61

Introduce yourself / Re: Black nose valais

« Last post by Fleecewife on June 04, 2025, 11:53:06 pm »

Well, they're native to Switzerland, which can be cold but, being a continental climate, is dry compared to Wester Ross.  Their fleece doesn't look remotely weatherproof to me, but I have never kept them - too big for me.  They are very cute sheep, but in some climates cute isn't going to survive or prosper.
Someone who has actually kept them will hopefully come along to give you a more informed opinion  [size=78%] [/size]

62

Introduce yourself / Black nose valais

« Last post by Jenniejenjen on June 04, 2025, 10:54:00 pm »

Hi, it is me again from wet and wind swept Wester-Ross. Northwest Highlands. I was looking for some more advice. Would Black Nose valais be able to cope with wet, windy and mud? Kinda fall in love ❤️  but I know I shouldn't of. 

63

Sheep / Boswellia for arthritis?

« Last post by moprabbit on June 04, 2025, 10:07:26 pm »

Just wondered if anyone had used Boswellia to help arthritis and if so how much did you give? Any other ideas to help arthritis? Thank you

64

Sheep / accidental lamb carer without a clue, don't know what to do next advise needed

« Last post by firefrog on June 04, 2025, 08:57:13 pm »

Hello. So I bought a couple of sheep to graze on my lower field about 4 weeks ago.
then yesterday morning I found my flock had grown from 2 to 4 with the arrival of 2 Lambs. So my life has been turned upside down by the arrival of 2 extremely cute fluffy things and I can feel my hair turning greyer than it already is.
so one lamb is quite a bit smaller than the other, and when I found her she was hardly moving which is when the panic started. I picked her up to see if she was alive which she was, so I put her back down and bid a hasty retreat and watched for a while, the second (a male, who looked fine and was walking around mum.
After about 30 mins the little one got up and went over to mum so I let out a big sigh of relief and thought my troubles were over and I left them them to it. Mum is 7 years old and it's not her first rodeo so I figured she knows what's she's doing.
I checked in regularly throughout the morning from a distance. but by midday I noticed that neither of the lambs had actually found the milk bar, and mum kept walking off just when it looked like they might latch on, panic mode took over again
That's when I called the guy I bought them off who said he would come over.
 I should mention my family and I now live in the Auvergne, France. Not only do I know very little about Sheep I also now very little French!
So the guy comes over with a friend, they watch the sheep for a while and mumble some things to me, most of which I don't understand but the general gist was that the udders where too full so the lambs couldn't feed. They jumped into the small pen grabbed  mum, milked her and helped the lambs to latch on which they did. happy days! They then put the colostrum in a bottle and fed them. Leaving me with 1 full bottle of colostrum with instructions to feed it to them in the evening which I did.
They only drank half the bottle so I fed the rest of it to them this morning.
Throughout the morning I continued to watch to see if they were latching on, but still no success. Then at about 3pm my wife and I tried to milk mum again and latch the lambs on.
We really struggled to hold onto mum and only managed to get about half a bottle of milk and had zero success getting the lambs onto her.
when we eventually left the lambs followed us all the way to the edge of the field much to the annoyance of mum who slowly followed behind trying to tell her lambs not to go off with strangers!
I continued to watch from a distance but still no luck. So tonight I fed them the half bottle.
so that's where I am now.
my concern is that they think I am their food source and when they see me they come directly to me bleating their little hearts out. the female who is the smaller one is defiantly more persistent and continues to try to feed from mum but the male seems to have given up and doesn't even hang with mum who defiantly hasn't rejected them.
im scared they are going to latch onto me as their food supply so I really don't want to feed them any more but I also can't physically help them latch on because mum just wants to run away from me.
So they have had their colostrum and they both seem healthy, the nights are about 10 degrees at the moment and they are just in a shelter at nights.
what should I do now heading into day 3?
any advice greatly appreciated

65

Introduce yourself / Re: Advice

« Last post by Jenniejenjen on June 04, 2025, 08:41:24 pm »

Hello. Thank you for replying. Yes I am.

66

Introduce yourself / Re: Advice

« Last post by Rosemary on June 04, 2025, 07:32:52 am »

Hello and welcome! Are you a member of SCF?

67

Smallholdings for sale or rent / Grade II listed cottage for sale on shared 2-acre smallholding in Yorkshire

« Last post by haven136 on June 03, 2025, 09:02:57 pm »

A rare opportunity to join a peaceful smallholding community in the stunning West Yorkshire countryside, on the doorstep of the Peak District National Park.
Price: £425,000
Rightmove link: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161834642#/?channel=RES_BUY

I’m selling a cottage which sits within a small shareholding. The land and outbuildings are co-owned and managed by a small community of four cottages.

Location
Hagg Farm sits in an elevated and private position near Holmfirth and Honley, surrounded by open farmland and woodland. It enjoys uninterrupted 360-degree views and excellent access to the Peak District National Park.

The Cottage
This Grade II listed mid-terrace weavers’ cottage is arranged over three floors and features:
* 4-bedroom layout (currently 3 bedrooms + study/office)
* Mullioned windows, exposed beams, original fireplaces
* Rayburn range and electric central heating (EPC exempt)
* Spacious lounge, fitted kitchen, cellar workshop and external fuel store
* Beautiful original features throughout

Shared Grounds & Outbuildings
The property is part of a small community of four cottages, who share approx. 2 acres of grounds.
The shared land includes:
* Paddocks used for hens and sheep
* Productive veg plots, two orchards, polytunnel, and greenhouse
* Wildlife areas and mature gardens
* Two-storey stone-built coach house (used for storage and workshop)
* Old stone pig-pen with potential
* Additional storage buildings
Hagg Farm residents enjoy a relaxed, collaborative setup – for example, sharing chicken duties on rotation (with egg rewards!), while having space to pursue their own projects and interests.

Practical Details
* Accessed via private dry-stone-walled track
* Off-road parking for multiple vehicles
* Mains electricity and water
* Shared septic tank

68

Introduce yourself / Advice

« Last post by Jenniejenjen on June 03, 2025, 02:28:47 pm »

Hi,
I have a croft in the Northwest Highlands. At the minute all I have is 3 horses but I am wanting to get goats and sheep soon. I am currently working on renewing the fences etc before I add more.
First of all I am wanting to site a.couple of Glamping Pods or a Static Caravan to bring in an income to put money into my croft projects. Any advice would be great, has any one done this, pros, cons etc costs and everything would great to know.
Also I am think of getting. Couple of Sheltland ponies to help with the work on the land carrying and harrowing etc. Is there anyone out there that could help train to harness? Thank you in advance.

69

Sheep / Re: Weaned my cayed lamb too early due to bloat

« Last post by SallyintNorth on June 03, 2025, 09:58:31 am »

Age-wise, he wasn't weaned early if you weaned him 10 days ago and he's 9-10 weeks old now.

But I'd agree that bottle lambs generally need to be eating a decent amount of creep before losing the milk.  General advice is 1/2lb a day for a healthy commercial lamb, half that for a small primitive type. 

Several of us do well with Champion Tup & Lamb.  If you can't get that locally, try a pasture mix rather than a pellet; the different shapes and textures make them explore and play with it more, so it starts to be eaten as they mouth it.

It sounds like his digestive system is generally not in good order, probably wants a bit of a reset.  You might find it best to take him off grass for a while, let him eat hay and a feed only until his digestion rights itself.

I would certainly speak to the vet, it's possible he has an infection which will need medication.  Otherwise, I'd be inclined to bring him off grass, give hay only (the best softest hay you can get) at first, and for 24 - 48 hours, give him PFS or similar to keep his electrolytes right and get him rehydrated.  If he brightens and is eating hay well by then, introduce a pasture mix / creep. 

70

Sheep / Re: Weaned my cayed lamb too early due to bloat

« Last post by Bywaters on June 02, 2025, 02:14:29 pm »

what does your vet suggest ?