Marking the lambs is the next landmark in the sheep farming calendar - the ewes and their lambs are gathered from the hill and along the coast - the lambs are counted and their ears given the Treshnish lug mark so that they are recognizable if they wander off the farm. It also means that if we have lambs that come in to the fank without an ear mark we know they have not been counted. Last year's ewe lambs (the hoggs) are kept separate so that they can be clipped (sheared) and the wool all bagged up ready for collection by the Wool Marketing Board. The hoggs are organic but we haven't registered with SOPA to sell our wool as organic yet. Here are the hoggs grazing in the little field above Shian and Duill self catering holiday cottages.
