Working Lambs the old way.
Forge's post made me wish I had pictures of working Lambs out in the big lambing pastures of Western Wyoming back in the day.
How many here have worked a "docking board" ?
Visualize a big funnel trap set up out in the sagebrush lambing grounds that would hold 1,000/1,500 head of ewes and their lambs, then a cut gate going into two smaller corrals and a passel of school kids catching Lambs after they have been sorted off, then throwing them up on the docking board set up for two or three guys doing knife work, and another couple spots for guys vaccinating, paint branding, and stopping bleeders.
The kids would catch a lamb, and holding two legs in each hand, throw the lamb on its back onto the docking board, tail and face toward the knife men.
The guys running the knives would look at the lamb to see if it was a white face ewe, it would then receive a "breeding dock" which means the tail was cut off high for easier access for the Buck later in fall.
If it was a "smut face" discolored, it received a Wether or Meat lamb dock. A couple inches long, just long enough to be easily distinguishable during fall sorting for shipping, but short enough not to gather feces and burrs that could attract flies and such that could lead to infections and ailments while on summer range
If it was a Buck lamb, we would slice off the lower 1/3 of the scrotum, then using two fingers on each hand, squeeze below the tesicles, causing them to extrude slightly, we would then put our mouth over them and close our teeth just behind the nut and gently pull them out and spit them into a bucket by our feet, then give the lamb a Wether or meat dock.
The lamb then went to the next station on the board, where it received vaccinations, a paint brand and dusting of blood stop on the fresh dock and was turned out.
Buckets full of nuts were brought back to the ranch headquarters and the Mexicans, Chileans and sometimes Peruvians would clean them and divy them up amongst all.
We would do this as weather allowed until all the lambs from 14,000 head of ewes were done.
This was done as the Ranch had done it for right at 100 years at that time.
Everyone now uses elastrators for tails and testicles, all that's left is branding and vaccinations.
I have pulled many a thousand nuts with my teeth and bad as it sounds, I'm glad for the experience as it is an old way of working stock that has past its time.
I will write one about the joys of doing a "count" on the mountain when they were on summer range in another post.
Mule
How many here have worked a "docking board" ?
Visualize a big funnel trap set up out in the sagebrush lambing grounds that would hold 1,000/1,500 head of ewes and their lambs, then a cut gate going into two smaller corrals and a passel of school kids catching Lambs after they have been sorted off, then throwing them up on the docking board set up for two or three guys doing knife work, and another couple spots for guys vaccinating, paint branding, and stopping bleeders.
The kids would catch a lamb, and holding two legs in each hand, throw the lamb on its back onto the docking board, tail and face toward the knife men.
The guys running the knives would look at the lamb to see if it was a white face ewe, it would then receive a "breeding dock" which means the tail was cut off high for easier access for the Buck later in fall.
If it was a "smut face" discolored, it received a Wether or Meat lamb dock. A couple inches long, just long enough to be easily distinguishable during fall sorting for shipping, but short enough not to gather feces and burrs that could attract flies and such that could lead to infections and ailments while on summer range
If it was a Buck lamb, we would slice off the lower 1/3 of the scrotum, then using two fingers on each hand, squeeze below the tesicles, causing them to extrude slightly, we would then put our mouth over them and close our teeth just behind the nut and gently pull them out and spit them into a bucket by our feet, then give the lamb a Wether or meat dock.
The lamb then went to the next station on the board, where it received vaccinations, a paint brand and dusting of blood stop on the fresh dock and was turned out.
Buckets full of nuts were brought back to the ranch headquarters and the Mexicans, Chileans and sometimes Peruvians would clean them and divy them up amongst all.
We would do this as weather allowed until all the lambs from 14,000 head of ewes were done.
This was done as the Ranch had done it for right at 100 years at that time.
Everyone now uses elastrators for tails and testicles, all that's left is branding and vaccinations.
I have pulled many a thousand nuts with my teeth and bad as it sounds, I'm glad for the experience as it is an old way of working stock that has past its time.
I will write one about the joys of doing a "count" on the mountain when they were on summer range in another post.
Mule
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That's kinda what we would have as a "count gate".
Because some of the sheep ranges up here have been used for years, up in certain passes between allotments there is a barrier similarly constructed for counting, other places we used terrain and stacked up poles and such to run them through.
I bet there are many of the same in Colorado, especially out of Craig and Meeker country.
Mule0 -
Interesting, thanks! 0 -
Wow. Thank goodness for banders here on the little cattle farm when I was a young'un.
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Mike Rowe did the castrations on one of his dirty jobs shows . Nope not going there !
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pulsarnc said:Mike Rowe did the castrations on one of his dirty jobs shows . Nope not going there !
I was thinking that as I read. Mike didn't ask how long or short the tails were to be cut. While I was watching that episode I did wonder why some were kept intact. What is this "wether", "smut face"? Is it the wool thing? Also on the show the rubber band "p.e.t.a." recommended method made them lay down and the ones that got the old school method were bouncing around. On that day Mike learnt old ways was the better way.0 -
A "wether" is a castrated Buck lamb, much the same a "Steer" is a castrated Bull calf.yoshmyster said:pulsarnc said:Mike Rowe did the castrations on one of his dirty jobs shows . Nope not going there !
I was thinking that as I read. Mike didn't ask how long or short the tails were to be cut. While I was watching that episode I did wonder why some were kept intact. What is this "wether", "smut face"? Is it the wool thing? Also on the show the rubber band "p.e.t.a." recommended method made them lay down and the ones that got the old school method were bouncing around. On that day Mike learnt old ways was the better way.
The "smut faced" is in reference to having discolored wool on the face/head.
Both these type lambs will be sorted off in the fall and sold for market meat lambs.
The longer dock makes them easily indentifiable when you are working and sorting them and they are facing away from you.
Mule0 -
When I was about 5 years old, my job was to slosh my grandpa’s knife around in the disinfectant after he cut a male lamb. They only had about 30 sheep. They sheared them with hand shears.
Some professional shearers can shear one in under a minute.0 -
wow never been around sheep
I did trade some hay for a couple of lambs to put in the freezer
we grilled some tonight pretty good eating just small cuts of meat compared to beef
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Never had sheep. My grandparents did so my mom was raised with them. Growing up we had Hereford and later on baldies with the introduction of an Angus bull.
One year I was chasing down a newborn bull calf with banders in my back pocket. Somewhere in the 40 acre field I lost them. Brother and I caught the little bull. He whipped out his knife and took care of business the old fashioned way.
Later on he began to worry about the moon phase. He had me swear not to tell our dad if the calf didn't make it.
He did survive. We breathed a sigh of relief.
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I took an animal husbandry class at Kansas State and a wise old Dr. was having a sheep tending class. He did the castration the old fashioned way and some of his students about lost it. He was a sharp and down to earth instructor. 0 -
Hey, don't laugh. The knife works. When the doctor trimmed me about 30 years ago, I was nervous. When he was ready to begin, he asked me "Are you comfortable?". I told him that I was as comfortable as possible with a stranger standing between my knees with a knife in one hand and some of my privates in the other. 0 -
This has been some very interesting reading! When I began dating my wife some near 50 years ago, she was living on a farm at the time. Remember an old neighbor of hers came over during a certain faze of the moon to castrate her goats. Said that if the job was done at the wrong time, the animal would\could bleed to death. Susie, could you share more about this and what the correct moon phase should be? 0 -
Farmers Almanac.Brookwood said:This has been some very interesting reading! When I began dating my wife some near 50 years ago, she was living on a farm at the time. Remember an old neighbor of hers came over during a certain faze of the moon to castrate her goats. Said that if the job was done at the wrong time, the animal would\could bleed to death. Susie, could you share more about this and what the correct moon phase should be?
We castrate, and wean by it and try to breed by it when we can.
Mule3 -
So having discolored wool on the face/head make that much of a deal? I'd think small bit they could just cut around it or off it. Figure enough crap (both kinds) collect in the wool so who'd miss a patch? I may have to look in to these purty sheep. No Montana jokes. 0 -
Sheep lie, ask any herder. 
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First try at a picture on the new forum. Our new lambie lol.
About 6 hours old, told the rancher(real big) I would take a pair. He called earlier and said he had two but decided the one was going to make it with his sibling. So only one for now.
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I should add i am a feed dealer as well as the gun store and have a large grain farm with my family. We have small ruminates as pets and to teach the kids a little responsibility.
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