gathering again

You just get finished gathering at one farm then off you go to another...... Blimey! Like I often say - no peace for the wicked!

Moss and I chose to use shank's pony last week, in other words we gathered on foot, by choice I may add, as we could easily have taken our own quad bike, however, I decided walking would be good for the body and soul. Has to be said, as I found myself negotiating some thick heather on an uphill climb towards the route taken by the Pennine Way I concluded my little stumpy legs may well be getting stumpier, however, the body needed a stretch, or so the mind told me and so persevere we did for a few days.

We stopped off en route to take some pictures, okay! the truth is Shep needed a pee and the old shooting hut was a grand hidey hole where the world and it's neighbours wouldn't be able to view my bare arse, then I decided to take some photos before resuming the journey, views of where I was heading on those little short legs of mine.

Sheep are being moved by Moss who worked well, my abilities to keep up with some of the fore runners was limited, strange how you miss a quad! Moss' wide outrun came to the fore and he didn't let me down once, the pair of us were very happy with the proceedings. I gain a lot of pleasure from working the dogs, especially so when they work well and keep the job under control. I couldn't help but think Moss was working better with us being on foot, or maybe it was because he was a solitary dog and had me all to himself - who knows?

Finally all were gathered and were being brought towards the pens.

Once held in the sheep pens the sheep were run up the shedder. The twin bearing ewes were being taken off. They had been in such good fettle at the scanning it was decided to set them back to the hill, it was now time for them to be coming into the fields and receiving a bite of cake (feed).

The twin bearing ewes are waiting expectantly - what next? Would they be lucky enough to just run through the pens or was there some man handling going to be done to them?

All the sheep were going to receive treatment. They needed their pre lambing innoculation, a booster for them and a cover against clostridial diseases for the lambs within them. They also required an oral dose for liver fluke, some for worms. Then there was the pour on which would be applied to their backs, not for lice this time........

For ticks

Them blood sucking critters which can cause havoc to ewes and lambs when the spring rise occurs. We found out that it was already occuring. This tick was one of many which had taken residence on the sheep. In actual fact it was ready to depart. My hand under the sheep's chin whilst dosing had naturally dislodged the fella. Gorged and full of blood it was dropping off ready to commence it's reproductive cycle. Instead it found itself smiling for the camera and then unceremoniously squashed into a bloody mush on the fence post.

The pour on which had been applied to the sheep's back would kill off any of the critters which had latched onto the animals and it would also prevent any others from taking up residence over the following 8 weeks. The lambs on this particular farm have to be treated quite soon after birth and definitely before they head back to the hill with their mothers, otherwise they suffer all manner of unpleasant disorders, including turning cripply and quite obviously struggling to thrive.

The weeks work went well, we had dry weather if not somewhat overcast and coupled with a cold wind, although when walking whilst gathering the wind wasn't too much of a bother, body warmer than it would have been had it been astride a quad bike.

As evening was drawing in and sheep were heading back out to the hill the sun graced us with it's presence and made the dead hill grasses appear almost golden in the light it cast across the hill. A grand way to finish a day in mid March.

Autumn rise?

 

What's that?

A tick, taken off old Glen on 26th November, one was taken off a sheep just a day or two previously. There is often a fresh rise of ticks in the back end but I'm not too sure about finding them at the end of November. The mild weather is the reason of course, yet another pointer to just how unseasonal the weather has been.

I took the tick off the dog and laid it on the palm of my hand whilst trying to photograph the beast. I soon gave up as it was trying very hard to bury it's mouth parts into my hand, I could actually feel it trying to do just that - ugh! It found itself deposited on the back of an envelope before being cremated on the fire - yup! cruelty to living animals, dare say I could be locked up for that.

Ticks and prevention

Ticks. Ectoparasites. Little spidery type characters which latch on to warm blooded creatures and suck their blood.

They can be a bane to sheep farmers if you farm in a tick infested area, causing problems to livestock which range from anaemia to actual illnesses, as ticks are capable of passing diseases on also. http://blog.tarset.co.uk/2010/06/louping-ill.html Fortunately not all hill ground is heavily infested with ticks.

Those who suffer at the hands of ticks try to prevent an infestation. Lambs in particular can suffer heavily should there be a good rise of ticks in the spring but ewes also can fall foul of the tick. Obviously a lamb will be more susceptible due to it being so much smaller and a tick isn't bothered as to whether it latches on to a day old lamb or a five year old sheep, so long as it finds a host it will be happy. By the way that may also be us (can cause Lymes Disease), our dogs, cats....... you name it. Ticks have been proven to have a severe detrimental affect on the survival of grouse.

An immunity does build up in the sheep flocks. Which is where the 'hefted' flock thing comes to the fore, a breed of sheep which has lived on the ground for generations will be less susceptible to the little blighters than stock fetched onto the same ground which have never had any contact with ticks. Many years ago a new tenant went into a farm in the area, the sheep were hefted on to the farm and all was well, however he brought some cattle with him which had never been exposed to ticks before, some died, others suffered and recovered. The tick problem is not one to be taken lightly.

I find it interesting that neighbouring farms, separated with only a wire fence can find one farm with a tick problem and the other without. Ticks live on rough ground, you'll not find them being a problem in normal grassy fields, they like the rough hill ground to live on but all the same, two similar farms and one will have a problem whilst the other doesn't - interesting!

There are two seasons for ticks, spring and autumn. We call it a tick rise. That being when the conditions are right the ticks come out to play, they rise to the occasion so to speak. Crawling out of their cosy homes deep in the tussocks of grass they latch onto the sheep and start gorging themselves. Tiny little orangy red things they soon grow into big fat grey things. Things - not terribly technical but I know what I mean! By tiny I'd say about the size of match head, by big fat things I'd say up to the size of a small grape. (Someday I will try and get a photo of a tick - bear with me!)

The first season for the ticks is the worst, due in main to the affect they can have on young lambs and nursing mothers. The spring rise can come at any time, once the weather warms up the ticks will be wakening and thinking of feeding and breeding. Some years there is barely a rise at all, other years the ticks seem to come out in force, all dependant on the conditions.

Spring dipping used to be the answer to the tick problem. I can recall dipping ewes just prior to lambing time and I mean just prior. It was always deemed best to dip the ewe flock as close to lambing time as possible so as should the stress of being dipped cause them to lamb there would hopefully be a live lamb and a ewe able to feed it. When a full time shepherd I dipped ewes which were heavy in lamb and never came across any problems from doing so although my boss told me he had seen ewes lambing in the draining pens before.

I haven't covered dipping on this blog yet but the sheep find themselves fully immersed in water, they are put through a swim through bath and pushed under the water to ensure their whole bodies get a good soaking, the water contains a diluted dip chemical which adheres to the wool and skin and kills off any ectoparasites present and also prevents others from taking up residence in the future. Dipping is a strenuous time, probably more so on the handlers than on the sheep as sheep are naturally good swimmers. However, having said that it will be stressful on the sheep and especially so when in lamb and hence the reason for dipping as close to lambing time as possible.

Spring dipping soon became history. There was a tick cream came onto the market which I used to use many years ago, every new born lamb was caught up and this cream was smeared in their lisks. The lisk is the area of skin in the 'arm pits' and groin. Ticks prefer areas of skin to latch onto although they will be found in the hair around the face and neck.

Soon tick cream also became history as the pour ons came onto the market. The same pour ons used to treat lice infestation were also available for ticks. These are easily applied along the back of the sheep and cause little stress to the animal at all.

Recently Shep has been busy inoculating pregnant ewes with their pre lambing injection http://blog.tarset.co.uk/2010/03/pre-lambing-innoculating.html and at the same time treating them for ticks with pour ons. There has been a very odd tick to be found but it is really early enough yet as the weather hasn't quite warmed up and remained warm for long enough to get the little blighters excited. The pour ons will prevent tick infestation for a number of weeks so ought to cover the rise when it comes.

When the ewes were dipped it was found that the lambs naturally picked some of the dip residue up off their mothers fleeces and so rarely got much trouble with ticks due to this. It was also thought that the tick cream kept the ticks off the lambs. However, with the pour ons those who have a real problem with ticks find they have to treat their lambs with in a few days or when they are released back to the hill to prevent an infestation.

So, ewes living on known tick infested ground are finding themselves being applied with a pour on over the coming weeks, they are being prepared for a counter attack against the ticks. Owners of sheep on grouse moors may find the shooting syndicates will pay for the treatment as this aids the management of the grouse. In actual fact, some grouse moors which had had sheep removed have found them being reinstated as a management tool, not just for the grazing purposes but also to try and manage the tick infestation problem - interesting!

Shep doesn't hide the fact that she doesn't like using these pour ons, I take precautions to try and keep the stuff of my skin. I am fully aware that the chemicals disagree with me and try my utmost to keep contact as minimal as possible. So I find myself furious with a product I have been working with recently. Furious enough that I will name it. Dysect.

Dysect is cypemethrin based, a watery solution which is administered by way of an automatic gun, a gun with a T piece with five or six jets. So instead of the single pinstripe down the sheeps back you get five or six finer stripes down the sheeps back. Dysect also seems to be the product on the market at the moment which gives the longest cover for tick infestation. One of the other products which I used for treating lice no longer seems to have the impact on ticks that it used to have on some peoples flocks, probably due to a resistancy with having been used too long without a change of product(chemical ingredient).

I have used this product once before, a couple of years ago in the late spring on a warm day and found the chemical smell of the stuff was almost overpowering. I have now found myself using it again only to find you could hardly use it.

They say a bad workman blames his tools. Well I must be a bad workman.

The pour on seemed to be causing a breakdown in the guns which were being used. A new gun was ordered and duly arrived. The problem persisted. (All pour ons do seem to have an ability of causing guns to 'break' and it always pays to use the gun produced for the specific pour on).

Eventually and after a great deal of frustration it was found that the problem was the actual product itself and not the gun. A large cardboard box held four bottles of dysect which were stored in a farm building, on close inspection of the contents of the bottles it was found that half of the liquid had solidified, the stuff had kinda seperated. These bottles were all standing upright in the cardboard box and the liquid had seperated in the upright position. What I mean is, the solid wasn't at the bottom of the container and the liquid at the top, no the solid was up one side of the upright container and the liquid up the other side.

When the containers were shaken the product turned to a milk shake type subsistency whereas it ought to have been a clear liquid. It was also found to have calcified with small granules getting into the pipe and subsequently the gun and so causing everything to bung up.

All sheep medicine products are labelled, they give you directions on use, how to apply, operator and environmental safety advice and storage instructions. I have copied and pasted the particular directions for this product here Pharmaceutical precautions
Do not store above 25°C.
Store in a dry place.
Store upright in the original container tightly closed in a safe place away from food, drink and animal feedstuffs.
Protect from direct sunlight.
Avoid extremes of temperature.

The dysect I was using was in its original packaging,in the cardboard box it was packaged in,upright, in a farm building which was dry, there was no chance of it being in direct sunlight and as for being above 25degrees.....!! Extremes of temperature?? Definitely not, quite probably a fairly constant temperature of 5 -6 degrees, there wasn't even a frosty night.

The agricultural merchants contacted the manufacturers and were told to sit the container in a bucket of warm water and to store all containers in the house!!

So, the containers went into the house, the following day they went with us to sheep pens out on the hill, yes it was a cool day, no frost but cool. Within half an hour the guns began to play up, the liquid was turning milky, it was difficult to use the guns and apply the correct amount of medicine onto the sheeps backs and patience was wearing exceedingly thin. Strangely enough we didn't have a bucket of warm water on hand, are you menat to wear the bucket on your back with the container in it whilst applying the pour on?

All attempts to keep clear of the product were failing on my behalf. Often the substance was coming out of the guns like a fine mist, far too often the guns were being primed to try and remove airlocks, on a number of occasions the guns had to be taken apart to remove calcified lumps out of the mechanism. This is not a polite thing to say but I was pissed off - well and truly pissed off.

I have spoken to two farmers since who have used this product in the past and the same thing happened to them, so one can only conclude that it wasn't operator error, there is a manufacturers error in there somewhere. I can only hope I don't have to use this stuff again. I would like to think this farmer would complain directly to the manufacturers but I feel sure this wont happen, farmers aren't reknowned for writing letters or getting on the 'phone. Maybe I ought to forward this posting to the manufacturers?

There's one thing for sure, it wont just be the sheep that are covered for tick, lice and ked infestation this spring, the little blighters wont be bothering me either!

Hill farming – its future?

Sheep trade has been good this back end, a huge relief to those who are dependant on sheep production for a living. It is a roller coaster of a ride with many highs and lows, obviously dealing with livestock and natures elements there will be many highs and lows but there are also the pitfalls of economics – money, cash flow.

The sheep sector has had many knocks in recent years, the last being 2007, an outbreak of foot and mouth linked to laboratories in Pirbright and the consequent movement restrictions enforced both nationally and internationally brought about a natural lack of confidence in the industry especially with it being close behind the devastating outbreak of 2001.

When farmers have money they reinvest in their own industry and the many networks which support it, when they don’t have money they tighten their belts, expand their overdrafts and loans and basically baton down the hatches and try to battle through the storm.

So why should the sheep sector have a decent trade this back end? Shep doesn’t fully understand all the elements but I have been lead to believe by press reports that there are far fewer sheep in New Zealand than there were, reports of 3-4million head being dispersed of last year and the probability of more this coming year due to a change in direction towards dairying. Why would New Zealand have any affect on our sales? Imports. There are thousands of tons of New Zealand lamb meat imported into this country every year. If that lamb isn’t coming from New Zealand it has to be found elsewhere.

Elsewhere brings about the question of the strength or weakness of the pound, international exchange rates don’t always provide the returns required to match the demands which then brings in the question of whether exports are viable or not. This leaves the option of the product to be found on your own doorstep - British lamb.

I’m sure there’ll be many other factors influencing the successful sale of fat lambs, such as a smaller lamb crop throughout the country this year due to the inclement weather over the winter and spring and one wholly important factor – the dwindling number of breeding sheep in Britain.

The dwindling number of breeding sheep in Britain. This statement brings me back to the title of this posting Hill Farming - its future?

Hill Farming and hill sheep have always traditionally been the mainstay of the sheep sector in this country. The tough, hardy hill ewe living out there in the wilds of the countryside nonchalantly munching away on heather and course hill grasses is the grand dam of them all. She eventually retires to lowland (in-bye) pastures where she’ll find herself producing a cross bred lamb which will become a lowland breeding ewe producing all those prime fat lambs which find themselves on the butchers shelves from late spring onwards.

The hill ewes own lambs are later born and slower maturing, some finding themselves ready to be eaten in the autumn whilst others are sold in-bye and fatten as the winter runs through, keeping the butchers shelves full until the prime lambs are available later in the spring. It is a system that has worked well and there is no doubt about it the hill ewe (what ever her breed) is a hugely important link in the chain.

Unfortunately her numbers are dwindling and have been for many years now. She is not dying out, unable to withstand the harsh climatic conditions she lives in – no she is bred for such conditions, it is in her nature to be a survivor, a domestic animal who is as close to being a wild beast as could be found. She can follow her ancestry back generations, living and surviving on the same ground as her fore bearers before her. Not unlike an elephant that has a memory able to recall all the best watering holes regardless of the severity of a drought, the hill ewe also knows where the shelter is, the best foraging at certain times of the year, the hidden dangers on the ground where she belongs – in shepherding speak it is known as hefting and acclimatisation. Hefting being knowledge of where they belong, acclimatisation being bred to withstand that particular climate unique to the ground on which they live.

So? What’s the problem?

The problem is the gradual and yet escalating demise of hill sheep.

Hill farming has seen too many years where the financial return was poor, it is a way of life and for that reason alone it has continued. The modern day sees governing bodies showing a grave concern for the environment. The countryside is a beautiful place and ought not to be spoilt is basically the message which was being put across and one which I would fully agree with. However, these self same governing bodies can tend to be somewhat short sighted.

Financial incentives were offered to farmers, a compensation package if you like. Get shot of a percentage of your flock, allow the countryside to flourish and payments from the EU will cover the shortfall. These financial incentives came under the heading of ‘Countryside Stewardships’ and ‘Environmental Schemes’.

To many it would be a life line, to others it would be a financial opportunity not to miss. Either way it has worrying consequences.

I’ve mentioned before on forays up into Scotland that there were vast areas of scrub hill ground, not a sheep to be seen anywhere – is this to be the future for Northumberland hill farms also?

Do we want hill ground which is unkempt, unloved, left to become a wilderness? Do visitors want to go out and hike the higher ground, struggling to find a footing through thigh deep heather or twisting ankles whilst trying to negotiate the thick coarse humps and bumps of deep hill grasses? No sheep tracks to follow to ease the journey, willows, birch and self seeded spruce trees causing dense undesirable obstacles? Beautiful wild flowers smothered out of their natural habitat, bird and wildlife in declining numbers – is that really what the great British public would like to see when they come out to enjoy the hill ground in their country?

Unfortunately that may well be where we are heading.

I was relieved to read in the press lately that one Northumberland farmer has spoken out at a conference held in Newcastle. The article states that “Stuart Nelson received the loudest applause of the day after an impassioned speech about the harsh realities of bringing up a young family in the shadow of the Cheviot Hills” I take my hat off to him, it is a huge relief to hear of someone willing to stand up in public and put the views across which many of us share.

I noticed in the local rag today an advert for a 300 ewe reduction sale from a hill farm up the Breamish valley, there was a 600 reduction last week off a farm in the Coquet valley, also in the same week 300 stock sheep went under the hammer off another farm up the Coquet. Last year was the same and previous years too.

I spoke last Friday to a farmer I used to neighbour in my early shepherding years, he went into an Environmental Scheme nine years ago and claims it was the worst thing to do for his stock, his ground is overgrown and his sheep aren’t doing well for him, financially he felt it was the only way forward at the time. The scheme has one year left to run and he can’t wait to try and get his sheep numbers back to their original state.

Getting sheep numbers back? That ain’t so easy either. Hefted and acclimatised, remember those two words? We’re not talking about fields here, nice grassy ring fenced small areas of ground where you can go to the auction and buy a handful of sheep and they’ll graze away merrily. We’re talking about vast acres of hard ground, buy in a field sheep and it will pine away and die, it may be struck down with louping ill as it would have no immunity to ticks or it may just wander off its heft and never be seen again.

One hill shepherd I know had the daunting task of restocking hill ground after the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001. Stock was bought in off similar ground to his own, some off neighbouring farms. Fences were erected and herding twice a day for over three years was necessary to teach the sheep where they belonged – to heft them on to the ground, almost ten years on this was the first year he stood back as the sheep left the shearing shed and he watched them head back onto their own ground unaided.

Many who have decreased their ewe flocks have done so by selling draft ewes at younger ages, therefore keeping sheep on the hill only up to 3 or 4years old where as they would often remain until they were six years old. By doing this they can increase their flock size naturally by retaining the 4, 5 and 6 year old sheep on the hill and keep more replacement ewe lambs each year. Unfortunately to do this there will be no spare ewe lambs or draft ewes to sell for a number of years which in itself will cause financial pressure.

I don’t know what the answer is regarding the future of hill farming, I do know that farmers are the custodians of the countryside and they are the ones which governing bodies ought to be listening to, an overgrazed hill is of no use to anyone – environmentalists or farmers and neither is an under grazed hill but at the end of the day it is the farmers that know this, their livelihoods depend on it, they understand land management, conservation and livestock, they have been at the job for generations just like the flocks that they tend, hopefully someone like Stuart Nelson will have got the grey cells working and the future of our hills and those that work in them will be secure.

Interestingly enough an article in the Scottish farming press mentioned a carved walking stick which is to be presented to the Pope by a Fort William crofter along with a prayer for the widespread re-introduction of the Blackfaced breed to Scotland’s hills……….

louping ill

What a grand name - Louping Ill! Guess the second word gives the game away just a tad, makes one imagine that this could well be some 'orrible disease........ well, you'd be right to assume that, it is indeed yet another of those wonderful sheep diseases. A disease which affects the nervous system of the sheep none the less, a disease which is passed on to the sheep by an external parasite.

Ticks are the cause of Louping Ill and a multitude of other nasties with names like tick pyeamia and tick borne fever to name but a few.

I mentioned in an earlier posting that an ex boss of mine used to say he felt he had a touch of louping ill at the close of the lambing time, basically he was implying he was weary, tired, drained, which is indeed how sheep will appear, until the symptoms worsen that is.

The tick believe it or not is an arachnid, spider. Eight legged little fella who loves to suck blood. Latching on to any warm blooded creature passing by and gorging on their blood, any one with a dog may have seen them if they've been walking where there is longer grasses and a tick has taken the opportunity to latch onto the dog and have a feed.

This year has seen quite a tick rise. There is a tick rise twice a year - Spring and Autumn. Once the temperature rises the ticks become active and again in the back end, should we get one of those Indian summers there will be a rise of ticks.

The similarities between this year and 2001 are quite interesting. In Feb 2001 (just as foot and mouth broke out) we here in Tarset had one hell of a snow fall, it came overnight and caught man and beast out, there seemed no warning we just woke up to masses of snow with drifts higher than myself. This year we've had a long duration of snow but not the drifts of 2001. However, there were still pockets of snow lying at lambing time in 2001 and it was a cold barren lambing just as it has been this year. The 10th May is a date forever etched in my head, just prior to that date the weather warmed up and a heat wave ensued. Again there was no grass just as the trend seems to be this year. Another great similarity was one hell of a tick rise. A population of ticks which seemed second to none - interesting!

I can't help but wonder how on earth these tiny spidery mites survive the hard winters. They seemingly live in the dead grasses waiting for the weather to warm up, they also have a three year life cycle and are able to lie dormant for a full year without feeding - clever little souls.

Both 2001 and 2010 saw hill ewes suffering due to the harsh weather of winter and the barren cold spring, it was a challenge to keep them fit, full and milky, trying to ensure they would be kind and motherly towards their lambs. You got them through the lambing and then the ticks hit and they can hit hard when they have a mind, they can hang off sheep like bunches of grapes and even if they don't pass on any dreadful disease they do suck the blood, leading to anaemia if nothing else.

So. Back to Louping Ill. It's actually a disease I haven't seen for a year or two but am pretty sure I saw a ewe suffering from it when gathering for lamb marking away out bye, she was left on the hill and I'm not aware of her outcome.

Years back when I was a full time shepherd here in Tarset I would often have a sheep with a touch of louping ill. Herding the hill after lambing time one had to be fairly gentle with the sheep, raking them in onto the sweeter ground in the mornings then setting them out to the higher ground at night you would easily spot if anything wasn't right. Occasionally a lamb would be sprightly, running on but looking back for it's mother. She may be trailing along, trying to keep up or just not capable of trailing along at all.

I had been trained to treat such sheep with respect, not to hassle them. Having said that I'd always handle them when first seen, to see if there were signs of blood rot or any other nasty. A sheep with louping ill would often tremble and ticks or the scars where they had been would be evident, although all it would take would be just one tick which was carrying the louping ill virus - you wouldn't need hordes of them attached to the sheep.

Once a diagnosis had been drawn I would in future keep well away from the affected animal. Do not stress her was what had been drilled into my little brain. It may take a few weeks but often the sheep rallied, she had been left quite out on the hill and if luck was with you she would pull through.

Many sheep carry a resistance to Louping Ill, they've probably had a mild attack and ended up with antibodies in their systems which are then passed on to their lambs in the future, that's probably why I've seen so little of the disease in recent years.

Spring dipping was carried out to try and prevent a tick infestation. As close to lambing time as possible the sheep were all plunge dipped, immersed in water containing chemicals which would prevent any external parasites from living and breeding on their hosts. Today pour on medications tend to be used, again close to lambing time and again with the intention of preventing the external parasites from doing what they're good at and passing on their germs at the same time.

This leads to another similarity to 2001, this being on a personal note and relating to a specific piece of hill ground. In 2001 I deemed it to be so cold pre lambing that I wouldn't use the preventative pour on for ticks, deciding to wait until the lamb marking as I felt a tick rise was unlikely early on. This decision was to be my downfall and I paid dearly. The farmer who has sheep on the self same ground this year has asked my advice. He has found his sheep are carrying a serious tick burden and wondered what he ought to have done. Nine years have gone by and this is the first time he has had major concerns regarding the ticks. He like I realises he ought to have treated the sheep pre lambing, fortunately for him he is farming the ground in 2010 and not 2001. Next year he will have the job right.