tup fight

Tups a fighting leads to a tup fight! A chance arose to photograph what I had written about in the previous posting.

These boys look like they're just standing a bit close to one another when in actual fact they are sizing each other up, beginning to grumble

Not feeling too chuffed to see one another, they had just been brought in off the ewes where both sheep had been top tup, bullying any others they had been sharing the ewes with

they were both determined that they would still be top tup, shouldering on with each other, the scrum had begun, pushing their weight around hoping to sicken on or the other off

A head lock ensued but was to be short lived

They parted and stepped back from one another before charging forward

The battle had begun, only a fool would step between them

A resonating thud as heads connected

momentum sending the head down as the hind legs rose

The photographer was beginning to get nervous, neither tup was prepared to stand down, the fight was getting ugly

All tups were barred up tight in a small pen, no room for them to run back from one another then charge, they would have to be content with shoving their weight around instead until their humours lightened and they agreed to disagree like gentlemen

scarred from battle the boys were left to cool down, accept their fate and accept one another. They had lived together happily up until 17 days previously, they needed to learn to do the same once again.

They may get a chance to go to ewes again next year or they may find themselves sold through the mart but hopefully they wont find themselves going off in the dead cart due to a duel to the death

Tups a fighting

Unfortunately when more than one tup is running with a bunch of ewes problems can arise. Something to do with jealousy I doubt - they just don't seem too keen on sharing. The above photo shows a receptive ewe finding herself with a couple of suitors. Now she doesn't have any say in the matter, the decision won't be hers, she just has to wait patiently until the boys do what boys are prone to doing - throwing their weight around to decide who will be the 'daddy of them all'.

The boys start muscling in on each other, laying down the law and deciding who is the strongest. The ewe hangs around - forever hopeful.

These fights are capable of getting out of hand, if both tups decide they are going to win serious injuries can occur. Generally speaking though one will back down, neither really want to suffer any serious injuries, they all wish to breed. Just like the wildlife programmes we watch on the television the dominant male has to fight for his wives should another fella come along and decide to lay a claim to the harem.

Generally tups will push on with one another as the above photo shows, bit like a rugby scrum. If one isn't willing to step down the fighting gets rougher with the boys stepping back from one another then charging and butting, it may be head to head or ramming into the others backside, either way it can cause serious injury - stifled hips, spinal injuries, head injuries - all manner of jollies! Tups are also capable of facing up to dogs in a similar manner and for that matter those who care for them too! It is never wise to put yourself between two fighting tups unless you'd like a month or two off with your leg in plaster

These boys had all been held together prior to tup time, they knew one another and would probably have already worked out each others strengths and weaknesses, they would know how far to take the argy bargy without incurring too many injuries. Not always the case if two strange tups meet up.

These tups had just been let to the ewes, they needed to work out their pecking order, the loser would be wary of the stronger sheep but he would still get to tup ewes, these sheep are running on a fair skelp of ground and there is plenty of room for the fellas to keep apart, although bunched up almost every day the underdog will keep to the edge of the ewes picking up receptive females whilst the dominant fella will strut through the middle of the ewes finding any which appeal to him.

There were in fact three tups put to this bunch of ewes (there were nearly 200 of them) and as the shepherd said, "three is better than two, whilst two fight it out the third tups the ewes" - Guess that's one way of looking at it!

Eventually the scrum is over, the front tup in this picture is actually being chased away by the victor, the ewe who is seeking their services is patiently following them around. Whilst the victor dealt with the needs of the patient ewe the other tup wandered away off, out of the firing range and found himself his own female. Over the following weeks it was always easy to spot the dominant fella but the other guys went about their job as well, they were wise enough to be discreet and not draw too much attention to themselves.

It is always hoped that the dominant sheep isn't firing any blanks as he is capable of gathering more than his fair share of the ewes and it would be a nuisance to find they hadn't conceived, unfortunately there isn't always sufficient fields to allow one tup to run with one bunch of sheep. 200 ewes to one tup may just be a few too many, that's a lot of tupping to do in 17 days! Everyone has different ideas but I was brought up to an average of 70 ewes to a tup, some tups get more ewes, some less, it all depends on personal management ideas.

Tups a wandering

The boys are out, doing what boys do best and that ain't talking about football neither or swigging pints, these fellas mean business, they only get a chance once a year so they intend to make the most of it.

Funny old year tho', seems some tups ain't too keen on staying where they're put. Now tups will often wander at second time over because basically most of the ewes will have been covered and the boys start feeling frustrated and looking elsewhere which may also take them elsewhere. First time over you would hope they'd stay where they're put, rake through their ewes and find something worth stopping for.

'Twas the day I found out my leggings were no longer waterproof and I had to look some tups for someone when I found one in a field he was not meant to be in. I was fortunate as I don't ken (recognise) these tups and as it was known that I would have to do odd days they all got marked with the corresponding keel mark of the ewes they would be running with which is a great help to Shep.

So, upon entering a field of 100 + sheep and finding three tups when there ought only have been two I could easily work out which fella had strayed. He had red keel on him instead of blue!

Out on the hill you would shed the fella off with a ewe or two and drive him back to his cut, the ewe or two would eventually head back onto their own home ground and all would be well, I had another field full of sheep to cross before returning him to where he belonged and was busy working out what my best options were. There was a lambing time net not too far away which could be useful, or failing that I could head to the steading and the sheep pens but that was a fair distance. I thought the net was the best plan of campaign and set about shedding him off with bike and Moss.

We got him off the main bunch with about a score (20) of ewes, now that is too many, so we whittled away at them until we were down to just a handful when the opportunity arose to single the fella off. Single off we did.

All credit to Moss, he put in many twists and turns blocking the fellas every move whilst I and quad bike made doughnuts in the field. Moss can be shy to face up to tups, an unfortunate position to be in, he ought to really have the strength of eye but doesn't believe in himself and as a youngster he got hammered in the sheep pens by a swale ewe (of all things), his confidence was crushed and the yellow streak does show every now and again, but in all fairness, he managed the task in hand and eventually I made a pounce off the quad and caught my prey. Far flung from the dog and stick days it has to be said. Moss then flew in and nipped the fellas heels, feeling brave now he was captured! Leaving me to struggle to hang on to the beast!

For a fleeting moment I felt quite proud of our abilities, we'd well and truly got the fella. Champion!

Except...... Now what do I do? It is not unheard of to lift a sheep onto the back rack of a bike and tie her on there, usually something which is poorly or lies down whilst gathering. A ewe is probably about 60kgs and there are times of the year when I struggle to lift them onto the rack (a height of 3') but this was a tup, they're a darn sight heavier than ewes. Oh!

Piddling down with rain, tup and I stood looking at one another, he wanting freedom, me determined I wasn't letting him go. Now I could tie his legs, leave him in a heap and head back to the steading for a trailer. Umm....

There was a rope attached to the rack of the bike and I had a brain wave - tether him to the bike and learn him to lead!

 

He didn't seem too impressed with the idea but we persevered, driving along very slowly he was equally as slowly learning to be 'halter' broken

 

I don't believe he really appreciated the situation he had found himself in and I'm equally convinced that he never did end up being 'halter' broken but the ploy did work and reunited with his respective ewes he was

 

He never once looked back! Fancy that. He took off like the devil himself was on his heels, straight back to the ewes he was meant to be serving.

 

I caught up with him again a few days later, relieved to find he hadn't taken any hurt. How do I know this is him? after all he was sharing all these ewes with some other tups which also had a red keel mark on them. Well, you may notice a tuft of white wool on his rump. I had tied a flag to him before letting him off so I could easily recognise him again. A flag? I hear you ask. Pull some wool out of his fleece and tie the end to the end of his fleece, the wool which was nearest the skin is then exposed and is whiter than the rest of the fleece and it sticks up like a flag - a trick I was shown years ago and one I use frequently, especially at lambing time.

That day was eventful to say the least, eventually I headed home with a soggy backside due to non waterproof waterproofs and came upon this sight

 

That's one thing about country roads, you just never know what you'll meet around each bend. This isn't a donkey, definitely a sheep, a black leicester tup and he was trotting along the road with a purpose

 

He really did look hell bent on going somewhere and as we were nearing the farmyard I hoped he would turn in, leicesters can be notorious for not enjoying inclement weather and I presumed he was heading for a nice warm shed somewhere, but no, he just kept jogging along the road.

Shep found there was no one obviously about the farm yard so commandeered a bike and shot off down the road after the fella, he'd travelled a fair distance by this time and wasn't for letting up. Eventually he was turned and encouraged to return in the direction from whence he had come.

 

Once in the farmyard he got his eye on these fellas in a shed, now it was no good putting him in there as a huge scrap would have resulted with the probability that the leicester would have lost so he was housed elsewhere and a note was left explaining my actions.

I found out later that this tup was also still within the 17 day period so really ought to have been kept busy with his ewes. Some who are tupping on the hill are saying they are having a hell of a job keeping their tups at home and blame the strong winds we have been experiencing. Whatever the reasons. Tups are definitely a wandering.

Medicine records

Paper work! The bane of a farmers life, but necessary.

I had a request a while back to try and resolve some issues with medicine records. Homework for Shep, as I found myself trawling through my diary trying to work out when I had been on the farm, what we had been doing to the sheep and which medicines were used.

 

A farm inspection had revealed that the elderly farmer (an octogenarian) had not completed his medicine books for quite some while, really quite some while, and his son drafted me in to try and rectify the problem to the best of our abilities. Necessary paperwork was at the accountants, which did not help the job. Over a number of weeks efforts were made, paperwork returned, some invoices were found not to have a record of batch numbers etc, phone calls were made to the merchants, requests for computer records were made........... Blimey! what a palava! But a necessary one.

The powers to be who ran the checks on the farm were in a helpful mood on the day, giving time for details to be collated and recorded which was very generous as such oversights can result in hefty fines. The farmer was grumpy and didn't appreciate the interference, however, he mellowed and finally co-operated, was it the feminine touch? Amazing if that was the case as my patience was waning and I was beginning to think shaking him by the scruff of the neck may be the only option left, fortunately that wasn't necessary as like said, co-operation ensued.

All medicines given to livestock have to be recorded, in a medicine book, which is open to inspection by the powers that be without prior warning. It is a legal requirement. A must do. Age and personal issues had presumably seen this particular gentleman tire of the red tape surrounding his livelihood, understandable but not acceptable.

Medicine records aren't a simple procedure. You don't just write down "we dosed the sheep for worms on Friday" or "we injected a ewe with penicillin" Uh uh, not that simple I'm afraid.

 

There is the purchase and disposal pages to fill. Date of purchase, where purchased, what was purchased, how much was purchased, batch number of product, expiry date of product and how any unrequired product was disposed of.

Now Shep knew when products were used but not when and where they were purchased which is why accounts were looked through and papers were flying in all directions.

 

There is then the administration records (sigh) What date the product was administered, how many animals treated, how long did treatment last (as in a course of antibiotics, not in a few seconds to dose a sheep), what product was used, how much was used, date for the end of the withdrawal period, who administered the product.......... it seems never ending (sigh)

Am I hearing queries as to why all of this is necessary? Healthy food is the answer. No one wants to eat meat which has been pumped full of antibiotics, or still has residues of worm drench in it. Believe you me, British meat has got to be one of the healthiest options there is on the butchers/supermarket shelves as all medicines given to the livestock is recorded and nothing may enter the food chain until it is past withdrawal periods.

 

Everything we use possesses a batch number, date of manufacture and expiry date, through the batch numbers products are traceable from factory to farm.

 

Dosing guidelines are also to be found on all products, be it injections, drenches, pour ons, dips the guidelines are there to be followed.

 

Finally and probably most importantly is the withdrawal period of each product, no animal may enter the food chain until it is beyond the date of withdrawal. As in this case, 56 days must pass before anything may be sold for human consumption. (the writing which is cut off stated "do not administer to sheep producing milk intended for human consumption")

Now you may be thinking that if this farmer didn't have his records up to date he may well have put animals into the food chain whilst still in the withdrawal period. I can categorically say that this is not the case, he may be elderly, he may have got weary of the paperwork but he hasn't lost his marbles and would not jeopardise his livelihood to that extent, he was always aware of how long he would have to wait to sell something, buying doses for his lambs which only required a 3 day withdrawal enabled him to still hit the autumn sales.

Spot checks are made in our abattoirs to see if there are any traces of medicines in the meat which is being slaughtered, errors will be found.

Bet you didn't realise just how much effort goes in to ensuring the meat we eat is safe and healthy, no wonder some of us get annoyed at imported meat from far flung countries which have diseases we'd sooner not see on our shores, and relaxed regulations concerning the safe use of medicinal products. Bear that in mind the next time you're making a purchase over the meat counter, ask about country of origin and traceability, difficult I know in the present economic climate but important in reality.