Last time through the fank this year

Tupping has finished.  All the ewes have been put through the fank, they have been checked over and given a bolus with Cobalt and Selenium in it, plus a drench against liver fluke.  

Our first Christmas here in 1994, the ewes were all out on the hill and the tups were out on the hill with them, supposedly for 6 weeks.  A ewe's cycle is 17 days so giving them 6 weeks with the tup means if they don't mate on their first cycle there is a second chance 17 days later.    We didn't expect the tups to be taken off the hill until the first week in January when their 6 weeks ended.  So imagine our surprise when the tups all started appearing back at the farm on Boxing Day!   

The next winter we brought all the ewes in off the hill and put them in the fields for tupping.  Having them in smaller fields rather than on the open hill meant that the tups had less far to travel to find a fertile ewe and would be easier for us to check up on.  In days gone before, traditional hill farms would have had a tupping shepherd but we couldn't afford one of those!   We were told by an old farmer locally that this was dangerous, that they would die being in the fields.  Luckily we were right and he was wrong so we have done the same thing every year since.  

Our 6 weeks was up just before Christmas so Farmer put small lots through the fank on his own and had DG helping him for the big lot.  I took them lunch up in the shed, socially distant and well draughty! 

The ewes are now back on the hill with the old ewes in one field, the Herdwicks in another and the Cheviots in a third.  The two larger lots are being fed now with the snacker, whilst the Herdwicks get theirs by hand! 

June 4th 2018 #30DaysWild

Red campion

Show day 2017

The weather has been mixed the past week or so, and we were anxiously watching XCWeather to see what Thursday was going to be like for the Salen Show!   Daughter was taking two of the Herdwicks to the show so we needed to know! 

Luckily Show Day dawned dry, whilst not overly sunny, it didn't rain and wasn't too hot for the animals.  

Herdwicks aren't primitive breeds like Hebrideans or Soay or Shetlands, and they aren't Blackface or Cheviot, so they end up in the Other Breeds class along with the Texels and the Suffolks!  There is a very strong flock of Texels along the coast from here, so we were pretty realistic about our chances.  Not to mention the fine Suffolks from Loch Frisa.   Anyway, what was that saying, its not about the winning its about the taking part?  

The Mull Slaughterhouse BBQ stall selling burgers was upwind of the sheep pens so all day we stood downwind of the amazing smell of frying onions!  They made a good brew as well.

My favourite tin shed was put into use, as the Poultry section.  Again our fine Wyandottes chose to moult so we couldn't show them.

Farmer helped some of the other competitors hold their animals in the different classes before and after ours. 

An appropriate hoodie for the show. 

Kyle the wonderful ice cream maker from Tobermory has bought a trike so she can attend the shows. What an excellent idea and it proved very popular!   There was a queue all day long. 

2 of our near neighbours were showing Highland cattle.   

And a friend of Daughter was showing a Mother and this was her calf who had to come along with her! 

We didn't enter any veg this year. Or eggs! 

Here we are coming in to the Other Breeds classes.  The handsome Jacobs tup from Loch Frisa against the Texels from Fanmore. 

Then finally it was our gimmers turn.  

Well done Daughter.  (She came home with a handful of rosettes!)

All in all, a great day. 

    

Looking for a short break?

Whats been happening on the farm? Nearly at the end of February already.. the days are getting longer and it is great to be doing the school run at both ends of the day in daylight!  

We have had mixed weather all month - but no great storms to speak of.  In fact this winter has not been as windy as usual!  I haven't checked the wind turbine generation readings for a while, but I know they will be down on last year.

Farmer has been gathering the hill to bring the ewes in for scanning tomorrow.  We have just gone up to Larach mhor on the main road above Treshnish to retrieve the truck, as they left it there at the start of the gather yesterday.  On the way up there we could see across to the Sitheans, and could see a puckle of ewes that got away from them yesterday. Hence Farmer off with the dogs to get them in now.

Scanning the ewes is useful to us as it means we know which ewes are expecting twins and can keep them in for supplementary feeding nearer the time.  Lambing is about 6 weeks away!

Toechtamhor has been the centre of attention this month - with an upgraded shower and new bathroom windows all round, plus one improvement I will leave as a surprise for regular visitors!  The twin bedroom has a new insulated wooden floor and both bedrooms have new easy to control electric heaters - finally, the days of storage heaters are over I am glad to say! 

There has been work going on in other cottages too...!  Shieling has had lighting improvements, and a new shower before Christmas.  Studio had an upgraded shower before Christmas too.    West has its new layout which feels really good, and feedback from guests so far is very positive.

We are offering short breaks between now and the end of April, and are considering doing the same in September and October.  Please get in touch if you want to book a short break or a week between now and then.  There is a 10% discount available on a week booking until the 28th April!