Dogs and mess!

This article was published in the farming press recently, unfortunately the farming press isn't often read by dog walkers and so I have decided to share on this page in the hope it will reach a wider audience.

"FARMERS are pleading with dog walkers to clean up after their pets when walking on agricultural land.

Parasites found in some dog faeces can result in the abortions of cattle and death in sheep and with several reports over recent months, local farmers are asking the public to be more responsible.
Neosporosis can cause abortions in cattle and is thought to be responsible for the highest percentage of all cattle abortions reported in the UK. Neospora eggs are produced by infected dogs and excreted in their faeces. Cattle will then become infected if they eat grass or drink water contaminated with the eggs.
The prevalence of the disease in herds, and its potential impact on farm economics - due to infected cows being more likely to abort, premature culling and reduced milk yields - make this an important disease to try to control, farm unions including NFU Scotland have said.
Sarcocystosis is also caused by parasites, which can use dogs as intermediate hosts, and similarly the eggs are produced and excreted in faeces. Sheep will become infected if they eat food or drink contaminated by the eggs.
The presence of these parasites on a carcass following slaughter can result in the carcass being condemned. The disease can be passed on from ewe to lamb during pregnancy.
In terms of both these diseases, faeces from infected dogs can contaminate pasture and animal feed, water or bedding. There is currently no licensed vaccine or drugs available for these diseases.
Animal Health and Welfare policy manager for NFU Scotland, Penny Johnston said: “This is becoming an increasing problem for many farmers, especially when located on urban fringes and is an important issue for dog owners to be aware of, both for the health of their own pet but also the livestock grazing on that land.
“Those utilising any agricultural land to exercise their pets should do so responsibly and clean up after their animals to avoid the spread of disease.”

It is also worth bearing in mind as the lambing season nears that farmers are entitled to shoot a dog they believe could be worrying their stock before reporting the incident to the police, please, please, keep your dogs under control at all times.

Seasons Greetings

'Tis the season to be jolly! 

Shep would like to wish everyone all the best over the festive season and a healthy and happy 2014. 

The best I can manage at the moment is to share with you this 'old' clip, it's been around for some time now but might just light up your day. 

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Snow warning

We had an yellow snow warning, then we were upgraded to an amber snow warning, I always thought snow was white - ah ha!  I now know what the forecasters were on about........................

 

Amber snow! or is it yellow? pretty rare stuff I doubt coz most places you look it has a whiteish hue about it.

Aye! It snowed, quite a change from Thursday

 

Thursday saw the covering of snow we'd had melting away nicely, okay, this isn't exactly a picture of snow, the hard frosts we'd experienced made the stuff run off roofs and duly freeze, now the freezing was dripping (yes you're right, it took me ages to catch that drip in mid air, must have nowt better to do!) 

So, that was Thursday. Friday saw hay being frantically laid out for sheep, Friday afternoon saw sheep being hounded in to lower ground, where the hay was laid out for them, ready for the onslaught, and it came, right on cue, this was the yellow snow we'd been warned about. It wasn't until today, Monday, that the amber stuff appeared, again right on cue. The weekend had seen as much feed put out for sheep as possible before the onslaught of wind and snow hit them and had them blocked out from the comfort of feed and security.

This picture may not exactly show signs of comfort and security but at least if they should get happed with snow in these driving winds I'll know where to find them.

 

As for old Glen, so long as his lugs are sticking up I'll be able to find him an' all!

Thought you'd all enjoy this link, showing the highs of farming, a cheery compilation http://youtu.be/iWdFTa7UNPs

The wanderer returns

It's tup time, so the wanderer would of course be a sheep - well? wouldn't it? After all, sheep are wandering with a mission at the moment, either ewes looking for a fella or the tup looking for a floosie. We are just getting into second time over on the hill tupping front and I would imagine all shepherds have their fingers crossed that there won't be too many ewes a wandering; looking for a fella to fulfill their desires. Now the boys ought to be wandering, desperate to find that elusive ewe who slipped the net first time over and desires the company of an amorous male. Time will tell just how the boys faired first time around.

You may have noticed Shep has been missing for a spell, I did make the return trip from Dalmally away back when (so long ago I can barely recollect) and since then there has been much to do and coupled with the fact there was no broadband connection for a fair duration this blog has found itself put on the back burner so to speak. Hopefully some normality may return, I once again have contact with the outside world which is a godsend as the weather has been somewhat arctic of late, making travelling and visiting a no go for those of us who are wusses on the roads, unless they are perfectly dry and the sun is shining!

Shep hasn't had time to partake in any winter sports, it's fair to say that a fear of 'getting hurt' would probably ensure I wouldn't wish to partake in any winter sports other than making a snowman, but regardless, there hasn't been time for such frivolities to date. I did manage a little bit of sledging however..........

Tup harnesses - awful things! A contraption worn by the tup (sire), strapped around his belly and shoulders to keep a coloured crayon in place on his brisket. Why? Well, when he jumps up onto a ewe he very kindly leaves a crayon mark behind to confirm he served her ( it is hoped that is what it confirms, in reality it only tells you he jumped up onto her back).

It is fair to say that over the years Shep has had little to do with tup harnesses, hill tups rarely get strapped up, it seems to be some form of in - bye bondage, the hill lads aren't into that fancy stuff!

It was necessary this tup time for Shep to strap a suffolk tup into his breeding attire, now that in itself was a challenge, working out where all the straps went around his huge bulk. He wasn't even a friendly beast, and had me dancing around the pen as some form of shepherd baiting took place, his head was definitely harder than my legs. It was a relief to get him backed into a corner and tied around the neck to a rail in the pens, my legs might get to see another day and not find themselves snapped like matchsticks.

Unfortunately, squashed up to the railings in the sheep pens meant only one side of him was free to work on at a time, so the battle ensued to get tup harness contraption untangled and re tangled around this heavyweight chap. There was much chuntering and head scratching went on I can assure you and after a fair duration I concluded that all lose ends were tied up and the crayon was in the correct place, right between his front legs sitting on his brisket - success!

It was a huge relief to release the chap to a field full of ewes and let him get on with the job in hand.

Two days later I noticed something was amiss, a ewe that had been 'served' seemed to have a crayon mark on her hip rather than on her rump and sure enough good old friendly suffolk tup was tracked down and it was noticed he was now wearing his crayon under his nearside lisk (okay, simple terms - left hand arm pit!). More head scratching ensued, from Shep, not the tup. How on earth did that happen? Pretty obvious really, my incompetence at dressing the beast had caught me out - humph!

I was going to have to get a hold of the fella and redress the situation. Memories of shepherd baiting flashed back in an instance, this fella really didn't appreciate the feminine touch the first time, he probably wasn't gonna walk up to me in the field and ask for assistance was he? The sheep pens were a fair old distance away, the roads were solid ice with a  covering of snow and any vehicles brave enough to face the treacherous conditions wouldn't be happy to find a shepherd and flock of sheep on the road would they?

Not to worry, I'm sure greed would get the better of the fella, a bag of cake would surely take his attention long enough for me to be able to get a hold and so I duly returned with a bag of cake (sheep feed). The ewes soon came forward and started guzzling the pile I laid on the snowy frosty ground, the tup? well of course, he held back, suspicious, memories of being tied up in the sheep pens fresh in his mind. - Humph!

More piles of sheep feed laid out, in a tight circle, more ewes guzzling............... eventually he couldn't help himself and did indeed come forward and joined in with the feeding frenzy, unfortunately every time I felt I was slowly closing in with bag in hand as a decoy he backed off, neither of us really wishing to get to close to one another.

I concluded I was going to have to spring into action, attempt my infamous rugby (sheep) tackle and hold on for grim death until he succumbed under my enormous weight - easy!

More little piles of cake were laid out in an increasingly smaller circle, yet more ewes guzzled and finally he dropped his head in amongst the melee, I pounced, fingers locked around the harness which was strapped around his chest and off we went. I tried desperately to throw all my weight upon him and wished instantly that I'd had enough common sense to have started this daring ambush on the level, not the steep as he careered down hill, his 100kg bulk gaining speed with every stride with me skidding along beside him on my belly, side, back,...... bouncing off every frozen bumpy bit hidden under the covering of snow that the field seemed to possess (why is it fields look flat and smooth?), it seemed every angular bit of my body was managing to clatter against something frozen and hard as I trailed along at increasing speed and totally out of control of the situation.

I dare say teeth were clenched, I know there were no swear words uttered, it took me all my time to get my breath, steely determination set in as we neared the roadside, fortunately the roads were very poor for driving upon so hopefully no one would be trundling by, but I could still feel my pride hurting. Time to take control, I managed to swing my legs past his and he cowped (fell) over, there was a huge feeling of relief, elation and success which quickly evaporated and was replaced with a deep feeling of despair as I found myself lying there and with the tup up on his feet and his heels kicking up dust (snow) as he disappeared into the distance, harness flapping around his lugs (ears). The strap had snapped, pulled out of my hands and left me quite literally downtrodden - so much for sledging!

Moral of the story? The lazy mans way isn't always the easiest........... he found himself gathered up, out onto the roads and down to the sheep pens, tied to the rails and sorted. He's never come forward for the cake bag since!

Gannin's on.........

Blimey! We're up to the 13th October already........... What on earth do I do with my time?

Life has been hectic on the Shep front. Not all hard graft it is fair to say, this is being written upon my return from a 36 hour busmans holiday. A tup sale none the less, one which I wanted to attend last year and failed and one which a friend at the time vowed she would make sure I got to attend this year. My excuses of being too busy, couldn't fit it in didn't wash with her with the result being we set off yesterday - Friday 12th Oct and headed north, into Scotland and kept driving north until we reached an area close to Oban on the north west.

A night in a very comfortable B&B with a canny crack with a Canadian and German  couple over breakfast (neither of whom knew what a tup was or could comprehend why we would be so excited to be attending a tup sale) then saw us heading to the auction mart at Dalmally, a very interesting day ensued, some good sheep were viewed with us leaving at about 4pm, before the sale was finished, to head south again. Shep may have been on a skive but a necessity to set away to work tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 7.30am meant it was necessary to get home and get sorted.

On Thursday past Shep had headed north again, to a tup sale none the less. Lanark this time and once again to view blackfaced sheep. I had worked on the Wednesday though - honest! and the 14 days previous.

So, it is the sale season. Shep attended Lockerbie South Country Cheviot tup sale on the 1st October and enjoyed tagging along and passing comment on a number of sheep.  4th October was the Hexham Ewe Sale day, once again in attendance, although 'working' but enjoyable all the same, trade wasn't as strong as some would have liked but sheep got sold all the same. 11th Oct was Lanark tup sale and then Dalmally today. Tomorrow (Monday 15th) is Hexham tup sale - phew!

In between gadding about to sales there have been sheep to dress and sort, sheep to gather and keel and dose, the tailing season has also commenced, time to remove wool off tails in preparation for the tups going out - it would seem to be never ending!

There have been plumbers in at my new abode, I now have pleasantries such as hot water, a loo which flushes and bath taps that water comes out of - life is full of surprises!! Unfortunately it would seem that a plumbers remit does not include tidying up after themselves with the result there is much housework to attend to. (someday....)

Life is hectic on many fronts. There are photos from Dalmally and when time allows I'll get them posted, for the time being I'm heading for bed, time is ticking on, I have had an embarrassing 'sleeping in' episode this past week and don't need another. Sheep suffering from fluke infestation require my assistance tomorrow so bed it is for now, this is just a very quick update of the 'gannins on'.

Sale preperations

Shep has spent an hour today being nosey, out of my area and I tracked down a farm I had an interest in and managed to pluck up the courage to go and introduce myself, only to find the shepherd busying himself dressing draft ewes, it is fair to say the temptation to jump in the pen with him and give him a hand was pretty strong, but I resisted, after all, I was meant to be having a day off! At least I got a good look at the type of sheep off the place with a 'private' viewing of the draft ewes, the tups I was hoping to have a gander at seemed not to be on show and hints didn't work but then the man had a lot of work to get through and I know for myself there can be nowt worse than being held up.

It's that time of year, sheep sales are upon us big time and sheep need dressing and turning out to the best of our abilities in the hope they will look their best on the day and catch the buyers eyes.

The following are photos taken last year, a glance at dressing Blackfaced gimmers, unfortunately I didn't have the sense to do the before and after shots to show the difference once they had been tidied up, although it is fair to say a good sheep takes little dressing, it's the poorer end which need more attention to make them look better.

 

Most sheep can be helped by tidying their bellies up, Blackies are of course heavier woolled sheep, carrying long wool and this gimmer had been clipped in June so her fleece had had plenty of chance to grow. Levelling a belly off helps give the sheep height and length.

 

Wool tidied up around the neckline helps accentuate the face and in some cases give the sheep more neck. There are many different styles of dressing sheep, some even use the electric clippers on them, hand shears are still the most preferred method of dressing on hill sheep, little really needs to come off and as a hairdresser will probably tell you it is easier to snip with a pair of scissors than use electric clippers because once it is removed it can't be put back again. Dressing with hand shears takes patience and practice, care is needed not to leave shear marks in the wool, a well dressed sheep oughtn't to look like it has had the shears over it.

 

Buckets? What has that got to do with dressing sheep? Well, we all like to look nice and clean when out in public and the same goes for the sheep. Okay! I don't suppose they really care but the truth is if you wash and rinse their faces it is amazing how much grime comes of the hair on their heads with the result being they look bright and shiny. Many sheep have already been bloom dipped as well, this is intended to put some colour into their fleeces but it can also dull the hair on the head and legs.

 

As this photo shows, the legs on these gimmers did get a wash, enough to darken and brighten the black and whiteness of their colours, make them stand out more, be eye catching.

 

Paint? Whatever next? It's tradition you see........... honest! Gimmers and ewe lambs as tradition goes get a red paint mark on the back of their necks, the draft ewes find they get a strip of paint painted around their horns. Now any old paint wont do, seriously! it has to be gloss paint, it also has to be red - honest! Some have tried using aerosol cans or keel on the back of the heads but this smudges and spreads, gloss paint is the answer.

 

There she is, getting the wool on the back of her head painted, her face has already been washed, her crown is looking shiny white, her wool has an almost biscuity colour about it due to the fact she was bloom dipped and now she is getting her paint put on, just like a woman tarting herself up ready for a night out!

 

Waiting patiently for the makeover, these gimmers are dressed, bellies levelled, legs washed, wool bloomed, they're just waiting for a quick facial followed by a bit of red and then off they'll go back to their field to relax ready for their big day

 

when they go through the ring, catch the buyers eyes and hopefully make a lot of money for the farmer, before moving to pastures new

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.

Clipping................... dare I mention it?

I have been asking myself how many times I've finished the clipping season this year, it is fair to say my celebrations on the 16th August were indeed just somewhat premature. Friday 24th August saw me once again conclude the season may well be over, however, I kept the revelation to myself - not wishing to tempt providence y'know!

Sure enough, that gut feeling proved right again and another 'phone call saw a return to the clipping boards on the 2nd September, although I will be honest and admit to passing the buck, got someone else to do the clipping and Shep did the handling. I did clip one or two it is fair to say to give the guy a break as there were more sheep to clip than we had anticipated and really, Shep ought to have had her machine there to shorten the day, but hey ho, it got over.

There was a feeling of relief. Surely that has got to be the end, has it not? Aargh! There was another 'phone call......... Commitments to dip and spaen sheep meant I was unavailable for a day or two and phew! The sheep got themselves clipped with out my interference.

I feel that at long last I can safely say that the clipping season is over for 2012, I know I will still clip an odd one, those that missed the gathers will find hand shears taking their wool off, hopefully there will just be odd ones and no more. At least with the hand shears more wool will be left on their backs as unlike electric clipping where you follow the sheeps body, with hand shears you follow the rise. The rise is the depth of new wool growth. Hand shearing sees you clipping at the base of the old wool which ensures plenty of wool is left on the sheeps back at this time of year as they have a decent rise of new wool - a different and slower challenge than electric shearing, an art in itself and clipping odd ones is no great hardship.

I laughed to myself when the clipping came to a close, my final real days clipping was on Swaledale hoggs. Hoggs are last years lambs, they are the first sheep that are clipped in the season. It was the 2nd of June when I commenced clipping this season, on Swaledale hoggs, two and a half months and 2,800 sheep later I finished the season on Swaledale hoggs! Can't say that has ever happened before, but as the saying goes, "there's a first time for everything!"

Just shows what a topsy turvy season it has been!

On the subject of topsy turvy, I want to share with you the following photo. Not a good one as it was taken in the dark of night and with the help of some quick fix button on the computer it has enhanced the shot to enable us to get an idea of what exactly it is. I'm calling it a moonbow. Nowt terribly rare about such a thing as I have revelled in their amazing beauty before but it does seem topsy turvy to see rainbows in the dark of night

 

Falstone Show 18th August 2012

Okay! I accept I'm just a wee bit behind the times - 3 weeks to be exact (blimey! is that all? seems more like 3 months!) Anyhow, Falstone came and went and a good day was had by all.

The day dawned wet it has to be said, but then why ought it to have been any different to any other day? fortunately it soon passed (the wet stuff, not the day) with the result we were basking in sunshine outside the beer tent in the late afternoon.

 

Sheep penned, rain drops hanging on the pen rails and hoods up, but not for too long.

 

The north country cheviots soon mashed the 'show ring' up

 

with the result that the swaledale cross sheep were judged out of the 'show ring' and shown between the pens, unfortunately the pen they had been standing in was a glaar (muddy mess) which shows by the clart on their fleeces

 

The judging of the Hexham type blackface champion took place in a cleaner 'show ring', courtesy of the scotch blackies who hadn't messed it up too much, or mebbes it was just drier ground.

 

The mule ewe lamb competitors weren't quite so lucky

 

Those hardy souls who turned out without their wellies were in a fine mess!

 

The sheep judging got through, Champion North Country Cheviot seen here with John Dixon of Chirdon.

 

North of England Blackface champion went to Selby Robson of Yatesfield.

 

Swaledale Cross Champion was this tup lamb from Mark Anderson of the Riding

 

John Dixon again with the mule ewe lamb champion. The only photo missing is of Dave Baxter and the Scotch type blackfaced champion, unfortunately camera shake took over and the resulting fuzz is barely recognizable!

 

Dog classes followed on from the sheep, collies, terriers, childrens pets and here one of the hound classes.

 

The industrial tent was stuffed full of 'yummies' - yup! we all know shep likes chocolate and it has to be said I did think this cold sweet looked rather inviting.

 

Tea cosies looking like sheep - what ever next?

 

The poor summer conditions saw the vegetable entries being down in numbers but there were still some outstanding entries

 

even the flowers had managed to hold their heads up high despite the poor weather conditions which they had battled through.

A summary? A cracking good day once again - well done to the committee and supporters for ensuring all went well. Further info will be available at www.falstoneshow.com