Sheep
Sheep handling
Sunday 22 July, 2012
Although we've had sheep since 2007, we've never had purpose built sheep handling facilities. Any handling has involved Dan sheep-wrestling and sheep-restraining. To be honest, it meant he spent too much time holding sheeps' heads while I jagged, dosed, dagged and trimmed. And I can't afford his hourly rate 
.
So when we sold Longcarse, some sheep handling equipment was high up my wish list. After much deliberation, we've bought an economy sheep race with guillotine gate and two way / stop gate from Penderfeed. The manufacturer is IAE; we have a couple of wheeled sheep hay racks from them and have found them robust, well designed and reasonably priced.
Bye, bye Leo and hello, Nemo
Friday 25 May, 2012
It's been all change on the tup front this last couple of weeks.
Leo (Fetternear Lionheart) has been our fabulous tup for two years, but as his daughters are coming into the breeding flock this year, we had to find a new home for him. He's only three this year and a healthy, happy boy who throws great lambs, so we hoped we could find him a good home privately.
Leo having his farewell tea
Too close for comfort
Tuesday 17 April, 2012
On a small property like Dalmore, nowhere is very far from the house, but this year, the sheep nursery is in Home Field, which is directly in front of the house and our bedroom window. This morning at 3.30am, when I thought the broken nights were over, I wakened to the sound of Jura bleating like mad.
Since she was just turned out yesterday, I thought I'd better go and check that all was well - I suspected that she had just "lost" her lamb. And so it was that I was out in jammies and wellies, in the dark and the rain, with a flashlight, looking for the "lost" lamb. To be fair, it was pretty horrid - windy and sleety - but Jura was soon reunited with lamby.
Well, that will be lambing over for another year
Monday 16 April, 2012
Well, that's lambing over at Dalmore for another year. The last two ewes and their lambs went out this morning, although Nellie's twins (the Stringys) are still getting a top up from a bottle.
The lambing box is cleaned out and out of date stuff discarded; flock register is completed; lambing pens are down, although the lambing shed has been left bedded just in case the weather turns and I want to bring the littlest lambs in.
Read more on Well, that will be lambing over for another year
The Stringys
Monday 16 April, 2012
We have a gimmer (Nellie) with twins and she doesn't seem to have much milk. She's got a lovely udder, no heat, nice placed teats and her lambs do suckle away. She loves her boys and tucks herself up so that they get latched on easily.
Nellie's lambs
They suckled quick so have definitely had whatever colostrum she had - and they are nice bright lambs (we've nicknamed them "the stringys" as they are quite bid framed but, well, stringy".
Niamh
Saturday 31 March, 2012
Niamh had a white tup lamb at midnight last night. He weighed in at 5.1kg. I was concerned about her, especially given Nova's experience, so I called out the vet, since she didn't seem to be making much of it. I thought I could feel one foot and a big head but it was very tight and I didn't want to damage either ewe or lamb.
Millie managed to get the second foot and, with much effort on both her and Niamh's part, lambed her normally.
As might be expected, Niamh was a bit shellshocked, as was the lamb, but she had plenty milk so once I was sure the lamb was OK, I left them in the mothering pen for half an hour. When I came back, she was giving him a good lick and was chuntering away to him. He was almost up on his feet, so I gave him a hand to feed. This was 2am; by 4am, when I checked again, he was up on his feet, dry and full of milk.
Niamh and Luna
Friday 30 March, 2012
Well, contrary to my prediction, neither Niamh nor Luna lambed last night.
Niamh is starting to look like she's thinking about it - she's quite restless tonight and doing a lot of pawing the ground. I've not seen a water bag yet though, although it's easy to miss it, and she's not straining in any way. More preoccupied looking.
Luna has an udder like a cow, so I guess she's not far away.
The three lambs seem to be doing well. Lyra's ewe lamb has been christened Sweetpea (it's an "S" year for Ryelands 
). The big white boy (Popeye?) is going to be trouble - he managed to get through the fence today. He wasn't concerned but Nova was frantic - she's going to have her work cut out for her, I can tell you. I noticed she was following him today - the other two lambs follow their mammys.
Lyra's lamb
Thursday 29 March, 2012
As expected and bang on time, Lyra gave birth to a white ewe lamb yesterday afternoon. The lamb weighed in at 4.2kg, so not far short of Jinx's tup lamb. Mother and lamb are doing great - Lyra is a very conscientious mother. As this is our first ewe lamb, she needs a name beginning with "S".
Since it was a lovely day today, I decided to let them out. Lyra got her "makeover" - wormer, flukicide, spot-on, foot trim and rear end tidy up - before they tootled off to the nursery field.
Lambing so far
Wednesday 28 March, 2012
I visited my sister last weekend and got a hard time over the lack of diary entries - I am resolved to do better.
Our lambing this year was due to start on Sunday 25th March. Jinx, however, hadn't made a note in her diary and I got a text from Rebecca (who feeds the ponies about 6.30am) on Thursday 22nd to say that there was a lamb in the field and that both it and mum looked fine. Rebecca was correct - Jinx had a black tup lamb, weighing 4.5kg.
Jinx and her tup lamb
Li'l Bud
Wednesday 29 February, 2012
Back in 2009, our very first ewe to lamb was Jinx; she had a tup lamb that we called Li'l Bud. I got rather attached and decided to sell him for breeding in autumn 2010. To my eyes, he was the handsomest Ryeland that ever drew breath.
Anyway, autumn 2010, I sold him to a nice man who lives near St. Andrews and runs a few commercial cross ewes. Buddy did well; threw some good lambs; managed to send me a Christmas card but Alex was reducing his ewe numbers so contacted me about August last year to see if I wanted Buddy back. Given that I have his mammy, his auntie plus various half sisters and cousins, that wasn't an option and I thought it would be curtains for Bud.
