Hi Everyone
I am new to sheep keeping, and would like a few pointers please. I have a mountain of books to start reading, but they are going to take some time, so I thought I would ask my biggest worries here first, so I don't get caught out before I finish reading.
I have 3 North Ronaldsay's, one castrated exceptionally tame ram, and 2 ewe's would are a little flighty. They are all rescue sheep from the RSPCA, and we are keeping them as lawnmowers and pets only.
The two ewe's I believe may be in lamb, as they had been running with a ram when they were taken in by the RSPCA. That would give them a rough due period of 20 April to 14th May according to the paperwork I got with them.
So, my questions are:
1) Do I need to be worried about flystrike now due to warm weather, and can my ewe's be treated with anything considering they are in lamb? They all have very clean bottoms and were wormed by the RSPCA before they came to me. Someone has mentioned Tubby's??? There is one you can feed for flu strike apparently? Also, is this safe to give if they are in lamb?
2) The thought of lambing as a new keeper of a few weeks fills me with dread. Do I need an emergency kit, and what should that kit consist of? Also, how long should a Ewe labour for? I have also heard that North Ronaldsays have a tendency to have twins - how far between are the lambs usually born?
3) How much should I be feeding in supplement feed? I don't want fat Ewe's and overly large lambs?
Sorry for all the silly questions, but I am paranoid that something will happen before I have had time to read all my books!!
Thank you!