Well, I can finally reveal all the exciting things we've been up to lately! I haven't wanted to post or mention anything about it all in case I jinxed us, but now I can!
3 big moments have happened for us over the last 2 weeks.
To start, we sent our first lambs to the abattoir for private lamb boxes. Whilst this is something we did last year, with in lamb ewes we purchased, these guys hit a little differently. As a couple, it was the first time we had taken a group of girls from tupping, to scanning, to lambing and then the lambs to slaughter. Gary and I have only been together for 2 years, so it felt like a mini milestone.
There is always that worry that the lambs wont be good enough - too fat or too lean. Its a tricky balance, but Gary seems to have that shiz down! Ultimately it comes down to Gary feeling if they are fit or not; i.e they are well fleshed out and have enough of a fat covering, without being to fatty! Its a fine art that takes years to gain the experience to judge it successfully, and I have to admit, most of the time, with cattle and sheep, he can judge their weight through feel and sight to within a couple of kilos. Along with Gary's expert touch, we do also use a weigh scale, as this can help us decide to send them for private boxes, where we want a bit more weight, or to the abattoir, who we send most of our fat lambs too. Its a comfort for us in this industry to ultimately know where they end up and you dont get that assurance when they go to market. We collected the lambs on 28th August to deliver fresh to our customers, and we are really pleased with the result. Our butcher, Brian, had said they were lovey lambs but its good to see it with your own eyes. We trust his judgement though. If Brian says they're good, were on the right track. If he doesn't, then we've not done our job properly.
The second big day for us was having the vet come out and PD the heifers on the farm. We are hoping to buy 2 of the girls, Pip and Val, but would only do so if they were in calf. Fab news that they both are! Ive never seen cows being PD'd before so it was a great learning experience for me. We are yet to find out if the girls will be joining us; its very price dependant because the cattle trade is still so high. Whilst we would love them to become members of our herd, we have to be realistic in not overpaying.
Val (L) and Pip (R)
Lastly, and most importantly, we went sheep shopping! This was a really big deal for us. As ive mentioned before, we lost Roman, our Beltex tup, and my breeding flock last year was comprised of cull ewes who we gave a second chance. Don't get me wrong, I have some stunning lambs, but some of these girls had issues, and they're not issues I'm willing to let slide for another year. So, where do we go from here?
Gary admittedly hates sheep. Yep, the stockman hates sheep!! However, he does love a North Country Cheviot. If you have ever spoken to Gary about owning sheep, one of the first things he would tell you is he's a Cheviot man!
I love sheep. I love lambing and I enjoy being in the company of sheep. But, whilst I am a strong independent woman who can do just fine on her own.....sometimes I need someone a bit bigger and stronger then me to help, and that person is Gary....who hates sheep.
So we came to a compromise. If we're going to breed again, going forward we need a breed he likes, so Cheviots it is. On Friday 27th August, we made the journey to Monmouthshire livestock market for the NCC show and sale. We
went to shop, and we bloody shopped! 34 shearling ewes and ewe lambs, and 2 gorgeous boys, Parsonage Boss and Bob (Bob doesn't seem to have a registered name at the minute, more on that to follow!) They arrived back that night, settled in, and today were moved to fresh pasture up at the same farm as the lambs. They really are a sight to behold, striking with a real "look at me" presence. From what I can tell, we will be the only registered flock in East Anglia. We just need to think of a suitable flock name.
Its been a busy couple of weeks, and now we're only 2 weeks away from tupping! It wiill soon be time to raddle up those boys, stick on their crayons and wait for all those coloured bums to appear! In case you couldn't tell, I'm excited!!!
As if I haven't been busy enough, I have also been working on some videos for our new YouTube channel, Life with G.A Livestock. If you head over, you can see our latest videos, "Are the Heifers Pregnant" and "Sheep Shopping". Hopefully you'll find them an enjoyable watch, and they enable us to provide longer videos then we can on Facebook or Instagram. Click the link below to head to our channel homepage and hit subscribe to be kept up to date with our latest videos!
Thanks for reading, and stay safe!
Zoe xx
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