Ovine Intensive Care

So we brought 4 sheep back - One of them looked a bit peeky before we left and he wasn't right when we arrived. SO a spot of TLC and  focussed care was called for.

Dog crate lined with straw, in front of the fire and able to watch TV was called for.

 And feeding was a problem. What do you give a poorly sheep?  As Sue Blacker points out,there are economic considerations.  A lamb isn't actually worth very much, so how much do you spend on Vets, drugs and things to save them  ?
It's easy if you have one or two as pets , but then if you have 20 ?  Certainly in the Spring  there are a number of orphan lambs  that people offer ( for free) to find a home. We were offered a caddy lamb in April

So he was in the warm, and food was readily available.  We suspect that he needed a sheep equivalent of an energy drink - ovine lucozade if you will. 

So we made some .

And then fed him with a syringe every few hours. But sadly it was not to be and he died after 24 hours.  But they need grass to get the rumen going so they can digest food. I  dont think there will be many around who will know the correct balance of energy and protein you give an ailing lamb.


But the others are fine and exploring their new home

More sheep

So we've been back to Clachtoll for a few more sheep . We went last in September last year . And a few more details here .A couple of months later so its darker later in the morning.

Instead of watching the sunrise whilst waiting for the Stromness to Scrabster at 5.45 am for the  ferry  we were in the dark .

But after the ferry crossing and the drive  we arrived at Clachtoll, in bright sunshine , but a bit windy - after all this is Scotland in November

The sheep we were taking had already been separated.
 

 and caught and then transferred to our  trailer

 An uneventful drive back - Berriedale Braes remains fairyl challenging with a trailer. Heres the tip of Hoy as we came past . it was raining a bit - but then this is Scotland in November

Vodafone Sure Signal

The mobile phone signal in rural Scotland varies between poor and awful. The best of the bunch  ,we are told, is vodafone  ( probably something to do with frequency ranges and interference and the landscape).
But our problem is a bit worse   than just a poor signal. In parts of the house we have no signal at all. Living in a but'n'ben is the problem. We have no DPC or anything like that . We just have think stone walls.

Approximately 2 1/2 feet thick actually. Here's a windowsill

So the phone signal doesn't get to large parts of the house particularly the older bit ( built in 1869).

Vodafone produce a mobile signal booster  so we thought it would be a good idea so  went online and bought one. You need a Vodafone account  before you can register the Suresignal device, and this has to be done online.

So here's my computer, neatly positioned a bit out of the way, in a corner. The problem is that is that I don't get a mobile phone  signal here either.




To get a reliable mobile  phone signal I have to step outside . Here's where I get a reliable signal, about 20 yards from the house (we are having some building work done at the moment) or go and say hello to the sheep , out the back.


And here's the registration  page for the online Vodafone account

So I need a security code before I can register my Sure Signal device . And you get a code from  a text to your phone. But there is a problem .

•  want to register the device  so that I can  get a mobile signal in the house. 
• I need an account to be able to register the device. 
• I get an account by receiving a text message 

But I'm getting the Sure Signal thing because we don't get a signal and I can't use Sure Signal until i get a text ( which means i need to have a signal).

The alternative suggestion from Vodafone was that I visit a store.  The nearest store is in Elgin, 93 miles (and a ferry crossing) away.



The problem was solved by me taking a walk in the opposite direction and saying hello to the new  sheep. Co-incidentally I also got a phone signal and received the security code. And the browser or the login page didn't time-out in the interim.

So the thing is plugged in .

What they didn't say when  selling it was

• it plugs into your broadband router.( OK .If you are on a download limit, how much does this thing use ?) 
• It needs a minimum speed of 4.13Mbps 

The next problem is that the webpage the Sure Signal says you need a minimum speed of 4.13 Mbps

Latest  download speed ?

New Arrivals

We've got 15 more sheep.  We are looking after them while their owner is going to the Antipodes for a few months. 2 rams , and 13 ewes of various ages so in due course we will be breeding from them  - probably select the rams and ewes and put them together in November to lamb in April.

So at the moment  we will sort out which fields to put the various groups in to keep them apart until the calculated date.

coming back ?

I was going out at 730 am one morning and met the ducks , coming in from the main road.

 no idea where they have been , or how long they were out for.

Mind you , finding sundry livestock in the road , particularly ducks and chickens, is not that uncommon here. 

Head Butting

 

We don't have a dog or quad bike so rounding up the sheep for things like vaccinations, trimming their feet or looking at one who is 'a bit under the weather' or possibly injured. So it could be tricky to get near enough.

So we've got a bit of the field fenced off as a small paddock , with a gate to it. The aim is to encourage the sheep into the paddock and then shut the gate . Once they are in a confined space its (a bit) easier to   catch them and do whatever needs doing.  Food is a very  strong incentive, so we have managed to train the sheep to  come into the small paddock with feed.   There is picture  of our sheep following the bucket, over at the Natural Fibre Company  blog . Sues' blog post is worth read about sheep welfare as well.

So the aim is to get them to come into the paddock to feed.

Like this

But then putting 2 rams in close proximity might lead to bit of aggro