This month the Bed and Breakfast business has been booming thank goodness. We have such a diverse range of guests – it is wonderful. Of course it is also great that they support our local shop and of course the local pub and surrounding attractions.
But back to basics … our farm. This month is always a noisy one – well, only for a couple of nights. It is time to wean the lambs. I have just treated myself to a new (second-hand actually) sheep race. In my declining years you need all the help you can get when handling sheep and the race is amazing. Once my dogs have brought the sheep into the yard, the set of hurdles, gates, pens and tunnels, which make up the race, make life so easy.
So with all the ewes and lambs in the yard, it’s time to separate them out. As they filter through the race, the clever gate at the end allows me to separate the ewes from their lambs. Not only that, we can separate the ram lambs from the ewe lambs at the same time. Those males soon need to be separated from their female compatriots – oh they start so young!
The tricky bit is then driving the sheep to 3 separate fields. None of them want to go as they are leaving their mums. It takes a good strong dog to drive them to their respective fields. Once the job is achieved, the noise starts. You feel quite sorry for them all, but actually, the ewes soon forget and after a couple of days the baaing subsides. We always put the ewes onto tight grazing so that their milk supply and hence udders reduce as quickly as possible.
The shepherd’s job is so important at this time to make sure there are no signs of mastitis or any other problems with the ewes. It is their time to recover, gain back their condition ready for tupping in the autumn. I might add that I do try hard to wean the lambs when we have no guests staying as it might put them off the “idyllic” countryside for ever. It’s just our neighbours who suffer, but then they know it’s going to happen at some time.
All is now quiet and the lambs are growing on well and the ewes are happy. Janet East
PS This photo is of my superb dog Tinker pushing the awkward ewes
