Sheep
Last lamb
Tuesday 19 May, 2009
I thought I had put this up - wrote it ages ago, well, mid May given the content!
Jura lambed last night - a ewe lamb that has been named Lyra. Both mother and daughter seem to be doing fine. I'll tail her in the morning, then she can get out in the afternoon if it's fine. I hope Li'l' Bud and Dickie don't bully her, as she's very small in comparison to those two thugs.
It looks like Li'l' Bud has a future as a breeding ram; Lyra will be retained in our flock; Dickie, however, has a less long-term future i.e. the freezer. I was concerned about him being the only one going to the abattoir so I've arranged with my chum, who also has Ryelands, that when we wean them, Dickie will go and run with her ram lambs until they all go for slaughter. It's not a happy thought, as I'm quite attached to them, but it's most humane solution I can come up with in the circumstances.
New grazing
Sunday 26 April, 2009
Today we rigged up barriers at either end of our track and let the sheep in there to graze and browse. We have to meake best use of our limited grazing and since Dan was preparing to cut the roadsides, it seemed daft to expend the effort doing something the sheep do willingly. Roadside grass is so much nicer than field grass!
Both lambs are doing well, as far as I can tell. They are growing like weeds and full of nonsense. Herbert's better able to stand up for himself now, although Jura knocked him over the back of the trough yesterday and he was stuck - on his back with his legs in the air. He was soon rescued though and seems none the worse.
Juno's lambs
Thursday 16 April, 2009
Juno lambed yesterday. She was scanned as carrying twins, so I was a bit worried. In the end, she lambed herself - two tup lambs. Unfortunately, the second one was born dead. It seemed perfectly formed, too. Hey ho, just one of these sad things.
Juno and surviving lamb seem fine. She's got loads of milk and seems to like him well enough, so I'm happy with that.
Newborn Ryeland Lamb from asmallholder on Vimeo.
Li'l' Bud's buddies
Thursday 16 April, 2009
After the trauma of a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the hens deserve a quiet life. Li'l' Bud doesn't think so. In the absence of other playmates, he's amusing himself hen chasing. He also spent a happy ten minutes yesterday headbutting a clothes pole. He was also very interested in Juno's bum - sniffing and displaying the Flehmann response! Jura hunts him if he hangs about her, though. His mum, Jinx, is very indulgent, even when he's jumping on and off her back. I'll be glad when he has a proper playmate.
Lamb
Thursday 2 April, 2009
This lamb is so funny.
Firstly, he looks funny. He's got really long legs and clumpy feet; his ears dangle a bit and his grey and black face make him look like a wee, old man. Secondly, he's really laid back - I've only heard him bleat once. To be fair, he's been shut in with Jinx, so he's never been "abandoned" and his belly is always full, so he's never asking for a feed. He doesn't seem to be a very enthusiastic feeder either but he always seems full. I wondered if he was brain damaged - he's just a bit slow.
Juno's personal groomer
Thursday 2 April, 2009
Juno muscles in on the hens' corn - last year she grew some wheat on her back, as a result of catching it in her fleece. This year, she's decided to have a personal groomer. She is, in fact, large enough to accommodate several dozen hens but only the Light Sussex is brave enough so far.
A hen riding a sheep from asmallholder on Vimeo.
First ever TAS lamb!
Monday 30 March, 2009
Jinx produced her lamb today at about 5pm. I must have missed it by a few minutes. It's a tup lamb; grey and black at the moment. He seems quite healthy - he's been up and had a feed. I helped Jinx with the rubbing down (don't think she really needed help, but I had to do something). She's had a feed and a drink and the lamb was sleeping when I went out at 8pm. His tummy felt quite full and he was nice and warm. I'll leave them in peace until morning. I'm planning to leave them in for three or four days, to be sure all is well.
New sheep shelter
Monday 23 March, 2009
Our new sheep shelter is almost finished. I think it looks great - it certainly won't blow away, for sure.
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I'll bring my stable mats back this week and we'll get some straw for the pens. We also need to put up some tie rings, to secure the hurdles that we're using to make pens. No curtains, though.
The hens think it's great. The sheep, so far, have boycotted it and actually run past the entrance. However, if I put the trough in there, I'm sure they'll like it better!
Lame Jinx
Sunday 22 March, 2009
Jinx is lame again. She has a slightly deformed right hind hoof and it occasionally gets infected. I trimmed it on Friday, but we'll give her a week of intensive attention and wash it with disinfectant every day. If there's still heat in it tomorrow, I'll ask the vet for a general antibiotic, which will be handy with lambing just around the corner.
The Hay Path
Monday 2 March, 2009
Our sheep are getting ad lib hay at the moment. We're feeding it from an old brazier, being too tight to buy, and too incompetent to make, a hay rack. They do waste a bit - helped by the hens who pull the hay out of the brazier / hay rack as well. So what to do with the wasted hay?
Well, you can't put it back in the brazier - the girls just look at you as if to say "we've walked on that. You can't expect us to EAT it."
So we're putting it in the currently- vacant pig pen. The sheep are using the pig pen as a through-way from teh lawn to the field, so the hay will protect the soil and help to reseed it. It will either disappear into the soil OR the pigs will rootle around in it when they come alng in April / May.
