In the 1990's, after the cattle all came down with TB, our family went into sheep.
 |
| Lambs in 2010. |
I have grown up in the company of sheep. Not that that's a bad thing.
At the moment we have a commercial flock of a mixtrure of Texels, Suffolks, Charlais and the odd Rouge or Mule-type.
New Breeds
If we are introducing a new breed, it's usually through the rams.
 |
| Bernie, one of two Charolais (the most recent addition) rams to arrive in Summer 2009. |
New Mothers
The ewes are usually bred from at 2-years-old, alough there are sometimes exceptions.
 |
| An older ewe with her two lambs in 2011. |
 |
| Sugar here is an example of an exception. She was born in 2010 but had a lamb this year because of her sheer size. Size is usually the deciding factor if a ewe is to have a lamb at 1- or 2-years-old. |
Pet Lambs
Every year, despite our best efforts, we will end up with pet lambs.
 |
| One of this year's nine pet lambs. We are experimenting with keeping them inside until they are sold this year. |
 |
| This is Jim. In 2009 we made a small field for our pet lambs so that they could live outisde. Although this worked for a while, the grass soon dissappeared and the ground became soiled. Putting them out in the field wasn't an option either because we couldn't keep an eye on them. We ended up selling only 3 lambs out of 11. |
 |
| Another thing I enjoy doing is halter training pet lambs. Above are Suckie and Titch in 2005, both successfully halter trained. Suckie continues to walk well on the halter to this day. |
Annunal Jobs
The jobs that usually keep us awake at night...
 |
| Lambing, one of the essential jobs in the shepherd's year. In 2011 we had mostly ewe lambs. For us, lambing usually lasts from January to April, though this may vary between regions and contries. |
 |
| Shearing, or as it's known locally, clipping. The ewes get a nice new haircut. This usually happens in late May/early June. |
There are many more jobs besides, but these are the most significant.
Our Named Sheep
Click on a sheep's name to see posts that it's in.
For more...
Comments? Questions?
Feel free to leave a comment below and I'll get beck to you.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy family of four will be visiting Ireland on October 28-November 1. Do you allow visitors to your farm. We love dogs and I would love to see your farm. Hope you receive this!
Many thanks
Kristin Brower