81
Gardens / Weed control tool
« Last post by Jaymac76 on May 24, 2025, 09:19:15 am »I am looking to buy a new weed control hand tool and thinking of a 3 prong cultivator, what tools do you use for weed control?
Recent Posts
82
Sheep / Re: Soay with chronic scours
« Last post by Ottospig on May 23, 2025, 05:44:30 pm »Thank you so much for your replies. Really helpful. I will get him wormed, reduce his grazing and no extra feed! See how we go!
83
Sheep / Flystrike eggs but no maggots
« Last post by Brewster on May 23, 2025, 05:34:35 pm »Hi everyone
I noticed flies honing in on a ewe who has a urinary infection judging by her stained tail and smell. I checked her over and found no sign of maggots but did see evidence of eggs. I destroyed the eggs by hand and then applied a liberal application of Crovect. She seems okay in herself, eating etc.
She hasn't been sheared yet like the rest of my flock. Should I leave the Crovect do its job or should I shear her by hand and reapply Crovect?
Any advice on the urinary problem? She's not scouring.
I noticed flies honing in on a ewe who has a urinary infection judging by her stained tail and smell. I checked her over and found no sign of maggots but did see evidence of eggs. I destroyed the eggs by hand and then applied a liberal application of Crovect. She seems okay in herself, eating etc.
She hasn't been sheared yet like the rest of my flock. Should I leave the Crovect do its job or should I shear her by hand and reapply Crovect?
Any advice on the urinary problem? She's not scouring.
84
Sheep / Re: Soay with chronic scours
« Last post by Richmond on May 23, 2025, 08:07:16 am »Agree with what Sally and FW have said. We keep just a few Soay and they get fat on fresh air. Our pasture is really poor (and almost non existent currently due to the ongoing lack of rain) but they still get fat! They get no extra food apart from a bit of hay over winter.
In case you haven't already done so take a poo sample to the vet for analysis. They can then tell you a) if he needs worming and b) if he does then what sort of wormer to use.
In case you haven't already done so take a poo sample to the vet for analysis. They can then tell you a) if he needs worming and b) if he does then what sort of wormer to use.
85
Coffee Lounge / Re: Scottish Land Commission: Scotland Futures
« Last post by Fleecewife on May 23, 2025, 12:42:30 am »I'm not a politically active person, apart from voting, but as you might expect Rosemary, Gordon has been writing letters on this and other relevant topics, enough to make up for my lack of civic duty 
86
Sheep / Re: Soay with chronic scours
« Last post by Fleecewife on May 23, 2025, 12:38:50 am »As always, Sally makes a good reply 
I would just like to add that at one point we kept several Soay (we still have three). In our flock we had those who scoured and those who didn't. I felt there was a genetic element to it, judging from our small sample. My action was always to put them on sparse grass and hay, with plenty of water. Also, frequent washdowns of the rear end with soap and water kept the scourers clean. The upside with Soay is they have lovely short tails and self rooing fleece, so if necessary you can remove the offending wool without daggers
I would just like to add that at one point we kept several Soay (we still have three). In our flock we had those who scoured and those who didn't. I felt there was a genetic element to it, judging from our small sample. My action was always to put them on sparse grass and hay, with plenty of water. Also, frequent washdowns of the rear end with soap and water kept the scourers clean. The upside with Soay is they have lovely short tails and self rooing fleece, so if necessary you can remove the offending wool without daggers
87
Sheep / Re: Soay with chronic scours
« Last post by SallyintNorth on May 22, 2025, 10:27:34 pm »Things you can try :
- worm him, might also need to give him a flukicide
- stop the feed, wethers won't need feed as well as grass or hay especially at this time of year and especially primitives
- have himalyan rock salt always available, and give them a drench of a good chelated mineral drench once or twice a year
- reduce the amount and/or richness of the grass. Soay are more used to "severely disadvantaged" type ground, rushes and heather with poor moor and marsh grasses.
- put them on bare ground and feed very poor hay, and not much of it
- worm him, might also need to give him a flukicide
- stop the feed, wethers won't need feed as well as grass or hay especially at this time of year and especially primitives
- have himalyan rock salt always available, and give them a drench of a good chelated mineral drench once or twice a year
- reduce the amount and/or richness of the grass. Soay are more used to "severely disadvantaged" type ground, rushes and heather with poor moor and marsh grasses.
- put them on bare ground and feed very poor hay, and not much of it
88
Sheep / Re: No shedding when Charolais ram brought in to a flock of Wiltshire Horn
« Last post by Deacon Folly on May 22, 2025, 06:44:46 pm »We have WH x Shetlands this year.
First crop from WH ewes x Shetland ram
The lams are a cracking size already (6-7 weeks)
They will go off end October
Hopefully 🤞
First crop from WH ewes x Shetland ram
The lams are a cracking size already (6-7 weeks)
They will go off end October
Hopefully 🤞
89
Sheep / Soay with chronic scours
« Last post by Ottospig on May 22, 2025, 05:12:16 pm »Hi, I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice. We have 2 Soay Wethers one was hand reared. We took him on when he was about 2. He often has scours and I'm finding it difficult to keep him clean. I have treated him with Clik but I'm still seeing flies around his bum. He lives purely on grass in a one acre paddock, The grass is really long currently and looks good. Every few days I give them a small amount of sheep mix. He is good in himself and in good condition other than the constant dirty bum! The other Soay has no problems at all. Just wondering if anyone has any advice? I'm wondering if he did not receive enough colostrum as a newborn but not much we can do about that now. Thanks in advance!
90
Sheep / Re: No shedding when Charolais ram brought in to a flock of Wiltshire Horn
« Last post by PipKelpy on May 22, 2025, 01:32:41 pm »After breeding Wilshire horn for six years, we decided to introduce a Charolais Ram to our flock to bulk up the lambs. This was a big success, although we found that the new lambs were less resistant to winter weather on account of their bare head and ears.
We had been told that the lambs would be self shedding due to a dominant gene, but they did not shed a single hair. They all had to be dagged the following year, and we had to spend a fortune on a shearer in May (when we finally managed to get one).
We have decided against keeping any of the ewe lambs for breeding. But at least the lambs do reach finishing weight in 18 months instead of three years!
18 months over 3 years?
I'm assuming you eat the adult animals!
I bought in my first WH with WH lambs in 2021 and did notice that the lambs took 2 months longer to get to kill weight than when the WH lambed to Dorset Down the following year. I didn't lamb last year but anyone who could HAS this year, WH to WH (bought a tup in hoping to get ewe lambs! (Got 3 out of 15)) and the Shetlands have lambed to Dorset Down because I know the DD gene will give me a good carcase.
Shedding? My Dorset Downs off WH can only be described as unbelievable!!
Unbelievably WOOLY!! It was an absolute shocker! WH mum, DD dad and each blasted female that I kept had a longer coat than what the dad had. It reminded me of the offspring off my GreyFaced Dartmoors!
So, in my head next year will be an experiment, I've a nice WH tup lamb I've kept entire (when he was born, I said to mum, that's Isaac) I'm eying him up for the Shetlands for later this year and if I have trouble getting in a tup, he'll go On the bulk of the Ewes as he's only related to 2 of them (his mum and aunt).
Surely the offspring WH x Shetland can't be that wooly?