Brad's Retirement, Day 1: Sheep Wrangling

Brad was offered early retirement in July 2019, he accepted and January 31st was his last day of work.

The next day, this was what he was doing!

We have to give yearly shots to all of the sheep but particularly the ewes a month before they give birth so they can pass immunity to their lambs. We have a sheep flipper, a mechanical device that Brad built a chute to, we load up the sheep in the chute and then one at a time they go into the flipper, are held tight, and flipped over onto their backs so we can do shots (in their skin between thigh and belly) and trim their hooves. In theory, this is a quick, simple task.

In theory.

In reality, this is a dirty and somewhat dangerous task for all involved—and not quick by any means! We have a small flock, just thirteen sheep in total. Seven of those are lambs from last year but, being ten months old, they are good sized and, being babies, flighty as hell. Which means they run when there is nowhere to go, bolt into fences, and leap nearly head high. And they weigh over a hundred pounds now!

There was no way they were going into the chute. Looking back, we needed a longer chute. That was okay, ever resilient, we figured out Plan B. I shook food at my end of the flipper and Bella managed to peel three off the flock and get them in the chute while standing behind them so they couldn't escape. Mama Suzie was the first one in the flipper, yay!

Our first year with sheep, our friend Laura taught me how to tent the skin and give the injection. Easy. Their feet are another matter! They are very tough to cut through. Brad can do it one handed but I had to use two hands and all my strength.

When I look at the flipper without a sheep, it seems as though it will securely hold the sheep.

Unfortunately this is not true.

Luckily, sheep pretty much go limp when they are placed on their butts or backs, kind of like picking up a kitten by it's neck fur. Then comes the scary part, getting them out without breaking anyone's arms or legs. As Brad was rotating the sheep back towards the "four on the floor" position, I was stuffing legs, which suddenly seemed to double to an octopus's waving eight, back into the right slots so they don't get hurt. I swear, as fast as I could push them in, they would come popping right back out. This was all done while making sure my own arms don't get caught in a funny spot and cracked in half.

We managed six this way. Then, somehow, they figured out how to duck and bolt through the flipper completely. Well damn. I knew which sheep we had done so far and so I followed them around and swiped a blue marker on their heads.

Seven more to go but now what? We three humans were hot, frustrated, dirty, and the sheep were scared. Tessa found our Solo cup of sheep vaccines and decided to scatter them. The wind picked up. It was just one of those days.

Brad said, "Okay, I'll have to do it the hard way." and waded into the flock. He caught one and flipped it the old fashioned way. Shot, feet, marker and done. One by one, he was able to catch and flip the lambs. Layla the Lion was the last in the group. Her humongous sister, Olive the Black Faced, had been separated earlier because she was too wide to fit in the flipper.

Layla wasn't having it. Brad tried three times before he managed to catch and flip her. She's horrid. She was the one who had a lamb stuck this spring while Brad was at work. I couldn't hold her and go in to unstick the lamb and she wasn't having me anywhere near her. (Brad came racing home and we were able to save them.)

Last up was Olive. She's the one in the video :-) I'm certain she weighs more than Brad and has special speed and leverage with four legs. Luckily he got her, I did the shot and feet and we were done.

Friends and family are worried that Brad will be bored or depressed in retirement. He likes to say he's "retiring to the ranch" :-) Obviously, not much "retirement" going on over here!

Love to all from the Mother Ranch,

Julia

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PS
Would it be TMI for me to mention that I think it's sexy as hell that Brad's able to muscle the sheep down like this? Probably. Oh well ;-) now you know.