An Update - Sept and Oct

The last update was for August. What happened to September and October? Where did they go?

Off the top of my head I am struggling to recall what on earth went on over the past two months, it almost feels like I missed them but that can't be the case as I have been very busy. Many sheep have been gathered, keeled, dosed, tailed, tagged etc. Sale sheep have been dressed, drawn and sold. I've even attended one or two marts so the questionable months must have existed.... I probably just didn't really have time to appreciate them.

Won't be long now until tups are set out and the whole cycle starts again - blimey! It seems like lambing time was just yesterday!

The clocks have changed, a strange phenomena, suddenly getting up an hour later and yet the clock doesn't say it's an hour later, adjustments needed by all of us and the stock too. Personally I love it when the clocks change, it's recharging time, getting finished at night and settling down infront of the fire - relaxing, recharging, preparing for the nights drawing out again and the work which will ensue.

October went out mild and November has come in on the same vein, there is a fly driving me potty in the house tonight, it ought to be snuggled up somewhere for the winter but it has decided to buzz around in a lonely fashion, hopefully the supply of cobwebs in the house will be it's downfall and supper for some hungry spider will be the outcome.

Shep is frustrated. Grrrr..... Computers! they really can be a pain at times! There is much to share with you, photos of autumn amongst other photos to post and write about but Grrrr..... the computer is not co-operating. Give me sheep any day! If 'cuddles' should read this beware... there may well be a 'phone call some day requesting help with computery things! In the world I live in cookies belong in the biscuit tin, worms live in the soil (or sheeps bellies) and spam comes out of a tin - there are some things a girl just doesn't understand!

I was on a high today, a cheviot fix! Woo hoo!! Grand day, good weather, beautiful scenery and cheviot sheep - a far greater pleasure than computery things that's for sure. A visit to friends on the journey home rounded the day off nicely with a beautiful moon shining through the odd cloud - good company on the way home.

I want to share with you all a blog that has been drawn to my attention, it amuses me, I also love the fact that there is someone else out there who appreciates the finer things in life, the things which are free, you just need to open your eyes and mind to appreciate them. See for yourselves http://dafads-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/all-hallows-morn.html Hope you appreciate this site as much as I do.

maggots

Maggots are astir in the countryside, no reason why they shouldn't be the weather conditions are perfect for them, hot and humid. We'd all sooner not see the little blighters however as they can cause a great deal of misery to both the sheep and the shepherd.

In the house you have to be aware in weather like this that the blow fly is around and generally keep any food happed up or in the fridge, anything dying outdoors will soon be moving with maggots and will disintegrate in a number of days. However, the blow fly doesn't just go for stationary, dead food sources, it heads for live food sources as well and sheep are one of them.

The problem today has been lame lambs and sheep with maggots in the feet, the sheep has been lying long enough for the fly to lay her eggs and within 24 hours maggots will have emerged, they eat away at the dead, stinking part of the foot and can actually do a better job of dressing a bad foot than we can, however, they don't always stop there.

The sheep lies down and tucks its feet in, the maggots start to wriggle around and soon climb onto the wool of the belly and then away up the flank of the sheep. Recent years have seen burrowing maggots -"black heeded buggers" - they do just that, burrow under the flesh of the animal causing immense distress and not always easily removed. It's quite a problem when sheep suffer from fly strike, nature at its worst.

there are products on the market which help alleviate the problem, some are pour ons which are a growth inhibitor, the eggs can be laid but don't usually hatch and if they do the maggots fail to grow. There are others which actually kill the eggs before they can be hatched, however these only seem to work on the actual part of the wool which they were administered to. The best approach if conditions are serious enough is plunge dipping, where the sheep is immersed in water with dip added to it, there again though the dips aren't as good as they used to be and although helpful against lice, ticks, scab they aren't always totally effective against blow fly. It often seems that anything which is hugely successful ends up being taken of the market.

Fortunately these sheep have been treated with the growth inhibiting pour on which won't prevent strike in the feet but ought to prevent the little blighters spreading over the sheeps bodies.