With terrible timing, this week we have, as well as catching up on all the digging, and sowing and starting the planting out, been butchering a mutton. Well, that was Wednesday – and no we would not have planned it had we known it would turn hot – but I distinctly remember the news stating [...]
Archive for the ‘sheep’ Category
mutton butchery
Posted in grow your own food, livestock, self-sufficiency, sheep, smallholding, soap, vegetables on 27 May 2012 | Leave a Comment »
flock settling
Posted in sheep, tagged sheep on 22 May 2012 | 2 Comments »
The new shetland ewes are settling in nicely. I had worried about there being bullying, what with having a mix of big and little sheep, but after a few days the Shetlands stopped chasing the big ones ! They seem to have settled into three distinct groups within the flock; the Devon closewools, the Shetlands [...]
Devon county show
Posted in general wittering, livestock, self-sufficiency, sheep, smallholding, weaving on 18 May 2012 | 3 Comments »
We’ve been at the show today. We particularly wanted to go to take a really close look at the sheep – shows are an ideal way of finding out what you really like in a breed. We looked long and hard at the blue faced Leicesters - as we are tempted to add one or two to [...]
sheep sheared, before and after
Posted in sheep, tagged sheep, wool, shearing, shetlands on 16 May 2012 | 4 Comments »
shetland ewes
Posted in sheep, tagged auction, sheep, shetland on 7 May 2012 | 4 Comments »
We have been going to auctions a lot lately. Although we really have too many sheep at the moment – a situation made easier by our mutton wether spending the winter away keeping a ram company, we have been thinking of buying more sheep, with an eye on the future. Our reasoning is this, we [...]
schmallenberg virus
Posted in sheep, tagged sheep on 22 February 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Another animal virus does the rounds - this time smallenberg virus – which affects cattle sheep and goats. Defra information It would seem from the information given that it reduces milk yield in cattle, but more worrying causes birth defects in sheep and cattle. For sheep this could result in difficult/impossible births – the vets [...]
the sheep are in the veg patch
Posted in grow your own food, livestock, sheep, vegetables on 6 February 2012 | 1 Comment »
With our consent. We have pulled the last of the leeks there (still have more in the garden), picked the last of the PSB, and harvested some bonus spring cabbages that were the result of leaving the cabbages that didn’t come to anything in the ground. Next we cleared up all evidence of the cherry [...]
hay
Posted in sheep on 2 February 2012 | 13 Comments »
As usual, back at the end of summer, we bought some bales of hay to feed to the sheep in case of snow. Up until this week, it has seemed unnecessary – and it doesn’t keep – that is sheep wont eat old hay. You would think, if they were hungry enough, they would. But [...]




