One of the problems of having an 8 month pregnant wife is that she has to stay away from the sheep and can't chase after them in the usual manner. this afternoon we had to get the sheep indoors to get scanned. We managed to get most in but I had to man handle the last 5 across the courtyard. Just getting them in as the guys arrived scanner in tow.
Remember we sponged the ewes and the tups were only in for a week so we were expecting some to be barren.
the results were:
11 Singles
18 Twins
6 Triplets
12 Barren
Probably more barren than we would have hoped for but it looks as if one of the jacob shearlings wasn't working (all 3 of his were not in lamb).
Not sure what the breakdown is between the 3 flocks; (Jacob; cheviot & allsorts) as I was too busy pushing them towards the scanner! So will run them through the race at the weekend and check and seperate them ready for the different feeding regimes.
Of course I need to decide what to do with those not in lamb but I suspect most will stay in the flock.
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I enjoyed the interview on Caithness Craft Collective. I hope to someday visit Caithness and see your sheep. They do kind of look like devil-sheep.
ReplyDeleteHi L P, glad you enjoyed it; well we all enjoy it up here so let us know if you are coming and we can point you in the right direction. things are generally a bit tucked away. devel-shhep? well up close when a tup is lookingto get passed you perhaps but in the field on a sunny day they are pretty impressive and the lambs are cute. I was looking to send one of louise's 'listeners' a fleece as I have plenty! not sure how much postage will be but if it doesn't bankrupt me I though that it would be a nice thing to do. let me know if you can make use of one. there are jacobs but also various white fleeces around the place.
ReplyDeleteHello there
ReplyDeleteHave you started lambing yet, we have just had our first set of twins which was nice to witness?
All the best
Nigel and Rachel
OK, so it took me several months to actually subscribe to your blog but i finally did it! You need to post more as it was fascinating hearing about your flock. Of course, I totally understand why it's not always easy to find the time too. Maybe next time I'm in Caithness I'll drop by and I could see your sheep? You're not far from Canisbay if memory of the podcast serves? My kids saw a Jacobs in Orkney and were fascinated by it.
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