Dosing and Marking Sheep

This is a post about sheep.

The Wee Guy, Big Brother and his younger sister were moving sheep this evening. It was such a beautiful evening, it even took me out of the house. 

They took the sheep to the bottom of the croft into a pen for some dosing and marking.

Did I mention it was a beautiful evening. The temperature is still in single figures (Celsius), but with a very light breeze, and sunshine, it felt wonderful.

I can't say they were too happy at being locked into the pen, but sometimes, needs must.

When I turned the other way, this was what I saw. The machair and the calm Atlantic.

Now, which one first?

The Wee Guy sorted out the doses: 5ml of something and something ml of something else.

I really know my stuff, don't I?

After a while, he decided Auntie Catherine could get the filling-the-doses job and he'd do the lamb-catching for Big Brother.

His technique needs honing, but with a teacher like BB, who could go wrong?

After all, he's taught me all I know.

The lambs get sprayed with a blue dot and an additional dot of either orange or red.

The red dot tells that this lamb's dad is John Wayne.

An orange dot tells us that Bruce is the daddy.

"Am I doing it right, Anne?"

(I do my best to reassure him every so often that he's doing great.)

But then I had to leave them to it. It was after 7pm and the guys at home hadn't been fed.

The Builder doesn't complain about much (anything, in fact), but I did reckon I ought to go and get dinner served. It can be quite a novelty having him home at a reasonable time in the evening, after all.

On my way home, I passed John Wayne and Bruce. 

Their babies were being dosed, and marked specifically to show whose they were. 

Do they look bothered?

Moving Sheep - it's my kinda thing

The Builder has a sister - he actually has four sisters - but he has one in particular who, unlike moi, is worthy of living on a croft.

She's never heard Big Brother say to her, 'Go find some town to live in'. He reserves such sweet talk for moi.

(Why, may I ask, am I referring to myself as moi? If you know, please let me know, cos I ain't got a clue.)

This is the Builder's wee sister.

The sheep like her.

They do as they're told, and when she speaks to them, they don't give her The Eye.

... like they're giving me here.

These sheep are due to begin giving birth on Friday. They are the mums-of-singles, and are kept separate from the mums-of-twins because they receive different food allowances during their pregnancies.

Each time I was pregnant, the scans showed I was carrying only a single, but I liked to be on the safe side and eat for twins. Just in case, you understand.

The expectant sheep were moved to this croft where I can keep an eye on them. Some of you may remember from last year how I love to have the Maternity Ward in full view of my house.

Not.

It makes me very nervous.

This clever Mama has the job done, and here is Big Brother's first lamb of the year.

Adorable, with a perfectly black face.

Having made sure all the mums-of-singles were safely ensconced in the appropriate field, we then went to move the mums-of-twins.

They were simply moving across the road, and here they are following Big Brother, 

in through the gate and into the field which looks at the other side of my house.

Gimme strength ... I'm not sure I can cope with the pressure.

This is Tweedles. She was a pet lamb that another of the Builder's sisters had. Well, when I say she had the pet lamb, you will understand that the kids had her. Aye, the kids had her, but mum looked after her ...

Tweedles still loves human company (except mine. Can't think why.), and follows BB around like a little puppy.

See? Here are all the sheep following younger sis. They never do that for me. I'm convinced BB has warned them to stay away from me.

And here she is speaking to Tweedles. She really thinks she's a puppy.

Have I mentioned before that we've been having amazing weather? 

Well, it's worth repeating.

You've met Louis before, haven't you? He, like me, likes to kid on he knows his stuff around sheep.

He, like me, knows nothing except how to look busy.

When was the last time you rode home on the tailgate of a pick-up?

(For any of you who are overly keen on Health and Safety matters, I may have taken this with the pick-up not moving. So sleep easy.)

Maths Class Skipped for .... Life 101

The Wee Guy was just getting ready to begin Maths this morning when Big Brother came a-calling. Now, when BB calls, we jump.


"Yes, Sir. Anything you say, Sir."


We're a well-trained bunch, us lot.


So, instead of keeping up with his 8-times-table, and learning more about fractions, the Wee Guy got to spend the best part of the day moving sheep, and working in the fank down on the machair - and all in glorious sunshine. 


I thought of re-naming the class Biology. Or Agricultural Studies.


In the end, I went for simply: Life 101. Yep, I think that sums it up, and tomorrow, he has more of the same.

The Mamas who had twins were brought down from the croft beside us to the fank.

So cute. Aye, both lamb and boy ;)

The lambs stuck close by their Mamas at first,

but after their markings were done, they seemed happy to relax in the sunshine.

Big Brother and the Wee Guy were able to relax and admire.

Aye, mate, it's a hard life isn't it?

And tomorrow all being well ... you'll have Part 2 of LIFE 101.

(Tomorrow, I'll let y'all know some of the whys and wherefores of what was happening with the sheep. For now though, just enjoy admiring the sheep and my boy.  Oh, and Big Brother at work ;)

Linking to ...

Lambs in the Sunshine

Saturday evening, and the sun came out, so I sent Katie out with Big Brother's camera to take a few photos of the twins.

This guy was so curious and friendly,

He just kept a-coming.

There is something so sweet about twins when they sit together.

The wee fella found a really warm spot, snuggled in and had a good snooze....

...until he realised Katie was taking photos of him.

Himself and his twin

The Mamas expecting twins were put in a different field after the scanning. Big Brother then feeds the expectant Mamas according to how many babies they're carrying.

Of course, I've never been expecting twins, but my policy was always to eat as much as I could. Eating for two was serious business.

It was great fun too...

Bruce is a Daddy

This week has really felt like Spring

Bruce has his first baby. 

In fact, he is the father of gorgeous twins.

Not that he looks in the slightest bit interested. 

You talking to me?

Nope. Neither he nor Wayne seem to care a jot.

This expectant Mama is still awaiting the birth of her twins.

But this lucky Mama has her labour over.

This set of twins was so playful,

and even though Mama kept a close eye on them,

they head-butted each other quite happily until...

Mother intervened,

and put a stop to their shenanigans.

She then settled them both down, and watched me as if to say, "I have it all under control. Twins? Nae bother."

(Apologies for the unclear photos. I really need to get my camera up and running again. It's not the time of year to be stuck without my 'proper' camera...)