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Sheep gathered

Monday 11 August, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 9:49am in Sheep Comments closed

All our sheep are now at Astwood - twelve ewes, seven gimmers and twenty one lambs - ready for weaning. We're planning to do this next weekend. The ewes and gimmers will run together; tup lambs will go in with the bullocks and the ewe lambs are coming home to Dalmore.

We have fourteen ewe lambs thsi year, so I've sold six and am keeping eight, so I want to have a good look at them before I decide which to keep and which to sell.

I'm culling two ewes and retiring two this year, so I'll have fifteen going to the tup in November. We're collecting our new tup, High Edge Taylor, in September.

Fleece angst

Thursday 19 June, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 3:53pm in Sheep 5 comments Comments closed

Bleh! I'm not good out of my comfort zone, although I should be used to it by now.

Twenty sheep sheared a few weeks ago - 19 fleeces in boxes, comprising 7 from gimmers (one white, six coloured) and 12 from ewes (three white, 9 coloured). And I don't know what to do with them :-(

I have sold single fleeces privately in the past (as opposed to the Wool Board, who don't really want my we bag of coloured fleece anyway) but it's a futter, boxing and posting. I sold them as a lot last year, which was better, but I just have the feeling I could be doing more with them. If I knew what I was doing :-)

Moving sheep

Sunday 8 June, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 10:56am in Sheep 1 comment Comments closed

We took all the sheep to our rented grazing last weekend. We had a couple of jobs to do first though. First we split the lambs into a separate pens from their mammys. We did this by lifting them over the hurdles - not something that we'll be able to do in a couple of weeks. A lot of them are right wee chunks :-) Once split off, we gave them all a 2ml dose of Heptavac P Plus, marking them with crayon as we went. They'll get a second dose in 4-6 weeks.

Then we ran the ewes through the race and crate, trimmed feet and sprayed with Crovect (they were shorn 21st May). As we let each ewe out, we put her back towards the lamb pen so that we could identfy and tag her ewe lambs. We don't register any tup lambs so we simply tag when they are going to the abattoir but it's vital to get the ewe tagging, and therefore registrations, correct. Every year, I think I might tag at lambing but the tags look so big in little ears - so the same argument goes round every year.

Dickie is dead

Wednesday 28 May, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 4:35pm in Sheep 13 comments Comments closed

Feeling a bit gutted this afternoon. Dickie, our Coloured Ryeland wether, died today.

He was one of our first crop of lambs in 2009. He had a white streak of wool on his face that reminded me of Dickie Davies :-) I couldn't bear to eat him, so we had him castrated and kept him as a tup companion (also mentor to various groups of tup and ewe lambs). We took him to the vet in the back of the car to be "done", and Dan held him, legs akimbo (Dickie's not Dan's) while the vet did his stuff.

Finally our 2014 lambing is over

Tuesday 6 May, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 8:11pm in Sheep Comments closed

Jura produced a large tup lamb this afternoon, between 2pm and 5pm. When I went to feed the ewes at 5pm, he was up and dried. Mind you, it's been a glorious day here. So lamb and ewe are in the field shelter. Her teats are quite big so I made sure he suckled before I went for my dinner - which was nice but not as nice as HIS appeared to be, judging by the waggly tail :-) I'll ring him in the mroning and he can get out on the grass - she won't lose him.

So, thirteen ewes to the tup; twelve in lamb, twenty two lambs scanned; twenty two born alive, one dying shortly after birth :-(. Of the twenty one live lambs, seven tups and 14 ewes. So a lambing % of 161 - best we've had so far.

One to go

Wednesday 16 April, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 10:51am in Sheep 2 comments Comments closed

Juno had twins this morning - a ewe first (head, nae feet) and a tup. All doing well. Like Jinx, she's a bit low-slung but the lambs seem to have cottoned on to kneeling pretty quick.

Jinx's are wee porkers :-)

So, just Jura to go; expecting a single today, but she's an awkward b*gger, so I bet she makes me wait.

Soooo looking forward to an unbroken night's sleep :-)

The Originals

Tuesday 15 April, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 9:22am in Sheep Comments closed

Just realised this morning that the three ewes still to lamb are our Originals. We bought Juno, Jura and Jinx as ewe lambs in 2007, so this is their sixth lambing.

Jinx has just had two ewe lambs, all by herself. She's had four single tups, followed by a single ewe last year and now twin ewes. She used to be boss sheep before being displaced by Lucy :-)

Juno's carrying twins and Jura, a single. Hope all goes well with them.

Just when you think all is tickety boo

Monday 14 April, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 2:58pm in Sheep 4 comments Comments closed

Niamh cucked out, eventually, a 6kg ewe lamb yesterday - both well. That left four to lamb. Jura and Juno were trying to kill each other - not sure if it was hormones or being stir crazy, but I've penned Juno for her own safety.

This morning, I could hear Lyra chuckling to Niamh's Lamb and I guessed she was starting. After an hour, there was much heaving but no lamb (she's a fourth timer expecting a single); I had a feel, wasn't sure and called the vet (my usual MO).

Vet lambed a big tup lamb. Lyra is fine but I fear we're going to lose the lamb. He's obvioulsy inhaled some fluid but there's something else "not right" with him. He's obviously having some breathing issues but his heart and lungs are functioning well, and the lungs are fully inflating (according to the vet). But he has NO vigour. I mean NONE.

Stella

Saturday 12 April, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 1:44pm in Sheep Comments closed

Stella lambed yesterday at 4am - mixed twins. She's Juno's daughter, so quite canny for a gimmer. She's the first to lamb outwith daytime - she was restless all night but finally got down to business about 3am. I could feel a head and two feet almost there, went for a cup of tea, and when I came back she'd had the first one. Second one was a normal presentation too, so iodine on, in a pen and I went back to bed for an hour.

Stella is proving to be a great mum - very milky. The lambs have tummys like drums. I've put them out today, but will keep an eye to make sure they stay mothered up.

More ewe lambs

Thursday 10 April, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 11:41am in Sheep Comments closed

Lucy lambed this morning - twin ewes. Haven't weighed them yet but they look like big girls, especially the second one.

Sweetpea had her twins on Tuesday - a ewe and a tup (4kg and 4.5kg respectively, which isn't bad for a gimmer) - and went out to play today. Poppy and her triplets are already out and she seems to be coping fine with three.

So, six lambed and that's us halfway. Thirteen lambs born; nine ewes and four tups. We've always had pretty even splits between ewes and tups before, so this is unusual. TBH, I'd rather it was the other way round :-) But I'm just glad all the ewes and lambs seem to be in rude good health.

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