The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: tanyalou on July 24, 2016, 10:11:15 pm
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Hi all,
We banded our boys when we lambed. We knew that with one of them we had "missed one". We were doing checks today and the remaining one seems very hard. Does anyone know if we should be concerned. We wondered if the banding caused damage that needs sorting?
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Banding a single testicle can often catch part of the second, and/or the cord, and yes that would cause damage. And quite a lot of pain at the time, too. I always remove the band - cut it off if necessary - if I haven't got two testicles properly caught when I check.
How's the lamb in himself? And what's your expectation for him? If he seems fine and is destined to be away by Autumn...
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Hi there,
He's absolutely fine. He's about 4 months old now so it doesn't seem to have been causing him a problem but we hadn't actually felt it until today
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He will be a freezer lamb by the way ????
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Whoops. Used wrong emoji. Sorry :)
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Oh. Just noticed on another subject you are a spinner.
Hopefully this picture has attached. Do you have any idea what kind of wheel this is and whether it's a viable option to learn on? I bought it in Wales last year and don't know where to start. I have emailed my local guild twice hoping to join but they don't reply. ;)
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Banding a single testicle can often catch part of the second, and/or the cord, and yes that would cause damage. And quite a lot of pain at the time, too. I always remove the band - cut it off if necessary - if I haven't got two testicles properly caught when I check.
How's the lamb in himself? And what's your expectation for him? If he seems fine and is destined to be away by Autumn...
Do you have space to run the ram lambs separately after weaning? If so you don't need to band them and they'll grow more quickly.
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:spin: :excited:
It's some kind of Saxony wheel, scotch tension. I'm not an expert on older wheels; if you're on Ravelry and post the pic there, someone may be able to tell you more about it. Or you may find it on the UK spinning wheels info website (http://www.ukspinningwheels.info/).
Saxony is just the style - flyer offset to the side of the drive wheel, whereas a castle wheel has the flyer above the drive wheel.
As far as I can see, your wheel looks serviceable. Some older wheels weren't built to be used, they were woodworking projects. So the only way to be sure is if someone recognises the brand/make, or to give it a go. It looks as though you'll need a brake band, which will run over the groove in the end of the bobbin and be tensioned by the knob at the front.
If it is a working wheel, it may be one you could learn on. Often people find that these types of wheel aren't the easiest for beginners, but scotch tension is usually easier than double drive for learners, so it may be fine for you. Only one way to find out!
I'm sorry to hear you haven't had a response from your local Guild. Whereabouts are you? There may be other local groups.
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[member=161690]tanyalou[/member] , you will get a better response if you put this as a new message in the 'crafts section', where other spinners will see it.
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Thank you :thumbsup:
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Hi sally,
Thank you for all that.
The lady I bought from had been using it herself for years so it is useable if you know how.
I am in sunny Suffolk about 10 miles from the Norfolk border
:wave:
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There's a list of spinning groups in Yarn Maker magazine; also a list is maintained on Ravelry. linky (http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/uk-fibre-and-yarn-events/2321941/1-25#1). I can't see any groups listed there for Norfolk or Suffolk, though, so I'd ask if anyone knows of on on the UK Spinners group linky (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/uk-spinners)
If you aren't on Ravelry, there's Spinners in the UK on Facebook. Take any advice you get on there with a pinch of salt until you've been on long enough to work out who knows what they're talking about ;) - but it would be a good place to ask about groups local to you.
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Hi
Great thanks for all the info. I am on ravelry and no one has come up with spinners local to me or identified the wheel. I don't do Facebook as I can't stand all the nonsense (bit of a bug bear with me!) I 'll keep searching though. Probably more during the winter months when life on a smallholding calms down :D