[scremmit]

Evening team!

Right. It's happening!  On Saturday,  Mrs scremmett and I will be buying our first little flick of sheep!

I'm sure I could Google this, but have just got in from a 16 hour day and I'd rather just ask you lot!  ( and please brace yourself for many many questions to come!)

When we turn up with our money, what else must we have with us, and where do we get it from?

We forgot to ask the seller....

We have a parish number...

Thank you for any replies, and sorry for the vagueness - I'm just knackered!

[silkwoodzwartbles]

Have you got your CPH and flock number sorted? I expect the seller will have a paper movement form ready - you'll just need to fill in your bits and ensure the correct copy is posted off to ARAMS and keep your copy safe. The movement form will look something like this: http://www.arams.co.uk/docs/ARAMS-1.pdf

Good luck with your flock, what breed are they?

[scremmit]

We have  a cph but what's a flock number,  and where do we get it?! We are buying ten sheep (five ewes with a ewe lamb apiece) from a farmer who has thousands! I'll keep you posted on the breed!
 

[silkwoodzwartbles]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sheep-and-goat-keepers-register-your-holding-and-flock-or-herd

[Rosemary]

You'll also need a medicine book, in addition to you CPH and flock number. The seller should give you a note of any medications that they have had where they are still within the meat withdrawal period (FCI Food Chain Information).

You will need to keep a flock register, which is just a rolling record of what sheep you have and movements on and off. This might be included in the link below.

Good luck with the sheep!

[scremmit]

OK, thanks team!

The pressures off, it would seem. We can register the flock after we've picked them up- thank you very much for posting that link.

I just didn't want to get there with the trailer and come away empty handed through my own stupidity!

I'll have a good read of the Internet this evening!

Am picking up five ewes with a ewe lamb apiece :-)

[silkwoodzwartbles]

  Looking forward to seeing photos when you get them home (hint, hint!) Good luck with your flock - sheep are fun.

[Liz Kershaw]

I agree sheep are fun! Good luck and this is a brilliant site if you need advice.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

good luck with it all

[scremmit]

Ta daaaaaaaa!

I have sooooo many questions for you people! Starting with

A) has the picture uploaded? And
B) what breed are they?

We had lots of questions for the farmer but we turned up when he was unloading about a million cows so we just hurried off!

We're going to need you guys!

As a 6'2" hairy tattooed hard living contractor I shouldn't say this..... But aren't they cuuuuute?!?!

[Jullienne]

Ta daaaaaaaa!

I have sooooo many questions for you people! Starting with

A) has the picture uploaded? And
B) what breed are they?

We had lots of questions for the farmer but we turned up when he was unloading about a million cows so we just hurried off!

We're going to need you guys!

As a 6'2" hairy tattooed hard living contractor I shouldn't say this..... But aren't they cuuuuute?!?!

They look like a mixture of Lleyn blue face and texel maybe? Definitely Lleyn in the ewes and maybe texel in the lambs. They all look lovely and all the best with them and please feel free fire away!

[scremmit]

Ta very much! I've just Googled lleyn and I'll agree with you there... And even the untrained eye like mine spotted texel in the lambs so it's nice to have that confirmed 

Fire away, you say?

Right.

They've just been treated for worms and scab, but the lambs need vaccinating...

1) against what? and can we do this ourselves?

2) what do we do to prevent fly strike, or anything else that may come along? Any chance of posting links to specific products?

3) we need to send off our movement licence. Is this the same as registering our flock, or is this separate paperwork?

4) the ewes have eartags. Am assuming this is the old six figure flock number. They have a tag in each ear though? Would we have to re-tag them?

I know to you more experienced folk, these questions are all a bit thick, but  when I Google them, I get conflicting answers... And i dont want to bother my sheep keeping acquaintances with every single detail- I'd rather keep them for emergencies!

Thank you so very much, in advance...

[SallyintNorth]

Vaccinate with Heptavac-P against clostridial diseases and pasteurella pneumonia.  Yes you can do it yourself, if you've been trained to give subcutaneous injections. 

The lambs may need protection from flystrike; options include Crovect and Clik or Clikzin

The ewes won't need protection from flies at the moment as they've just been shorn.

Sheep are tagged on the holding of birth, and those tags and numbers stay with the sheep for life.  You don't re-tag when you buy in.  The lambs should have been tagged by the breeder as well - have they been? 

You won't need to have your own tags until you get your own lambs being born.  However you still need to register as having sheep, and get your own flock number.

[scremmit]

Hello!

Thanks for replying.

The lambs aren't tagged at all. The farmer told us we'd have to get them tagged if we were going to sell them. (what was he expecting us to do with them?)

He also asked if we wanted a licence.

He wasn't going to give us one at first, which I thought odd...

[SallyintNorth]

The lambs should have been tagged on their holding of birth.  They have to be tagged before being moved, and ear numbers recorded on the movement license.  Lambs which are not being moved off their holding of birth must be tagged before they are 12 months old.

You will need them to be tagged when you send them to be butchered.

I assume he has not recorded the lambs on the movement license, only the ewes?

Your options are :

• get him to come and tag the lambs, and put their numbers on the movement license (or, if you've already sent that one off, write another one for the lambs)
• register yourself and get your flock number, order some tags and tag the lambs yourself, as though they had been born on your holding