Autumn Breeding Sales

'Tis the time of year when farmers have been busy spaening (weaning) their lambs and sorting through their breeding sheep. There are sales every week at the moment for breeding sheep of one type or another at the auction marts across our area.

The sales season can start quite early with the downland breeds being the first to come upon the market, hill breeding sales tend to be slightly later in the season. Friday 14th September was the KELSO tup fair, where almost every type of downland tup (ram) was on offer, by October we will be flat out with the hill tup sales, some farmers and shepherds travelling miles to view and buy sheep.

It isn't just the tups who are finding themselves being paraded around the sale ring, the females are also on the market. Ewe sales are commencing, specific sales where females of all ages will be going under the auctioneers gavel. From draft ewes (retiring off the hills) right down the scale to the younger end being the ewe lambs (spare female lambs).

Shep was at the ewe sale at Lockerbie recently, funny white faced critters they were - yup! Cheviots! but only a handful were present of the type I am accustomed to, the remainder of the sale was taken up with those bigger creatures, the north country variety. The Blackfaced ewe sales are advertised throughout the farming press, Shep nearly found herself at Castle Douglas rather than Lockerbie but navigational skills and sheep breed found Lockerbie easier to negotiate. The sales at Longtown and Hexham are yet to come, just a fortnight away though and many sheep to prepare for sale before then.

Sheep find themselves being dressed for sale, not in the sense we would imagine, they don't get wrapped up in frilly frocks or anything of that ilk, they just find themselves getting a tidy up, any raggy edges smoothed over, a cut and trim to help them look respectable. Dolled up a little bit, touch of bloom dip to brighten their fleeces, dab of paint where necessary and off they'll go to the mart. Hopefully the next posting will help explain some of this to you all.

1st December

Shep was heading into Cumbria today. Toast and coffee on the front seat of the car due to a refusal to climb out of bed. I was still managing to leave at the optimum time to arrive at my destination when expected I just hadn't allowed time for the porridge and leisurely cuppa, something to do with dark mornings and probably a late night.

I had an hours journey in front of me with headlights cutting through the gloom. Cumbria is west of where I live, now obviously I mustn't have been fully awake as I was driving along viewing the rising sun, very faint to start with getting stronger as time went by, it caught my interest as did the bird of prey which rose from the edge of the road with something dangling from it's talons. A fleeting glimpse of something the size of a sparrowhawk but what it was I do not know. My attention returned to the rising sun.

Why was I driving into a sunrise? Did I not say Cumbria is to the west. Does the sun not rise in the east? I was going in the right direction wasn't I? It has been known before to head off in the wrong direction, thankfully to date I have realised in good time and can't recall arriving at the wrong destination. I yawned and drove on.

I kept driving on, the colour was getting stronger in the sky in front of me, trees were silhouetted against it, ought I not stop and take a photo? Every time I considered this I had passed the photogenic spot - dithering, whilst still working out why I was heading east.

Eventually I found the sunrise was behind me, I was leaving it behind, probably even more distracting as it was getting very strong by this time and the urge to take a photo was getting equally as strong coupled with the relief that at last I was heading west. For years I have travelled this route, why this morning of all mornings I spent so much energy considering which direction I was heading I do not know, unless my body was missing that early morning stretch and breakfast, brain still heavy with sleep mebbes.

The urge overcame me and I pulled over into a car park designated for a historic site. Quite a large historical site really. Housesteads Roman Fort, built on Hadrians wall a stretch of which I was following along this particular route.

 

There you have it, the sunrise on the 1st December. Now what is it they say about red sky in the morning? Okay! we're safe - it's an orange sky, all will be well!

The day remained dry, cool but dry. Far better day than a day or two back when I got soaked to the britchy arse. I didn't quite end up doing the John Wayne walk that day but definitely had a very wet backside which gave cause for a 'phone call to local agricultural merchants to please deliver a new pair of waterproof trousers this coming weekend. There's nowt quite like one of those piss wet days to make one realise the waterproofs are no longer waterproof and believe you me, soggy backsides ain't the best of company.

The task in hand was to fluke dose a flock of mule ewes.

 

The ewes were run through a cattle race to allow me to manhandle them and give them their oral dose against them nasty little fluke blighters. Critters which thrive on wet ground and attack the liver of both cattle and sheep, critters which are becoming more and more of a problem in our area and possibly more so this year with the mild conditions which have been experienced of late.

 

I did grin to myself. The above is a suffolk, one of the tups which have been running with these ewes, he's actually just a lamb but a big one at that. The hanging lugs is what made me grin. How often do we say "it's hanging it's lugs" which basically implies the beast is off colour and here we have a breed which is meant to have 'hanging' lugs. By 'eck, I do think they're ugly! Give me a texel any day.

I also mused the fact that these tups services now appear to be no longer required, their job is done, fertilisation has occured and they now have the rest of the year to swan around and do nowt. How seasons vary, in Tarset some tups have only just recently been let out to the ewes, these boys were let out weeks ago and now find themselves redundant.

My return journey saw me heading east, (before turning off and heading west) it was too late for a sunset but I did see the glow in the sky which I had looked upon this morning and from the exact spot where I'd taken the photo - light pollution, a phenomena we are unaccustomed to in the North Tyne but one easily seen tonight as I looked towards the glow coming from the conurbations of Hexham and beyond to Newcastle, I preferred the sunrise this morning - far more natural.

Dressing mule ewe lambs

Shep's been busy. It's the season for the sheep breeding sales and sheep have to be dressed. We don't dress them up in clothes we just titivate them up somewhat. Same as when we like to look our best - bit of a hair cut and tidy up is what we give them.

The first sales of the season tend to be for the more in-bye breeds. The mule ewe lamb is one of those. Actually the mule ewe lamb is bred from hill sheep and many farms in Tarset with some kinder ground do breed these lambs. The blackfaced or swaledale ewes being crossed with the blue faced leicester tup gives you your mule, recognised as a true breed, even has it's own breed society but in actual fact it is a cross breed - a much sought after mongrel.

The mule has long been recognised as a prolific breeding sheep, carrying the best attributes of both it's parents it has been much sought after the length and breadth of the country as a breeding ewe which produces quality fat lambs. Due to this the north of England has become a breeding area for the mule.

The mule ewe lamb finds herself being dressed to enhance her physical qualities. Carcase is a priority (a shapely figure), followed by skin type (tight purly wool), they ought to carry their heads high and sport a good set of ears. Personal preferences have seen many prefer those lambs with a dark head colour although in all fairness one which has a light coloured face will breed just the same, it boils down to what pleases the eye of the beholder.

The lambs in the above photo have yet to be dressed, they are carrying wool around their cheeks, the belly wool makes them look lower to the ground and shorter of the body, the hair on their faces also give them an immature look. The idea of dressing them out is to give the impression of a bigger, better carcased animal.

Unfortunately it would seem that buyers cannot see beyond a dressed sheep, set a pen full in front of them which are undressed and they will generally be a less price than those which are turned out for the job, add to that the fact that farmers and shepherds like to take pride in their stock and turn them out to the best of their abilities you then find that the autumn sees a great deal of sheep being dressed, and not just mule ewe lambs but every other breed you could imagine also.

The above lamb has been dressed. The neck has been clipped out to 'give her more neck' - lift her head and set her head off. The belly has been clipped giving the impression of being longer of the leg and also the body. Ears have been clipped to accentuate their size, some of the hair has been shaved off the face making the head look sharper, broader and exaggerating a slightly roman nose which is a breed characteristic.

There are a variety of styles of dressing but they all aim to achieve the same things, it's just a matter of different areas and different people have different styles. The day used to be that every sheep dressed was probably done so in a slightly different manner. Some would need to be dressed hard around the neck to give them more neck, others might need their chests dressed hard to make them appear broader. There are many tricks of the trade and all can help to alter the appearance of a particular animal. All I can do is share the basics with you, life would be too complicated otherwise!

And so, back to dressing mule ewe lambs. What is needed? An electric machine and a pair of hand shears will suffice.

What I call 'commercial' dressing of sheep is almost all done with the electric. The days of dressing with hand shears when you're paid by the head is now long past as it is far more time consuming. Although when it comes to dressing black faces and swaledales it is all done with hand shears but then they don't require quite so much attention.

Shep prefers to back a sheep into the corner and stand astride to dress her. There are many who use dressing stools but a) you have to lift them into the stool and b) I always found they hunched up too much for dressing the fronts successfully. So, once they've been sat on their backsides to have their bellies clipped it's back onto their feet and into the corner with them.

A steady hand is required to dress the wool around the necks and chests. Sheep don't stand still, they tend not to be placid and helpful, instead preferring to bounce around in the hope of escaping your clutches. Being over zealous whilst the electric machine is running can lead to wool coming off where you don't want it to and once it's been cut off it can't be put back. So a steady hand in control of the handpiece and a strong arm in control of the sheep is a necessity.

Ideally a cattle comb is best to use on the hair on the lambs head, it clips barer as the teeth are closer together, it is also safer to use. However it isn't as easy to use on the wool of the body as it bungs up too easily due to the narrowness of the teeth, therefore I tend to just use a normal wool comb for everything.

An ability to use both right and left hands whilst dressing is a god send, it makes access to the bits you wish to clip such a lot easier and enables an even clip all over.

An arty shot! It does however show the speed that the machine can be going at, or ought I say the arm which is powering the machine? Anyhow, whilst the sheep is jumping around and the machine is running it is often too easy to stab oneself, I have a number of small triangular scars on my left fore arm caused by self mutilation due to lack of concentration, strangely enough my right arm seems to have been more fortunate!

The above were mule lambs out of the swaledale ewe and they are definitely hairier of the head than those out of the blackface but the photo shows just how much hair comes flying off their faces when they are shaved. These little, short, sharp hairs manage to get everywhere, often the tweezers are required once in the bath at night to remove them from some tender areas of the body where they have found themselves embedded, a rash across the belly is not unheard of with little stubbly hairs sticking out - all sheep hairs I may add! I tend to wear as many layers of clothes as possible (whilst trying not to cause heat exhaustion), in an attempt to stop these splinters of hairs from transplanting themselves all over my torso.

Eventually you hope all your efforts have been worth while. You can stand back and view your hard work, a well dressed sheep is pleasing to the eye. She'll stand proud and look alert and hopefully catch the eye of the buyers when she goes through the ring at the auction mart.

Back to the grind

After the 'holiday' in Scotland Shep and the better half had some catching up to do.

August, September and October sees the season for sheep sales which for Shep means a lot of sheep to gather, dress and draw.

Now I can't bring myself to leave you to work out what that means, it is tempting though..........

Gathering ought to be self explanatory by now, if not go back in these blogs and work it out.

Dressing? A thing we do every morning when we get up - slightly different with sheep, they are not wrapped up in fine trimmings, frocks for the females and suits for the males - I think not! No, dressing sheep is similar to taking the poodle to the parlour or getting your hair cut. Basically they get titivated up to look their best before going into the auction ring to be sold.

Generally only breeding sheep get 'dressed' although it has been known for the real pinickity to square tails up on store lambs to make them look boxier at the back end, mebbes I'll go into that at a later date. Breeding sheep are titivated up, hand shears are a must although the electric shears are also used. Care has to be taken, snipping off a little at a time as once it's off it can't be put back on. There is a saying that a good sheep doesn't need to be dressed and there is a lot of truth in this, however, you just can't help but try to make a good sheep look even better.

There are all sorts of tricks to the trade all intended to make the sheep look bigger, stronger, brighter and all together more pleasing to the eye. Many are bloom dipped, that's why you often see sheep with yellow wool, or brown, golden, biscuit, black - whatever the farmers personal preference in bloom may be. Sheep that thrive well often have a natural bloom about them, similar to the colour of those that have been in a sandy rubbing. Bloom dipping just exaggerates this natural colour.

Drawing? not a pencil and paper in sight, unless to write down the numbers on the back of a fag packet or whatever comes to hand.

No. Drawing means sorting the sheep so that they stand together as a type. You want a similar size and quality of sheep to be sold in each pen that you put forward for sale. It is often said that the buyers bid to the worst lamb in the pen, so you really don't want them to be badly drawn, ideally you'd like the pen to be all like peas in a pod, unfortunately the ideal world hasn't been made yet and every sheep will have it's imperfections. Basically size and type get drawn together, stand back and look and anything you find that isn't pleasing to the eye gets dropped down into the next pen and so on until you are content with what you have - simple!

And so, Shep has been busy. Dressing Mule Ewe Lambs, Mule Gimmers, Blackfaced Ewe Lambs, Gimmers and Draft Ewes, drawing store lambs and breeding sheep, gathering and I may add still spaening some sheep. The back end of the year is the harvest time for the sheep farmer and a hectic time for the Contract Shepherd as deadlines must be met. The sheep sales wait for no one.