Nearly time to start again

Well it has been a busy few weeks with shows, sales and purchases galore.

We were lucky enough to go to Burwarton Show this year and help Sue & Any McVicar (Montgomery flock) show one of their sheep. It was a great day and so many Ryelands and Coloured Ryelands were there. We learnt so much and were very grateful for the opportunity to help them.

Following on from this we took some of our sheep to a local show and entered them in "Any other breed classes" as they don't have Ryeland classes. We were delighted to get two third rosettes and had such a fantastic day out. I think both Stephen and I learnt a lot and will be better prepared for our next showing occasion in 2014. We're hoping to do a few shows next year to really get into the swing of things and get the sheep out and about.

We have made some purchases this summer too. It started with a beautifully dark ewe lamb from Janet Shaw (Malt Kiln flock). This was then followed by two lovely Ryeland ewe lambs from Sue & Andy McVicar (Blackwell flock) and a Coloured Ryeland ram lamb out of white parents to be brought on for 2015. We then took ourselves off to the Ludlow Show and Sale and purchased a Coloured Ryeland ewe lamb (Glenbryn flock), 2 x Coloured Shearling ewes (Welsh flock & Lower Hayton flock) and 2 x Ryeland shearling ewes (Mansel flock & Arberth flock). We also decided to increase the bloodlines available to our ewes and purchased a senior ram from Catherton flock. It was a busy but thoroughly enjoyable day.

Glenbryn ewe lamb 

 

Malt kiln ewe lamb

 

Catherton Playboy

The next few weeks will see us getting ready for tupping with ewes being separated into Ryelands and Coloured Ryelands, worming feet and vaccinations will also be done. The ewe lambs will not enter the breeding flock this year but will grow on for 2014. We also have two ram lambs who will be growing on over the winter and then will enter the breeding cycle next autumn, these are by Mansel and Montgomery flocks and should hopefully add something quite special when their time arrives... just have to wait a bit boys!

busy times

Busy times here. All the lambs have been weighed, wormed and vaccinated. The lambs are all growing well, with heaviest weighing 27.8kg. They have also been moved with their ewes to fresh green grass so their winter paddocks can be rested. The first group of ewes and lambs were remarkably good and walked down the lane quietly and calmly to their new pasture. I wish the same could be said of the second group; two escapees who refused to follow the bucket and just opt to eat the grassy verges decided to take a slight detour into the neighbour's garden and a trip towards the village. My lack of Usain Bolt type skills was definitely uncovered as I tried to round them up. A halter and bucket of nuts later and all were back in the correct paddocks. The new paddock has proved popular with the ewes and lambs who descended on it like a swarm of locusts and have barely looked up from the lush grass once.

The other paddocks are growing well and green grass can be seen sprouting everywhere. I'm just waiting on my delivery of grass seed to do a little repair to the areas which were poach during the winter. Fingers crossed it will be here later this afternoon. We have also sent a soil sample off for analysis so we can tailor our fertilisation plan for the autumn growth. We sent off twenty samples of our paddocks for analysis so hopefully the report will give us a clear indication of any issues we should address.

Several of the lambs have been reserved already and we are so happy with their new homes. They should add some excellent breeding lines to their new flocks. Ryelands ewes aren't generally bred from in their first year so they will spend the next 16 - 18 months getting used to their new homes. By this time they will have reached their adult size and be ready to be mothers themselves. Well grown ram lambs can be used of a few ewes in their first year. Dougie, our Ryeland ram, was used on a few last year just to check he had all the credentials to be retained. He did an excellent job and produced some lovely offspring. This year he will be used on all our white ewes. We are also thinking of buying in a coloured ram lamb to use along side our coloured ram so we will be able to retain some of his daughters in the future.

A bit of warmer weather

The lambs are all outside now enjoying the warmer weather. The ewes have done well to keep them fed over the cold spell which hit us in April. We are still lacking the usual grass growth we would expect at this time of year but  things are looking a bit better. The lambs are rapidly growing and having great fun  gambolling around the paddocks. Nothing better to see the youngsters enjoying a stretch of the legs and lamb games with each other. The ewes look rather pleased they can get some serious grazing done while they are occupying themselves.

Generally we are pleased with this years crop of lambs with some excellent stocky offspring being produced. The ram's quality has really shone through and hopefully we can keep some of them, improving our breeding flock.

Simon the sheep has been rehomed today and we are very pleased with his new career. He will be a therapy sheep for adults with learning/additional needs at a centre in Lancashire. He will enjoy the pampering and attention he'll get so we were more than happy to donate him to such a worthy cause.

Hopefully we will be basking in warm weather soon and the grass will start to grow with gusto.