[Bionic]

I only have 2.5 acres so its easy for me to see everything from my windows. Having said that, I drive myself mad looking/counting the sheep each time I pass a window, just in case.
How do those of you manage who aren't able to see their animals at a glance or whose animals aren't even on the same land as their home?
How often is it reasonable to pay them a visit?

[MKay]

It all depends on your fences, proximity to roads, frequency/likelihood of dog walkers etc. Some spots you can just relax in some you have to be vigilant in. Or if you mean lambing- it depends on your due date accuracy. We will start at a few times a day and work up to hourly, invariably though they will all lamb at 9.30 after breakfast.

[Little Landy Lover]

When mine are in the Orchard I can view them from the House across a 10 acre field, during the large part of the year I walk across once a day to check on them. When they are in Lamb I make it twice a day, once in the morning with half their food and once in the afternoon with the other half. In fact I can see all of them now, dotted in between the trees, from the Aga! When they are in the 8 acre hay field I use the same rules but I can't see the field due to a sodding great big hedge and a 20 acre field...
I allways check the hedges for escape attempts! I had a bit of a scare a few weeks back when I brought all of them in, on the way across the 20 acre (Broadcroft) I counted one short but couldn't do anything about it. I brought them all in to leave 3 behind and take the rest back out. Once I had them back out I went looking for her and found her upside down in the corner, just over a small crest. Needless to say she was fine once she'd got her internals back in place and got her bearings. But scary non the less!

Actually it's interesting, when sheep get stuck on their back their internals (usually aided by Lambs) flop to either side and they then can't right themselves. Their spinal fluid (the "spirit level" in their ears) then leaks into the throats (not sure if internally or externally) and they can't do anything about it because they've become completely dis orientated by the situation, leading them to an amazing claim to fame, sheep are the only animal capable of drowning when they are no-where near water!
Sorry if you already knew that but it's something to bear in mind if you have heavily pregnant Ewe's out of site from any-one in a field!

I hope I wasn't lied to there ^

Arch

[Tim W]

The answer for me is genetics-----out of 900 ewes (including 200+ ewe lambs) lambed last year I think I helped 3 and my nearest flock is about 6 miles from home  (the furthest is over 20 miles away)
So I will see them every day at peak lambing, someone else will also look over the fence and call me if there is a problem but this is a very rare occurrence

[Merrie Dancer]

our neighbour lives 10 miles from his flock and he visits twice a day but more during lambing. he had a bottle fed lamb last year and that was tricky for him as he also has 2 other fields all 10 miles apart to visit. he gave her to us as he was also working fulltime.

[Bionic]

LLL,
I actually had a pregnant ewe on her back yesterday. Because I check them often, even if just from the window I knew she couldn't have been like it for long  but she was lying motionless with her feet in the air and I thought she was dead.
I pulled her over and she got up, shook her head and wandered off. Well, there's gratitude for you 

[jaykay]

My fields are next to my house. I drive through them once a day during the winter, when I take hay and cake. In the summer I walk through and make sure I've counted them all, and that everyone seems ok.

In the winter they come to the bike/bucket for cake. I try to keep this going in the summer with a handful of cake, as it's much easier to check them if the sheep come to me - all my fields are hilly, have becks and ghylls in, so even standing in the middle of each one you can't see it all.

I lamb in a barn/holding pens/small field across the paddock from my back door - I'm over there multiple times a day during lambing, doing hay, water, cake, seeing if anyone's lambed, seeing if any lambs have escaped.....

Just brought them in, half an hour ago, so having a cuppa and then water, hay, cake, pens.....

[Merrie Dancer]

we had to rescue our neighbours sheep this morn as she had got her horns caught in the fence. same has happened to my sheep before. I did use to worry when I kept sheep as we have many places on our land that is difficult to spot unless you are very close. we found a dead deer stuck in our fence a while back. shame.
the previous tenants next door had a ewe that would regularly get stuck on her back, usually at least once a day and would often have people going in to help her. I worry that birds will peck them once they are stuck.

[in the hills]

Check twice a day or I get a bit 'fussed' in case anything has happened and I've missed it. Our land is next to our property but because of hills, stream, etc. you can't see them easily.

I give a shout and they come running and have a quick count.

When I'm lambing I'm paranoid and check constantly. Still managed to miss most births last year .... much to my daughters annoyance. She spots everything where animals are concerned and even with us both constantly watching they managed to pop out lambs unnoticed.

[devonlad]

a bit like others in that we tend to be on constant lookout at lambing . for the past couple of years my nephew and his girlfriend have stayed with us through lambing as they just love it. the main plus is that they are night owls so me and OH can get some sleep while they watch through the night only getting us if something happening. as our sheep are right by the house we can see them out of the window and outside of lambing we check them umpteen times a day. as we have so few  we know each one well and it becomes easy to detect if one is not quite there usual self. like merrie dancer I spend a fair bit of time sorting out sheep in neighbouring fields. we are fastidious in ensuring fences are well maintained, water supply is fine and any sheep in trouble is sorted. our neighbour on the other hand with over 1000 ewes is far less attentive. i'm sure in the past 12 months I've spent more time extricating sheeps heads from stock fencing and loose barbed, filling up their water trough, turning sheep the right way up, putting sheep back in the right field and trying to revive sick lambs than I've spent on my own flock

[ZaktheLad]

Hmmm, we have a neighbouring farmer like that too - very little interest in his stock it would seem.  Last Sunday his cows got out, ran down the lane and generally caused havoc.  One of the bullocks jumped our garden wall knocking a load of stones out and then trampled over our lawn before jumping back out again.  The cows were herded in to a spare field not belonging to said farmer and the farmer of the cows contacted.  The cows are still waiting for the farmer to collect them......

I have lost count of the number of times I have stopped the car to help a ewe in a field back on to her feet that I have noticed stuck on her back. 

[Me]

Where do you live Devonlad I will rent ground next to you 

I've neighbours the same here sadly, while they keep to themselves its one thing but when the poor sheep actually start climbing the wire like a ladder and end up in with mine its another

[twizzel]

When ours are out in fields not visable to the shed/house they are checked twice a day  sometimes more if anyone is working in nearby fields or I am walking the dog. But a minimum of twice a day, these are weaned tame lambs by this point.

[Hellybee]

Normal times of year checked over daily, 6-8 weeks before we start to drop them down the farm. We like em to go on hills as much as possible at this time, like Archie says, mainly to stop them getting stuck, so they can easily right themselves,some reckon hills can cause prolapse, but we ve not seen one and I d rather take the chance, there's nothing sadder than finding a poor ewe on her back between checks, we have lost two like this in five years, so upsetting.


This lambing we locked them on the yard, the singles had most of it and the 30 odd twins housed, literally a roll out the door jobby.


We ve helped a handful of ewes out of 111 lambed so far.  Rookies mostly, plus one c/s.