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Earlier you spoke about the safety of cats/dogs around crows but since these are both carnivores, surely the birds would be wary?

John.

johnhcrf wrote:Earlier you spoke about the safety of cats/dogs around crows but since these are both carnivores, surely the birds would be wary?

John.

Ravens, John, ravens. You suggested to lure ravens to towns, and I thought that cat owners might get worried. I don't think ravens would mind whether the animal they caught was carnivore or not - I think size really matters there. But that's just a thought of mine; I've never seen it happen. I have seen a crow take a live rabbit once.

Rabbits have no defence, bar speed of flight. I'll need to research the different sizes of crow to get my definitions precise.

John.

Rooks are the birds I was describing. They are often seen with smaller crows feeding in gardens. In the google page rooks were described as having human-sounding voices and I think that is correct. Have you noticed that Ina?
Ravens are a bigger type which I have not seen.

John.

johnhcrf wrote:Rooks are the birds I was describing. They are often seen with smaller crows feeding in gardens. In the google page rooks were described as having human-sounding voices and I think that is correct. Have you noticed that Ina?

It's just crows we get around here - I might be able to tell the difference between the birds if I saw them together, but that's not happened yet.

It is possible that they are locally based, staying in the same place, like humans. How were the lamb's today? Are they developing bad habits yet?


John.

Lambs are fine - most of the ones born are out by now - lovely in this weather! I just have a few little ones and orphans left inside. And the second flock (Cheviots, the others were Blackfaces) is about to start lambing, so I have a tiny bit of a breathing space before they really get going... Only the one premature one so far, which is doing fine, considering his size!

How are orphans reared? I suppose other ewes may oblige. How many lambs do you look after and do you take them out all day?

John.

If we can, we foster spare lambs onto ewes that only have one. So most of our "orphans" aren't actually without a mother of their own; they mostly are spare triplets, as very few ewes have enough milk for three lambs. Those that we can't get a foster mum for, we rear on the bottle, or, if there are more than just one or two, on a bucket with several teats...

A couple of years ago we had a lot of triplets on the farm - a lot more than singles, so I ended up with something like 35 orphans to rear. This year, so far I have only two; but the flock that's just starting to lamb has a lot more triplets than singles, again, so I'm expecting to end up with a dozen or so.

Normally, the ewes stay inside with their lambs only for a couple of days - but that depends on weather and on how strong the lambs are. And then they are out for the rest of their lives! Orphan lambs have to stay in for a bit longer, for practical reasons (difficult to feed outside); but I may be able to set up a little paddock near the shed where I can still give them a feed a couple of times a day once they are a bit older, and don't need to be on constant milk supply. They start eating hay, grass and "creep feed" (special lamb pellets that contain dry milk) at a very early age.

You seem to have a great knowledge and wealth of experience. Have you worked/reared other animals and can you deliver the young?

John.