must be spring, got my veg seeds in!!!!

Tomatoes, cucumber, courgette, cabbage and onions seeds in. Quick growing cabbage already up. Pointed and ball headed type 60 days from seed to plate!!!!

A new bit of kit!!!

Bought a shepherdess lamb feeder

 

 

 

they seem to be doing fine on it!!!!!

Have treated myself to a shepherdess auto lamb feeder today. It has a internal bucket for the milk then a heater element submerged in water in a larger bucket which keeps the milk at a set temp and it will feed up to 20 lambs. It will make this lamb rearing a doddle!!!

And they are in the barn!!!!!

That's the little black woolly devils it to the barn. now to mop and disinfect the kitchen. I have my house back!!!!!!

The kitchen flock is growing and growing

The number of cade lambs in the kitchen is growing daily. Hopefully they will be moving into the barn today. Finger crossed!!!!!!!

Wednesday and Thursdays lambs

4 lambs, 3 ewes and 1 ram this time. 2 ok, 2 needing topping up due to ewes having no milk again.

Sunday and Mondays lambs

Ewe lamb( not my best pic.)
 

Very small twin ram lambs



Ram lamb



We also had a very large ewe lamb but the mother had no milk so we removed her. She was later joined in the kitchen flock (now numbering 5) by one of the small ram twins as the mother has very little milk. I found out today that a lot of people on the island are having trouble this year with ewes having little milk. Its being put down largely to the late cold spell we had and the large amount of rain over the winter spoiling the winter grass.

cows and calves enjoying this mornings sun shine

First morning out in the fresh air for Donald and Dougary, all enjoying this mornings sun shine.

Second gather of the year!!!!

Foss Rory standing guard over his flock

Second attempt at gathering my sheep today, fantastic weather and 16 sheep in including 2 very heavy ewes. Saw 5 other sheep on the cliffs so will try again tomorrow.

Darker side of Lambing

Dead ram lamb

A good day in the lambing shed, but with a sad twinge. Had 5 sets of twins today, but unfortunately one ewe didn't want to know so ended up with a dead ram lamb (drowned in a water tub in the expectant ewe pen) and another ewe lamb in the kitchen.

Wednesdays lambs

Twin ewe lambs

Twin ewe lambs

Twin ram lambs

Mixed twins ewe + ram

Nursery filling up nicely

Dougary settling in and finding his feet

Tolsta Dougary and mother and aunt settling in to new barn 

Here's looking at you!!!!

What you doing?

Tuesdays lambs

Large ewe lamd

Another ram lamb!!!!

Don't think much of the floor

much softer then the concrete floor
 

Then the fun started!!!!

Very small twin ram lambs

the twins moved into kitchen

It all kicked off Sunday night about 10.30, I went to check a recent lambed ewe and notice another ewe calling for lambs, on close inspection I noticed she was having trouble lambing. once caught I did a quick internal examination and found 3 hooves presenting, after a quick attempt at helping, decide the vet was a better option, The vet arrived about 12.12 am and quickly delivered a set of ram twins. The ewe wanted nothing to do with them so after drying them and giving them some colostrum it was decide to move them into the house for the night and here they still are!!!! finally got to bed at 3am and was back in the barn at 6.30am this morning.

Sundays Lambs

Sunday's lambs another 2 ram lambs, thought it was all going well till 10.30 pm!!!

Todays lambs

 Ewe lamb fostered onto this afternoons ewe with a ram lamb

Tonight's ram lamb

What a lambing it's turning into!! Ewes lambing when they shouldn't even be pregnant. Two first timers today first didn't want to know her lamb and the second I had to help, lamb was dead and had its head under its chest so wouldn't come out. Not sure if it died during a hard birth or was already dead. Then on a brighter note had two ewes give birth to two nice ram lamb singles and even managed to foster the earlier lamb on to one of the ewes. So all ended well!!!

Todays new arrivals

Hebridean ram twins

Todays lambs twin rams. That's 3/4 lambs that are rams and 2/2  calves that are bulls,looks like it may be a year for males!!!!

first Hebbie lamb this year

new lamb

mini lamb

feeding the new lamb

First black lamb of the year and the ewe has no milk. So the future Mrs Rowlston is on bottle duty!

Filling the barn!!!!

Large hay and straw delivery

Moving in Rosanna and Ruby

Walking the cows down to the barn

With the barn up we have had a large hay and straw delivery from Ironside & sons. Also moved Rosanna, Dougary and Ruby into their new pens. The barn is filling up!!!!

Barn build day fourteen

Finished barn
 

Well its taken nearly 2 years to get to this point. but after fourteen days of construction and £36,000. I finally have a 45x30x13 feet agricultural building (or barn to you and me) completed. just before I am due to start lambing. Hooray!!!!!!

Bringing in the ewes

Putting up the hurdles

putting down the bedding

putting the expecting mothers in
 

With the barn finished, we could finally bring in the sheep to settle them in before lambing.

First Lamb of 2015

As per usual you get a ewe that doesn't have a calendar. The first lamb of the year born out on Tolsta Head, 2 weeks before they are due to start. Its a wee ram lamb Charolaise x Hebridean/Blackface. The wee lad managed to walk all the way into croft 2a alongside his mum during the gathering of the sheep from Tolsta Head yesterday.