY that I called her a midget, hence her name is "Midge" and call me crazy but I swear she knows her name and comes when I call her (omg I sound like my mother right now).

Luckily Henry got a milk machine this year which helps with the older lambs so we dont have to bottle feed them you just have to train them.  First the lambs get put in the "the box" these lambs are either new borns/sick/cold/weak or just haven't gotten big enough to "graduate" to the milk machine.  At any given time there will be 5-15 in this stage.  It takes about a 1-2 hours to feed them all, and remember this is done 4-5 times a day.

the light is a heat lamp to keep them toasty

they love their bottle time

The milk machine is broke into 3 pens: new, intermediate and advanced.  Side note all this "vocab" is mine and mine alone, when I use these words with Henry or the Peruvians they have no idea what I am talking about, most of the time I think the Peruvians want to kick me out of the barn.  Anyway, the first new milk machine pen is all the babies coming from "the box" and you have to train them, which is a pain, but after about a day and a half they catch on.  Once they are in the new pen for a few days they get put into the next pen and so on.

Attack of the BUMS!

I have a question.  Where did the term "BUMMER" lamb come from?  I've concluded its because they are homeless and beg to be fed which makes them a bum, like a homeless person.  Anyone else have a theory?

Speaking of homeless, found this new born and his mother out in a field they should not have been in.  He was probably 10 minutes old when we found him while out feeding ewes alfalfa this morning... freezing cold but strong little bugger.  He got a first class ride back the barn, such a baller.  His mom took coach.