"Well slap my ass and call me..." meaning and origins

There are other similar expressions, though, and just because this one seems to make some kinda sense doesn’t mean it’s original, or unrelated to the others. It seems to be a general expression of surprise – so what’s thet got to do with being a newborn? I have an example from the mid-1960s that’s always amazed and amused me:
“Well pour me out and call me buttermilk”

I’ve never seen it before or since, but it’s clearly built along the same lines as the other examples.