Author Topic: Shetland sheep (Read 9982 times)

Hermit · « **Reply #15 on:** May 27, 2011, 10:34:50 pm »

We wait till they are shearlings although we did have one that decided to take herself to the ram ( yes the one spoke about earlier) she had a lamb fine and was a good mother as nature intended really. But it is the done thing to wait.

Hermit · « **Reply #16 on:** May 27, 2011, 10:40:08 pm »

On the twins question , no they dont have triplets but sometimes pinch a lamb so they have three suckling. We have had so many twins this year, two have pinched a lamb so they have three and one ewe was letting four suckle on her today . Its mix and match at mine at the moment but I have been told by a flockman that sometimes this happens when there are lots of lambs about the place!

Collie26 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 28, 2011, 06:45:36 am »

Thanks for the advise hermit.

I was going to wait but just wondered so they'll get sheared next summer, and tupped in autum.

They'll just be grass cutters for not

goosepimple · « **Reply #18 on:** May 29, 2011, 01:46:52 pm »

Sorry, going on a tangent here but having a bit of a blonde moment reading all these replies - can someone enlighten me on the sheep lingo - ewes and tups I'm ok with, but am guessing when it comes to shearlings, hoggs, gimmer lambs and what else is there out there, can someone give me the lowdown please, then I won't have to ask again and will sound knowledgeable. Thank you

jaykay · « **Reply #19 on:** May 29, 2011, 02:01:15 pm »

Of course, it varies around the country too. But here in Cumbria:

It's a lamb from when it's born until the New Year (or late back-end) when it becomes a hogg. It's a hogg until the summer, when it's sheared, when it becomes a shearling. It's a shearling until next time it's sheared, when it becomes a two-shear....

If it's female, it's a gimmer lamb, a gimmer hogg, a gimmer shearling, when it becomes a two-shear it becomes a 'yow' (ewe).

If it's male and entire, it's a tup lamb, tup hogg etc. and becomes just a tup at two-shear.

If it's castrated, it's a wether lamb, wether hogg etc.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #20 on:** May 29, 2011, 02:36:49 pm »

And just to be confusing, here 'gimmer' equals 'gimmer shearling', and a female lamb is a 'ewe lamb', a female hogg is a 'ewe hogg'.

And then of course there are one and two etc crop ewes, whose actual age depends on when they first lambed, and two tooth sheep, four tooth sheep etc, which refers to how many adult teeth they have........