High Edge Taylor

Diary

Posted: Thursday 2 October, 2014

by Rosemary Champion at 11:30am in Sheep Comments closed

With Nemo going for pies in March, we needed to buy a new tup this year. And we have! He's called High Edge Taylor and was bred by Debbie Bostock in Derbyshire. I picked him up in Carlisle on 20th September, so he's been in isolation since then, while he's been wormed and fluked.

Since he seems in rude good health, we let him out today, along with his companion, Little Ted. They are in the "garden" round the caravan - lots of grass for two batchelor boys!

Little Ted is one of this year's tup lambs; his services as a companion for the tup were required because of the untimely death of Dickie, the previous wether. Little Ted is way, way smaller than all the other tup lambs; he's also, coincidentally, out of the same ewe as Dickie.

So last week, I had a "Well, there's good news and there's bad news" conversation with LIttle Ted, just before the vet arrived with the scalpel. Ted's recovery was speedy and he obviously has no notion that Taylor is twice his size.

I haltered Taylor to take him round to the caravan thsi morning. He is the most docile animal. I expected some bouncing, given that he's been in for nearly two weeks, but his behaviour was impeccable.

I kind of hope he gets a bit more excited when he sees the ewes in a couple of weeks :-)

So we've got six tup lambs and two cull ewes going away next week. We've kept eight of this year's ewe lambs, and they are at a friend's along with two "retired" ewes, eating grass in a wee paddock. The eight ewes and seven gimmers that will go to Taylor in November are at Barry Mill doing the same. They'll come home middle of October for a makeover before going in the paddock next to Taylor to get frisky.

We sold six ewe lambs this year for breeding - three to Brechin and three to St Andrews. They all seem to be settled in fine, which is good news. Being docile and people friendly, Ryelands are great for first timers.

So that's us up to date with the sheepies. Off to clean out the henhouse now :-)