[SallyintNorth]

We have just one lad to go this year and I'm not happy about sending him on his own - not sure what to do.

i was bothered about fetching a solitary tup lamb, so I took a couple of wethers with me for the ride.  if your trailer has a mesh partition, you could have a couple in the front part who get the round trip, and the solitary boy in the back, one way.  it triggers a standstill when you get back, but since they don't step foot off the trailer, no actual risk

The journey is OK - not far.  It's when he gets to the abattoir as they put smallholders' sheep into separate pens which are closed off from the other stock and each other.  This means he has no other animals in sight.  He will not have long to wait but he could get distressed in that time.  On the other hand he could be perfectly laid back about it - he's a calm sheep.  It would be good if he could have some hay to concentrate on, but obviously that isn't appropriate just before slaughter.  I've got until August to think of something.

Hmmm...  I'd be tempted to do one of these things :

• Take him the day before so he can be given hay and straw and settle 
• ask them what time to arrive so that he will be going straight in 
• ask if you can keep him in your trailer until they are ready for him 
• ask if you can please stay with him in the pen until they come for him. 
• see if any of your neighbours have any sheep due to go, and whether your boy could become a friend of theirs (at your spot or theirs) and all go in together.  The abattoir would have to agree to sort your one off at or after slaughter, but they should be able to do that

In addition to caring about how he feels, if he does get stressed you will taste it in the meat.

[Fleecewife]

We have just one lad to go this year and I'm not happy about sending him on his own - not sure what to do.

i was bothered about fetching a solitary tup lamb, so I took a couple of wethers with me for the ride.  if your trailer has a mesh partition, you could have a couple in the front part who get the round trip, and the solitary boy in the back, one way.  it triggers a standstill when you get back, but since they don't step foot off the trailer, no actual risk

The journey is OK - not far.  It's when he gets to the abattoir as they put smallholders' sheep into separate pens which are closed off from the other stock and each other.  This means he has no other animals in sight.  He will not have long to wait but he could get distressed in that time.  On the other hand he could be perfectly laid back about it - he's a calm sheep.  It would be good if he could have some hay to concentrate on, but obviously that isn't appropriate just before slaughter.  I've got until August to think of something.

Hmmm...  I'd be tempted to do one of these things :

• Take him the day before so he can be given hay and straw and settle 
• ask them what time to arrive so that he will be going straight in 
• ask if you can keep him in your trailer until they are ready for him 
• ask if you can please stay with him in the pen until they come for him. 
• see if any of your neighbours have any sheep due to go, and whether your boy could become a friend of theirs (at your spot or theirs) and all go in together.  The abattoir would have to agree to sort your one off at or after slaughter, but they should be able to do that

In addition to caring about how he feels, if he does get stressed you will taste it in the meat.

Those are the possibilities I've been mulling over.  The abattoir is usually quite accommodating so I think arranging to take him in as close as possible to slaughter time would work best, then he can go up the ramp straight from the trailer.      Yes, I think that would work     Thank you Sally for helping me sort out my mind 

[harmony]

We have just one lad to go this year and I'm not happy about sending him on his own - not sure what to do.

i was bothered about fetching a solitary tup lamb, so I took a couple of wethers with me for the ride.  if your trailer has a mesh partition, you could have a couple in the front part who get the round trip, and the solitary boy in the back, one way.  it triggers a standstill when you get back, but since they don't step foot off the trailer, no actual risk

The journey is OK - not far.  It's when he gets to the abattoir as they put smallholders' sheep into separate pens which are closed off from the other stock and each other.  This means he has no other animals in sight.  He will not have long to wait but he could get distressed in that time.  On the other hand he could be perfectly laid back about it - he's a calm sheep.  It would be good if he could have some hay to concentrate on, but obviously that isn't appropriate just before slaughter.  I've got until August to think of something.

Hmmm...  I'd be tempted to do one of these things :

• Take him the day before so he can be given hay and straw and settle 
• ask them what time to arrive so that he will be going straight in 
• ask if you can keep him in your trailer until they are ready for him 
• ask if you can please stay with him in the pen until they come for him. 
• see if any of your neighbours have any sheep due to go, and whether your boy could become a friend of theirs (at your spot or theirs) and all go in together.  The abattoir would have to agree to sort your one off at or after slaughter, but they should be able to do that

In addition to caring about how he feels, if he does get stressed you will taste it in the meat.

Those are the possibilities I've been mulling over.  The abattoir is usually quite accommodating so I think arranging to take him in as close as possible to slaughter time would work best, then he can go up the ramp straight from the trailer.      Yes, I think that would work     Thank you Sally for helping me sort out my mind 

When we take sheep they go into a pen with other sheep to wait their turn. We travel single animals no problem. And I didn't think you could bring live animals back from the abattoir as such. Multiple drop off might cover it. Will anyone care? Maybe not. Will your tup lamb care? Probably not.

[SallyintNorth]

They're flock animals so they are bound to feel stressed if they don't have any other sheep nearby, especially if they are in an unfamiliar environment.

Our abattoir would pen a single in with others unless we asked them not to.

[harmony]

They're flock animals so they are bound to feel stressed if they don't have any other sheep nearby, especially if they are in an unfamiliar environment.

Our abattoir would pen a single in with others unless we asked them not to.

In that case should we travel single animals? How do you licence a return trip from the abattoir?

[twizzel]

Whilst my sheep have to make money and be financially viable, there are a couple that are pets that earn their keep. The cattle are part of a business and thus kept as one. That said if both sheep or cattle are unable to breed again they must go, everything must pay its way. No passengers. My hens give us eggs and the ducks do too. The only animals that don’t pay their way are the spaniels!

[SallyintNorth]

In that case should we travel single animals?

It's not illegal, but it's definitely suboptimal.  With the possible exception of a tup who's been trailered to ladies before; once he's travelled to work once, he knows all about it and is quite happy 

How do you licence a return trip from the abattoir?

You put the "round trip" sheep in the front section, and don't open that till you're home again, so they don't touch the ground at the abattoir.

2 movement licenses : 1 sheep home to abattoir, 2 sheep (or whatever you have in the front section) home to home. 

Of course you will have to wash out at home, can't use the abattoir's washing out facilities! lol

[harmony]

In that case should we travel single animals?

It's not illegal, but it's definitely suboptimal.  With the possible exception of a tup who's been trailered to ladies before; once he's travelled to work once, he knows all about it and is quite happy 

How do you licence a return trip from the abattoir?

You put the "round trip" sheep in the front section, and don't open that till you're home again, so they don't touch the ground at the abattoir.

2 movement licenses : 1 sheep home to abattoir, 2 sheep (or whatever you have in the front section) home to home. 

Of course you will have to wash out at home, can't use the abattoir's washing out facilities! lol

Sorry Sally but I'm not buying it. So, you take a tup to ewes and the next time you take him to the market and he gets out thinking "Sally's conned me" or did he travel thinking " wonder where Sally's taking me today as it's the wrong time of year for tupping".


I wonder if any travel companions go home thinking "phew! That was a close one!" 

[SallyintNorth]

Lol, I can only tell you what I've experienced.  Tups who've been taken to ewes in a trailer once usually run straight into the trailer thereafter    Seen it many times.

[harmony]

Lol, I can only tell you what I've experienced.  Tups who've been taken to ewes in a trailer once usually run straight into the trailer thereafter    Seen it many times.

But you don't know if that's because there is ewes at the end or you just trained them so well to load!   


I do agree that they recognise routines.

[bj_cardiff]

I think there are a few difdferent versions of the 'smallholders dream'. One being self sufficency and living off the land. Another is to buy some land and put it to use and make some money off it. A third is somewhere inbetween.

I don't think people setting out realise how difficult it is to make any profit from keeping livestock, if I were to factor in the price of all the fencing I've done and all the costs including morgage repayments I think I'd still be at a loss..

[Polyanya]

We don't make any profit from the croft as such but do get a subsidy for the poor land and harsh conditions - and its doubtful we could afford to keep the goats if we didn't with all the bought in hay and such that they need.
We've also had to take a single animal to slaughter  its really something we try to avoid but once in the pen then my husband has stayed with them until the end really.
Sally thanks I'll be down  next week 

[macgro7]

My animals are officially livestock but realistically mostly pets for the family. Recently I started selling hatching eggs on ebay to pay for the feed and they are making a lot more money than expected! Certainly a lot more than selling or giving away eggs for eating. We eat a lot less eggs as the result lol
When we kept rabbits occasionally I sold some breeding stock that paid for their feed but still they were mostly pets and compost producers.
I'm still planning to start milking goats soon, but again their main job is to be my kids friends and teach them responsibility and where food comes from.
At the end it's about having healthy and sustainable lifestyle.