heart stopping moment

I opened a door into a hayshed and my heart nearly stopped. NO! nowt jumped out at me, there wasn't even anything unduly sinister in there, there was just this view

 

I need to take you back in time, to the first little spell of snow we had which was in November I think. I went into the self same hayshed to get hay for the sheep and this sight did not confront me, the shed looked quite normal.

However, when I pulled a bale of hay down there were some none hay like objects to be found on top of the bale, the sort of objects which make the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. Great big mouse droppings - aargh!! The only thing I know of that leaves behind great big mouse droppings is a great big mouse, or ought I say rat - shudder!

Past postings will confirm my absolute dislike for rats, not just a dislike but a loathing..... urgh!!!

I closely inspected the droppings on the bale and convinced myself these were quite dessicated, dried out, old, probably been there for ever and a day as this was year over hay, it had been put in the hayshed last winter, the rats were bound to have been and gone by now. There was nothing for them to eat anyhow, other than hay that is. Yup, I stiffened my back, lifted my chin and convinced myself they were indeed history.

A while later I was once again in the hayshed and this time greeted with the above sight, holes dug out on the floor of the hay shed, urgh..... I made a lot of noise, banging and clattering as much as I could find to bang and clatter and finally plucked up the courage to retrieve a bale of hay (how brave is that??!!)

 

I tried to turn a blind eye to this run in the hay (okay! I failed to turn a blind eye, I photographed it - from a safe distance I may add!) Now hay bales often have gaps between them, the gaps aren't however usually well worn with the trafficking of feet as this one was, also, there aren't usually well worn tracks beneath the hay shed door leading to the holes in the loose, old hay on the floor. There was no doubt that there were more than just hay bales living in this particular shed, the hairs on the back of my neck were indeed prickling.

Eventually I plucked up courage and returned, armed with rat poison no less. Again much clattering and banging before entering the shed. Just in case you understand.... wouldn't want to frighten the little blighters... I'd feel much happier if they had time to go and hide and pretend they're not there, far kinder approach I thought!

 

On this occasion I noticed there was fur lying near one of the holes, difficult to see here as there is also shards of black plastic but fur there was, rabbit fur at that. I'm not aware that rats drag there prey back to their nests but I could be wrong, or mebbes a rabbit had inadvertently found itself in the shed, had a good scratch and left a pile of fur behind before returning to the great outdoors, mebbes they were rabbit holes I was viewing and not what I thought to be rat holes....... mebbes a miracle might happen and the rats were going to be a figment of my imagination, mebbes I'd confused rabbit dottles for rat shit (god help us all if I'm getting that confused!)

A closer inspection of the area had Shep finding more trophies

 

A feeling of exhilaration was beginning to overpower the feeling of dismay. Could this be what I think it is? Could I really be that lucky? I refused to believe my luck until I was able to get home and check my bible My poo book. (not winnie and pooh bear but a book of spraints, faeces and droppings of all sorts of creatures)

Sure enough, my initial thoughts were soon confirmed, "sausage like, twisted and drawn out" describes spraint from the polecat family - yipee! A stoat probably, now that'll sort out them scaley tailed creatures. I feel ecstatic at the thought. My poison wont be needed after all.

Has to be said tho' that I'll probably remain extremely nervous as more hay finds itself removed from the shed but I'd like to think that Mr Stoat will have done his job.

I have been told that years ago farmers would put ferrets in the shed where corn was stored to keep the rats at bay, ferrets in a hutch no less. It is believed that rats will not go where ferrets are. Ferrets have a distinctive musky odour and rats will be able to smell them quite easily. It is of interest that we keep a couple of ferrets, for rabbiting, and when ever there has been an infestation of rats on the farm where we live they have never bothered to visit our cottage. Is that because we have ferrets? They are fearless hunters, as are stoats and even a rat who can be equally fearless will probably meet it's match faced with a member of the polecat family. Let's hope so.

Tup time and second time over

The tups in Tarset are now into second time over. As explained last year ewes have an oestrus cycle of 17 days. So a tup is released to the ewes on the first day of tup time and it is hoped that after 17 days those ewes will have all come on 'heat' and been tupped and hopefully held (remained fertilised).

The next 17 days is generally known as second time over. For fear some ewes didn't hold to the tup they get the chance again and usually to a different tup.

It is not unheard of for ewes to come back to the tup on the 18th/19th days, these being the ewes which were on heat when the tups first went out and for some of them it was probably wearing off, or maybe the tup was struggling to settle down to the task in hand. For whatever the reason there is no major concerns when ewes come a tupping right at the offset of second time over, however, should this trend continue for further days it is a great concern, a sign that the tup was not doing his job right, was not fertilising the ewes.

It is for this reason that tups are changed for second time over, ideally fresh tups are used but sometimes tups just find themselves changed around to run with a different batch of ewes. Shepherds keep an eye on any proceedings hoping that they don't find ewes queuing up for their second chance of being fertilised. If the tups are ratching (hunting) around looking for a willing female and finding no joy then that is great news for the shepherd, the ewes are already fertilised and don't require the services of the male sheep anymore. Should the results be different and the tup finds himself with a regular harem then there is no doubt the first tup out with the ewes did not do his job, hugely frustrating as the lambing season will drag on and the tup (which may well be one you thought very highly of) will have to go down the road, to the pie shop so to speak.

There were many this tup time sharing concerns that their ewes would be not be tupped first time over due to the poor weather conditions. There should have been little reason why the sheep didn't get tupped, if your ewes are fit and your tups too then nature will take its course. Sheep have an inbuilt desire to pass their genes on to the next generation and so long as their own survival is not in jeopardy that is what they will do.

It is possible that on some of the very worst days when snow was blizzarding the tups may have found it more difficult to perform, or they may well have suffered an injury (which would be spotted by the shepherd and rectified as soon as possible) but on a whole the males and females ought to have been doing what they were meant to be doing and fertilisation ought to have occurred.

Shepherds were finding that they weren't seeing the signs first time over. Usually the sheep are fairly well spread out and the tup will be wandering around trying to find a receptive ewe, the ewes also will be hunting the tups out. The shepherd would gather his sheep up every day and hopefully have the opportunity of seeing a tup work (tup a ewe). However due to the amount of snow lying sheep were held tight within a small area until the snow began to soften and they could spread themselves out further and when the shepherd arrived on the scene these sheep which were already bunched up came forward looking for feed, a totally different scenario to the one which many were used to experiencing.

Due to the fact that the sheep were bunched up all the time the tups didn't (and actually couldn't) go a wandering, they were confined to a small area just waiting for a ewe to come onto heat and ask to be tupped, the chances of the shepherd seeing any 'action' was fairly slim. As already said, upon his arrival the sheep were looking for feed so again he wasn't going to see much action. If ewes are not satisfied with the tup and his services they will follow him around, hassle him and let it be known that they would like something 'better', again this wasn't being seen due to the circumstances at tup time.

Tups have been changed in Tarset and second time over is well underway. It would appear that those concerns held by some could well have been unfounded, there are not many ewes coming back to the tups which is great news. It seems that the ewe flocks in Tarset are indeed going to be in lamb.

 

An idle tup seen above - good news for the shepherds that the ewes no longer require his services.

Tups will run with the ewes until the turn of the year, often pulled off the ewes around about the 5th January. Tups are pulled off the ewes because we all want to know that lambing time is drawing to a close, if they are left running with the ewes there may well be ewes lambing well into June. Six weeks of running with the tups ought to be enough, it's definitely enough at lambing time! Anything which hasn't been tupped in that time probably wasn't fit enough or had an underlying problem and would be better off geld anyhow, unless that is there was a problem with the tup and his fertility in which case tups may be left out longer as the lambing will be starting later anyhow.

The challenge to the ewes now is to get through the winter and remain in lamb. Physical stress may well cause them to reabsorb their lambs or abort (keb). Physical stress is often caused by difficult weather conditions which affect their natural grazing and find them burning their energy reserves. Fortunately sheep went into this winter in good physical fettle and we'll just have to hope they don't find themselves hammered by the elements and put under stress once the foetus begins to grow inside them.

An update on the weather

Friday 10th December saw the weather turn fresh (warmer), there were even concerns of flooding as the roads quite literally ran with water. However many of the roads were still covered with compacted frozen snow which made driving conditions absolutely treacherous.

Farmers contracted out by the council tried to make the most of the fresh spell which was forecast to continue right over the weekend. Diggers and ploughs came into the area to try and remove some of the inches deep compacted frozen snow off the tarmac roads. Many wagons needed to make deliveries, not only to farms but also to households who required heating oils, coals etc, the roads were going to have to blacken more than they were at the moment to enable the deliveries to get in.

There was some headway made and tarmac did rise to the surface in places, however the fresh didn't last as long as it might have done. For all it felt so much milder the cold in the ground must have prevented further snow and ice from shifting. There was a massive difference to be seen on the Friday, every time I looked up more snow had moved and yet on the Saturday it appeared to be just the same and so on for the first few days of the coming week.

Yes, the snow must have been moving slightly but it was no where near as apparent as it was on that Friday. Where ever tractors, feet or traffic had been travelling over the white stuff it was all left as a solid frozen mass. Fields were greening up, hill ground and any rougher pastures found sheep scratching in and 'working' to get a bite as heather and rushes began to poke through, any dips and hollows remained white as did dyke (wall) backs. The oldies would be telling you it was hanging around waiting for more to come........

Shep managed to get out and about without fear of sliding off roads, a trip away East to dose and innoculate hoggs away on winter keep followed by a trip over West to dose and copper in lamb mule ewes, on roads which were a pleasure to drive on. What a difference in the weather though. Close to the seaside on my venture east saw a lot of snow still lying, as much if not more than ourselves. The trip over west saw me enquiring whether or not they had had any snow. But then you just have to travel a few miles down the valley from here and the snow is hard to find.

Sunday 12th December saw everyone waiting with bated breath to view the weekly television weather forecast which is screened after our weekly farming programme on a Sunday evening. Concerns grew as a threat of heavy snowfall was predicted for the coming Thursday (yesterday).

The 'fresh' had come as a god send enabling everyone to 'come up for air', restock where necessary and prepare for whatever the weather was likely to throw at us. Not just farmers and shepherds I may add, householders too. Those who required fuel deliveries to heat their houses were finding the wagons were back on the roads, some had to leave bowsers to be filled at properties which had clearer roads, these bowsers being led in by tractor so saving unnecessary accidents for the wagon drivers or none deliveries. Feedstuffs were delivered to farms, some being unloaded at the farm ends, or neighbouring farms due to wagons not able to travel on the icy farm roads. Groceries were sought, just in case! Pantries (larders) are kept full through the winter months so many were not short of food but it always pays to ensure there is plenty in and so an opportunity to restock is not missed.

A great help when no one is sure what the future weather is likely to be.

Shep even met one farmer loading his sheep and taking them home. His main farm is 12 miles away, further in bye,yet he owns a large lump of hill ground in this area too. For all he was able to get fodder to his sheep in the bad weather he said it was taking 3 hours out of his day to travel to them by tractor and so when there was a lull in the weather he decided to gather all 100 of them up and transport them by livestock trailer back down to his home farm where he knew he would be able to access them. Not a foolish move by any means.

For some the forecast of more heavy snow was almost too much, worries and fears came to the fore. Will the fodder last the winter? Where will we find some more fodder? Will the wagon get in with feedstuffs for the farm animals? Will the sheep carry their lambs through? Will there be enough money to pay the extra costs? Will we ever be able to visit friends and family before Christmas? Will the family get up for Christmas?

There is nothing we can do about the weather and in many ways there is no point in worrying, however, if you care then you will undoubtedly worry and for all there is nothing can be done about the weather we must all prepare for it and have plans and back up plans for dealing with it. Minds are racing, thinking weeks and even months ahead towards possible scenarios, trying to conjure up plans of action to help alleviate the situations should they arise. For instance, there is no point in waiting until you have no hay for your sheep before ringing around to see it there is any to be had. The hay sheds were rapidly depleting and many have already being making enquiries and placing orders for more fodder. Should it not be needed then all well and good, a huge expense but at least it was on hand. However, should it be needed then that is even better, your animals did not go hungry, you had the foresight of mind to plan ahead and prepare for the worst.

So why so much concern? Why the unspoken fear, concern and trepidation? THE WINTER ARRIVED TOO EARLY - that's why. Winter will often arrive in January, very often in February and not unheard of in March, but November? Snow is not unheard of in November, neither is frost. However the amount we received is unusual and we are a long way away from springtime, so much can happen in the forthcoming months.

Last winter dragged on, a good old fashioned winter which commenced in December and trailed on beyond the spring. Almost everyone in this area used up all their hay and silage, their feed bills were much higher than usual and not a scrap of feed left on the farms. The past spring and summer were poor ones. The early growing season never arrived and hay and silage crops were poor. Many farmers went into the winter with sufficient to see them through on a 'normal' winter, therefore they already know that they do not have enough fodder to see them through an unusually early winter unless it should now become fresh and the weather warm up. Many are carrying huge concerns upon their shoulders.

You can imagine the relief as the week drew on and the threat of heavy snowfall lessened to a threat of snow showers, many were waiting with bated breath to see what would arrive.

Thursday saw a covering of snow and nothing more, enough to make the ground look more uniform but not enough to cause any concern. The arctic blast saw the snow and slush practically freeze as it fell. Roads are once again lethal due to black ice and white ice!

We are in for a spell of hard weather, forecast for the coming week at least. Hard frosty weather. Hopefully everyone will be able to go about their business with care. Water pipes will probably be freezing again in cattle sheds and outbuildings - a time consuming pastime which can seem never ending trying to get the water to run for stock to drink. There is rough ground showing so hopefully sheep on hill ground wont need as much hay as they were receiving when the snow was so deep, however, they will still need a bite. The costs and use of fodder hasn't come to an end yet but in some respects life is looking up a little.

Why don't all sheep eat hay?

"When the hay/ straw or whatever it is gets put out for the sheep why don't some of them eat it?" is a question I was asked recently. Kinda threw me for a moment or two I have to say but I would utter some sort of knowledgeable reply no doubt.

Sheep will be being fed on silage or hay. Straw can and does get used for feeding but generally is used for bedding, it would be fairly safe to say that whatever type of bale is being fed to sheep in Tarset it will be either silage or hay.

The big round bales may be silage or hay, the small oblong bales which are easily carried by man will be hay.

So why don't all the sheep eat the hay or silage?

When I sit back and contemplate the query there are actually a number of answers some of which depend on how the stuff was presented for them.

All fodder is supplementary feeding, a substitute for the real thing. Given to the stock when their own choice of food is in short supply or of poor nutritional value.

At the moment, with snow cover, bales are being put out for the sheep to help them keep their bellies full. On the rough hill ground it is still possible for the sheep to scratch through the snow and find green shoots lying below it, to many this might be sweeter to the palate than what the shepherd is offering.

If the bales are put into feeders - that being round metal feeders for the round bales and metal hay hecks with lids for the small bales - there is a limit to how many bodies can get around these feeders at one go so it may appear that some aren't eating the fodder, whereas it is most probable they've either had their fill and left or can't shoulder their way in to have a guzzle.

The large round bales can be rolled out on the ground, either mechanically or physically, there by allowing all the sheep to gain access to the food. There will be a long line of hay with sheep standing, walking on it and eating it.

Small bales are easily scattered out on the ground and generally done so in a large circle with a decent space between each slice of the bale. The idea being that the sheep will stand around each slice of hay eating it and excreting away from the fodder, if they wish to move on to a different slice they can do so without walking over the fodder on the ground, they have to travel across open ground to reach the next slice, hopefully that way there will be less waste.

Many explanations as to why it would appear some sheep aren't eating the fodder on offer, just like humans some are greedy and will gorge themselves, others are shy and get knocked out, there are those who have found something sweeter and are quite content with their lot and there is always the minority who just wont - I wouldn't thank you for 'foreign' food, sheep can be equally as choosy.

Tropical Tarset

One minute it was blowing a hooley, the next we are getting frizzled to a frazzle. A welcome change in the weather I must say, will it stop all those farmers from wingeing? For the time being yes, other than those poor souls (like myself) who struggle with very hot conditions. However, long term it could pose real problems, natural watercourses could dry up meaning water would need transporting to the livestock, also this is the growing season; for the meantime there is sufficient moisture in the ground but rain is needed to get the hay fields growing ready for the crop to be harvested in a months time.

The hill ground around here takes very little hurt in dry conditions, Tarset is renowned for being a wet boggy hole and the well covered hill ground flourishes in warm dry weather, it's the enclosed ground which can be heavier stocked which may suffer eventually.

A pleasant change though to be browned with the sun, not rusted with the rain and there is no doubt about it - the rain will return.