sheep!!

[red]

yes we finally got some - after a brief struggle with fencing, paperwork and sorting out a trailer, we finally went and picked out three - tho to b honest we don't know enough so had to trust the breeder alot - but they looked good, weren't limping etc. brought them back - let them out into the field.. where they charged out and started scoffing.
so here are the girls:

[pskipper]

Go on, call one Humbug, Bah Humbug! Very nice looking sheep (obviously aesthetic appreciation).

[Organic_Linker]

Go on, call one Humbug, Bah Humbug! Very nice looking sheep (obviously aesthetic appreciation).

That is such a bad joke that I actually loved it! lol

they look great - what have you found to be the hardest part of getting them set up in their new field? you mention paperwork etc - can you ellaborate for newbs like me please

[red]

re paperwork (this is as far as i understand it for England only)
first you need an agricultural holding number for your land (CPH) you get one by phoning the rural payments agency - they then send you a really stupid form to fill out all about your business.. i tried telling them i dont have a business.. just a few sheep in the back yard.. but no you have to fill it out anyway - then you need a flock number - you get this from state vet service, then you buy your sheep, the seller fills out an AML1 which is a movement order. you complete your bit and send part of it to trading standards office
Then you have to start keeping records of your sheep - but that is all explained in the massive pile of bump they send you once you have your CPH and flock mark
There is new rules on transporting animals which come into affect on 5 January - see my other post on that subject

best thing is to contact DEFRA who can give you the phone numbers of all the local offices you have to contact. why it cannot be done by one office i dont know...

hope that helps

[red]

sorting out the trailer was tedious - as we were unable to borrow one.. and they cost a small fortune. we ended up making our own.. I'll write more on that later..

[candiate]

yes we finally got some - after a brief struggle with fencing, paperwork and sorting out a trailer, we finally went and picked out three - tho to b honest we don't know enough so had to trust the breeder alot - but they looked good, weren't limping etc. brought them back - let them out into the field.. where they charged out and started scoffing.
so here are the girls:

How much would sheep like these cost to buy

[Boots]

Do you plan on hand shearing Red, or do you have a mate that you can run them through with his/hers?

What's you plans for them, then? Meat? Mowers? Spinning? If you need to tame them down, a small yard might help for a bit.

Congrats!

[red]

How much would sheep like these cost to buy

these cost us 45 quid a head - which I have since been told is reasonable


they were ewe lambs/ hoggits

[red]

Do you plan on hand shearing Red, or do you have a mate that you can run them through with his/hers?

What's you plans for them, then? Meat? Mowers? Spinning? If you need to tame them down, a small yard might help for a bit.

Congrats!

thanks - we have had them 3 months now - and already been through feet trimming and today drenching - so learning fast.

have to say I am surprised how much i like having them - they each have different characters etc. but at the same time I am keeping a practical view - one seems more prone to feet problems than the others.. and if this developed into an ungoing problem (it's early days yet) then we would re name her 'mutton' and send her to slaughter.

our plans - well firstly mowers - as we have 2 fields more than we were hoping to buy when we moved house - and the previous owner had a horse who damaged the fences and messed up the ground and was a picky eater.. the ground looks so much better now we have the sheep! - second thoughts are to breed from them and eat the lambs.. and next.. i like the idea of doing something with the wool for ourselves.

Never sheared so don't intend to learn on them - but do have a contact who is willing to come and shear them for the cost of petrol and a quid a sheep. am a little nevious cos supposedly its hard ot get someone to do so few sheep ... having said that found out recently a near neighbour has 'been there done that, owned the clippers' so thats another thought...

[candiate]

How much would sheep like these cost to buy

these cost us 45 quid a head - which I have since been told is reasonable


they were ewe lambs/ hoggits

Thank you for that. I have been offered a ewe with two of this years lambs for £60 so thats not bad eh!

[Jack]

Gidday

Bloody hell, 45 quid. That's about three times what we would get down here.

[red]

depends what you are getting.

these are pure Devon closewools. but yeh I imagine there are likely to be big price differences between countries.
I checked the price compared to other local adverts for known breeds, and compared to the cost of a whole lamb from the butcher!.. and it seemed reasonable. we went ahead, and since.. of course.. lots of people asked what we payed and they (the ones that keep sheep that is) have all nodded and said 'sounds about right'

[techno_bob]

On the subject of cost. Up here we have an arrangement with a local crofter that we take all of his orphaned / excess lambs off his hands for nothing, and we hand rear them on.

Basically, he runs in excess of 1200 ewes (on his own), and with the fact they live out on the hills all year round there are often a few casualties amongst the mothers. Also he regularly finds a ewe which has had twins, but just isn't up to it, so will split one off. He gives them to us, as a new born lamb needs feeding 4 times a day and is a bit of a commitment. That's time he doesn't really have to spend on just a few sheep, so he is happy to basically get rid of them.

Means that we don't have to keep ewes, worry about over wintering and extra feed, and have a good supply of Lamb every winter... Just have to remember not to give them names...

[paddy]

Hello Red what do you intend to do with your sheep?? It is way to late to run them with a Ram now unless you already have in which case you will be having lambs soon.

Shearing sheep is back breaking work and you have to know how to hold them otherwise the job is a thousand times harder.

As regards dipping them unless they have been on land or with other sheep you wont need to drench them so often but worming them is a must as they can get Fluke from Rabbits and Hares so that should be done every 6-8 weeks.

Look out for maggots from June onwards it pays to spray them with an anti-fly preperation, and Always have a mineral lick bucket out for them as they will only take it if they need it, and if they fall short of minerals you will find them dead one morning without warning. If you see Crows in the trees around your sheep you will know you have an ill one and if you dont see to her they will.

Good luck

[red]

hi Paddy

well these ewes are about a year old.

This is our first go at keeping sheep - so the logic was to get them in the winter and that gives us until the following autumn to decide if we want to go as far as lambing, having had all that time with them. the plan is to use them to keep the fields in shape whilst we decide what to do next, (we have only recently moved and have a decrepid house to sort out and veg beds to put in and greenhouses to build), and if we get on with keeping sheep, put them to the ram, have lambs.. eat lambs.

We have (hopefully) got a contact willing to shear them for a small fee.. hopefully we can learn something too.

We have bought the same mineral lick that the farmer we bought them from was using.

We have already drenched them - using a drench that covers fluke, as our land is boggy in places.. with a leat at the border - and sheep in neighbouring fields, and being in Devon its relatively warm here too.

Dipping isn't done around here any more - but we shall be using a pour-on to try and ward off flystrike.