Taking the rams off the sheep

Today I took the rams away from the sheep, nearly 8 weeks after they were first let loose. I should have done it last weekend but ran out of time so today was the day. And what a day! Really miserable. The ferry isn’t sailing today, wind is probably 40-50mph and it’s now raining heavily. That doesn’t mean a day by the fire, work still has to be done!

I gathered all the sheep from 4 different fields. The rams were to be lifted and most of the sheep put out to the apportionment/reseeding on the moor.

I left 2 flocks behind my house as I went to collect the other 2 – on my return the Big Fellow and some ewes had gone into the shed and started munching on feed! Innocent look or what!

I took the rams away into a separate field. The Big Fellow is one of my favourites, a very friendly animal who eats out of the palm of my hand.

I kept 20 sheep at home for different reasons and walked the rest out to the reseeding.

The apportionment/reseeding is about a mile away from my house. Sheep have been walked out to the moor for generations and we use the same route as was used by many of my ancestors. I have created a map on google, if anyone wants to look at it in more detail

Crossing the road is the tricky part but I had phoned my dad and he was waiting in front of us.

The sheep know the route out so it’s merely a stroll out to the park but one so much better on a nice day! The sheep will stay out in the apportionment for a few weeks, until they come home for scanning in early February. I’ll open the gate and allow them out onto the open moor in a week or so but I’ll be feeding them on a semi-regular basis to encourage them to stay around. They’re experienced animals and will be fine out there for a while.

The ones at home are spread over 3 fields today but I’ll put that right on Monday. I’m not back at work until 3rd January so hope to get plenty done!