Re: Foxes, ladies and weapons

Jill wrote:


In many parts of the world like, for example, New Zealand one man lambs over 5,000 sheep -- its one of their easiest times of the year -- they practise a no interference policy.

Well... not exactly, you still have to do the rounds and see if any of them are in trouble, make sure the lambs are mothered up. Sometimes a ewe loses a lamb and you can use her to mother a twin or triplet but you generally have to bring them in and do the scent thing to get her to accept the other lamb.

Mothers don't usually accept another lamb suckling so in the old days farmers used to drape the skin off the dead lamb over the orphan or twin and tie it on till lamb and ewe had got used to each other!

But you're right, the trend is to selectively breeding for successful breeding. Since the wide availability of computers the job of keeping track of individual stock animals in detail has made a huge difference to farming practice.


The stock have improved considerably and they stay out on the hill.

Again, we tend to bring them in to paddocks closer to the house - but it's a matter of scale. Nearer the house, here, is probably what a lot of people would think of as a long way away! And not all farms are the same, as Jill pointed out the practice regarding special breeds or elite stock is different.

And the dog problem exists here too so it's vital to keep watch around lambing time so that if there are killings there is greater vigilance, or stock are shifted or whatever.


This country is heading that way with the lack of support for agriculture. However the transition period is not one that will be pretty. :~( Importing good breeding stock from New Zealand is non-viable. Not having sheep on the hills will grossly affect the ecology to its detriment.



Why not? Disease precautions, regulations? Or is it about sheep that do well in our conditions not being automatically suited to yours? NZ usually has the strictest regs about animal and plant importation because being stuck out here with so much sea all around we CAN keep some control of what crosses our borders. It's frustrating for poultry and other bird breeders but most of us can see the sense in it.

A L P
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