It’s a whole new learning curve.

Starting out again on a new farm was never gong to be easy. It’s nearly 3 weeks since I moved my Iivestock on the farm and no two days are the same.

Between Frodo the Hebridean ram lamb jumping out the trailer and getting into 100 breeding ewes on the first day of tupping, only to have to capture him. Followed with Mr Randy Andy a ram lamb finding a way around the hills to find the Hebridean glimmer lambs and jumping a water trough, resulting in another capture job.

The worsted was yesterday when I arrived back on farm to find 6 Hebridean glimmer lambs missing from their fields. Not knowing the full level of stock proofing on the farm means it’s a learning curve everyday. I managed to find 5 and gather them up, but as the light was drawing in for the day it meant I had to abandon the search over the hills for the lost one.

Whilst I put the welfare of my livestock at the forefront of my farming, it’s also important to assess the risk to me and my sheepdog searching in the dark, on land I’m unfamiliar with. As the farm is on a hill, with many rabbit holes and contours with drops I decided to wait for early morning light. Hopefully she’ll have returned to near the flock by them.

Farming is never an exact science, I’ve come to realise that after only framing for 2 years I need to be prepared to change what I may have planned for the day.

Posted: November 21, 2023