The Beeb have been

The scottish version of Countryfile  is Landward . They want to do a piece on  the closure of local abbatoirs  - the only abbatoir in Orkney closed without notice in January  - and the effect this has on local producers .
So they came to Orkney  and wanted something about out Borerays.  Thye were here for about 90 minutes - which will probably tanslate into a 15-10 minute slot , if that.

So, a bit of setting up round the house. I dint know 15yr old Vauxhall Corsas that have done 72,000 miles were filmable !

And filmed leaving the house

The walking down the field

And then nochalantly leaning on the gate, chatting with Dougie Vipond 

 and finally going to feed the sheep

Watch this space for broadcast dates !

Welcome Back

A few days ago we took 3 of the sheep for slaughter 

Anyway today one of them has been returned

This one was a Boreray cross. the meat look a bit fatty. Probably a lazy sheep !
Anyway , we will see what it tastes like  in due course

For the Boreray mutton you ned to contact The Dounby Butcher 

Eat it to keep it

"Eat it to Keep It" is a strapline from  the Rare Breeds Survival Trust

The way  you encourage  farmers to keep  , and increase their stock of  a breed to to provide a market for its products.

So an early start  (6am - but at this time of the year the sun is coming up at about 4am) and hitch up the trailer

reverse trailer as  necessary

Sheep + trailer

And a brief drive to the destination. And more reversing with the trailer 

For any further followup , you will need to contact the Dounby Butcher 

Neeps and Tatties and

We couldn't grow  our own bird  this year - they are still a bit  young and small . 

But we did manage some local produce over Christmas.  Clapshot is a local delicacy that we have been introduced to.

I suspect root vegetables can do well here. The climate is mild, and long hours of daylight in the summer  and as an added bonus  they wont get blown away.  

Neeps (Turnips) and Tatties ( Potatoes). Ours are grown locally and supplied from the organic producers down the hill. Boiled and mashed together with added chives or nutmeg. There is a typical recipe here.

And with it, North Ronaldsay mutton.  North Ron sheep are the same group  as our Borerays - North European short-tailed sheep. 

The sheep are restricted to the foreshore for most of the year - a 13 mile drystone wall round the island was built in the late 18th Century to keep the sheep off cultivated land. And they have evolved to  cope with this. 

They graze predominantly on seaweed.  Whilst sheep normally digest in the rumen ( stomach) at night, North Ron sheep do it at  high tide There is  an explanation  on Wikipedia  of ruminant digestion.

Their normal diet is low in available copper  (<5 ppm) and so they have developed an extremely efficient  physiology to take up  and use copper. Sheep cannot excrete excess copper and  so are susceptible to copper poisoning , and North Ronaldsay sheep even more so.  Put north ron sheep on ordinary grazing land and they develop copper poisoning with liver damage and liver failure 

There are some human diseases that are due to abnormalities of copper Wilsons disease , Menkes disease , and a few other things as well. The treatment ( at least of Wilsons disease) is penicillamine , which also prevents liver damage in North Ronaldsay sheep. 

The semi-feral flock of North Ronaldsay sheep  are managed by the Sheep Court. And a number each year go for mutton.  - even as far as London. But this one came from a local butcher 

So just before Christmas - North Ronaldsay mutton, Clapshot and some locally grown vegetables