Happy Christmas from Hanley Suffolks and a happy New Year.

Scanning

Hi Again

Today my ewes have been scanned and I will have 2 ewes that will only have 1 lamb and 1 ewe will have 2 lambs.

Thank you and I look forward to lambing.
Jack

Stop Press!!!!!!!!!

Hi Again

Big news. Today I have had my local farmer ring up and say that he has the scaner coming in tomorrow and would I like my sheep scaned. I said yes straight away. I checked with the Co owner and she said fine. I will tell you how I get on tomorrow.

Thanks
Jack

Hi all

These past few weeks I have been putting up my lambing pens. They are brilliant. We have had our friends down to stay. Ian is the farm manger of one of the largest estates in England. Ian helped me to put up the lambing pens.

This week I received a comment from 'Mike' asking me what breed of sheep to buy, how much they will cost and should he buy them in lamb or with lambs because his son wants some sheep. My advice would be to think about these few things: (remember I am only 13 years old so I still need to learn lots!)
Breed Choice:
1. If you live on a hill you probably want to buy hill sheep like a Blackface or a Cheviot.
2. But if you live on lower ground you probably want to buy lowland sheep like a Texel or Suffolk.
3. You might consider the Rare Breed route. I don't know many Rare breeds but I know that you can get Soay or a Castle Morton. If you want to know more about rare breeds go to http://www.rbst.org.uk/.

Price:
1. Hill Sheep
  -Blackface cost about £100(in lamb)
  - Cheviot cost about £120 (in lamb)
2. Lowland Sheep
  - Suffolk cost about £320 (in lamb) but they are pedigree and will need to think if you want to keep pedigrees or do you want to be a commercial sheep farmer.
  - Texel (Pedigree) cost about £450 (in lamb)
  - Texel cross and a Suffolk cross, non pedigree, cost about £150 (in lamb)
3. I do not know how much a rare breed in lamb ewe would cost i'm afraid so visit the rare breed website.
A local auctioneer would also be willing to help.

In lamb or Ewes and Lambs:
If you want to buy them in lamb and have the thrill of lambing then certainly buy them in lamb. If you do chose to buy them in lamb you would have to buy all the lambing equipment needed for lambing. But if you buy them with lambs it would be easier for your first year. People who sell ewes with lambs probably think that the lambs or the ewes are not good enough so you may not get the best qualitiy but some farmers just sell them straight away whatever.

These are a few pics of my pens:

I hope this has helped you. If you need some more advice do not be afraid to leave a comment.

More questions welcomed.

Jack

Ewe Sold

Dear all


As you know from the last blog I had a ewe to sell. I asked my local sheep dealer to sell it at Market. He took it to Hereford livestock Market and sold it for £50. I thought it would make around £50. I am very pleased with the price. Next week end I will be setting up my lambing pens. You might think that I am being a little bit quick ; it might snow this month and it will be able to look after them.

Thank you for reading
Jack

Selling

Hi

Hello again. Sorry I haven’t written a blog in a while because there hasn’t been much going on. I have had a busy few weeks at school because on the night before Remembrance Day my school got burgled. The burglars came to our school at about midnight and broke through a window next to the bike shed into the front office. When they finally got in the alarm went off. They fled but picked up the Remembrance Day poppy money but managed to find time to write on the poppy box ‘WE DON’T CARE!’ So our school have set up a campaign called ‘WE DO CARE’ because at our school we take these things very seriously. The press came in and because I am part of the campaign they decided to take a photo of me for the paper. I thought it would be on the inside of the paper but it was on the Front Cover. That night the burglars went to four different places and stole the poppy money. I think it is disgraceful. On a positive note the school have really pulled together and we have already raised enough money to replace the stolen collection.

On the sheep side of life it has been quite busy. My granddad came down to see us this week. I asked him to bring down a ‘High energy’ lick to give to the ewes because they need to get a bit healthier. I have one ewe which isn’t very well. We think it might have a liver problem. I asked my granddad if he could have a look at the ewe and he said that it had a liver problem. I have taken it upon my self to sell it. It is going on Tuesday to a livestock mart. I know that I will only get about £50 because it is so lean. I will probably not buy another ewe this year but might buy a ewe with lambs next year once I have lambed the others.

If you have any questions about the WE DO CARE campaign or if you have any questions about the farm just leave a comment.

Thank you,

Jack

The Burglary

Hello everyone,

You are probably wondering what the title means but I will get to that later. Last week I was on my half term so we have some people to stay. My Great Aunt Di came down to see us for 5 nights as we don't get to see her much because she lives in Northumberland and we live in Worcestershire. As I have said in previous blogs I went to a sale and bought two pairs of handshears. Both of them were very rusty. So Great Aunt Di and I went to a hard wear shop and bought some rust remover and a rust brush. We came home and got the shears out and started working. The bigger pair were so rusty the rust had stuck to the shears so we couldn't get the rust off. But on the other shears the rust came of nicely. So Aunty Di and I walked over to the sheep because one of the four had a dirty backend so we had to clean it up. We did it and it was a good days work. After she had gone we had some more visters from Northumberland. They were my mum's good friends. Their son James helped my to get the sheep in again and do their feet. We do this every 4-6 months just to make sure that they are not getting foot root or they are lame. Sometimes they are lame after we have checked them so we have to get them back in to make sure the foot is clean and healthy.

Now to the exciting bit!! The BURGLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One Tuesday Night when the air was cold a young boy (me) was enjoying Jonny English (it is great) at the cinema. When he had just got in to the house the phone rang. "Hello" he said and then
"Hi , its Chris. (he is the owner of the field) There has been a burglary!!! The sheep are fine but the Electric Fence is Bust."
"Oh no!!!!!" Jack replied,
"Its ok. The main thing is that the sheep are ok!" said Chris,
"I will be round in the morning to see." The confusion went on.

As he said he was there the very next day and I saw something amazing.The robbers had got stuck in the electric fence and it was on. They had broken it in half and could have been nearly killed. They had planned it so well, they had wheelbarrows in the next door field to put everything into.

I have had one question online and it is as follows:
What does E.I.D sand for?
This is a very good Question. The answer is that it stands for Electronic Identification.

Thank you for your question please ask me more!

Jack

Sorry

Dear all

There is nothing going on at the moment, so if you have any questions about any aspects of farming I will be willing to answer them. Just leave me a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Thank you
Jack

Week Eighteen

Hi all,

Sorry I have not been blogging. I have been so busy with school and hockey. I play hockey for Worcester hockey club. I am a goalkeeper. There is not much going on at the moment with the sheep but the tup will be going home soon. It has done his job (I hope) and will not be needed for another year. I will hopefully I will be showing you pictures of lambs in Febuary. They will all be killed for meat eventually.

Thanks for reading,
Jack

Week Sixteen and Seventeen

Hi

These past few weeks have been mad because I went back to school. At my school we start our GCSE subjects 1 year earlier than others schools. So this means that this year we start our GCSE subjects. I chose English, Maths, Computer Studies, Geography, Triple Science, Drama, Business Studies and French. We have started all of our subjects now and I love Drama and Business Studies.

The sheep are looking great at the moement. Mr tup is looking good and the ewes are all tupped. (I HOPE!!!) Today I changed the Keil on the tups breast so we can see if he is still working. You change the Keil colour every 17 days. Red is new colour!

Here are a few tips about choosing your tup for tupping:

1. Find a tup you like the look of. (Pick a few!)
2. Make sure that the tup has a even pair of testicals!!
3. Make sure they have a good backend. (Make sure there is a plenty of meat!)
4. Check the tups teeth.
5. Make sure the tup walks well on its feet.
6. Make sure it has a good level back.
7. Set yourself a limit on how much you are going to spend on each ram. (If you are at a sale make sure you don't bid over your limit!)

Here are some Pictures of the tup:

Here are some Pictures of my ewes:

Thank you for reading

Jack

Week Thirteen - Fifteen

Hi again
I am so sorry about not writing anything for a while because I have been up north for a month and there is no Internet connection.

I have been working non stop. I went up on the 5th of August and started work that night.
The next day we weaned the cheviot Texel lambs off their mothers and gave them some mineral drench (two different types). We got 70 lambs off the ewes (they were all twins sire by a Suffolk tup) and 7 fattening ewes for Market at Acklington. After that we took them to the field where they will be for about three to seven weeks ( for most of them because they need to go to Market). After lunch we moved the pure texels in to the pens and weaned the lambs.
The next day we went up to the hill farm and brought in the Blackface ewes with their mule twin lambs. We sparated the wether lambs from the ewe lambs.We took the wether lambs down to the main farm (my uncle rents 3 farms. One is a hill farm which we have had for years, one is the main farm and the other is a lowland farm called Rock) and left the ewe lambs up there.
Later on in the week I went up to my other uncle's farm and helped him A.I. his pure Suffolks. The flock is one of the oldest flocks in the world. Now they have texels and BFL. When we got there we got the first ewes and gimmers in to the A.I. pens and I was put in charge of getting the ewes and gimmers ready to get tipped on to trolleys and then A.I.'d Before we could get started we had to get the sperm of the tup. (The tup is called Deveronside Palmal) Then we fetched the ewes and gimmers to AI. We got the next tup out and collected the sperm.(this tup was called Forkins Figoro) After we had got the sperm we had to AI more ewes and gimmers. After lunch we went down to the pens to shed the ewes and the gimmers in to two different groups for two different tups. We brought them up to the AI pens and got the tup lamb out and it took about 30 mins to get the sperm out because it would not jump. (The tup was called Roseden Park Lane) We then put the ewes and gimmers in on to he trolleys and AI them. Then we did the last lot of ewes and gimmers. The last tup we used is dead but we had some sperm frozen before he died (The tup was from the Bentley flock). At the end we had 3 ewes that we had AI'd but might not be in lamb so we put the ram lamb on Roseden Park Lane) to make sure that they are in lamb.
On a Thursday it is mart day and we try and send something there every week.
I was up at 6:00 to go and helped my uncle to load and shed the ewes and lambs. When they were loaded we took the big livestock trailer. There was 92 lambs and 30 ewes on the trailer. Grandad and I went to Rock to do the cows and sheep. My uncle picked me up at Rock (the other lowland farm) and went to the mart. When we got to the Market we gave in the livestock form. We got these prices:
For lambs
31 Tex x 40kg £75.50
2 Tex 47kg £82.00
2 Tex 41kg £78.50
3 Tex 44kg £81.50
4 Tex 40kg £78.00
9 Tex x 43kg £73.50
12 Tex x 45kg £78.50
12 Suff x Mule 49kg £79.50
17 Suff x Mule 43kg £75.50

Ewes
1 Suff £126
5 Tex £123
5 Chev Mule £82
10 Mule £89
1 Chev Mule £96
2 Lleyn Tex £83
4 Suff x £100

When I eventually came home from The North,  I went straight to my sheep and fed them. My sister and my mum have been looking after them for me. The tup is going to the ewes on the 5th of September. I am using a Texel tup and I am putting a raddel on the tup to make sure he is doing his job. Next week I will be able to tell you how he is getting on.

Thank you
Jack

Weaned - taking the lambs of their mothers.
Mule - a type of sheep breed.
Wether lambs -male lambs that have been castrated.
AI - Artificial Insemination.
BFL - Blue Faced Leicester a type of sheep breed.
Raddel - to make sure the tup is working. It leaves a coloured mark on the ewes bum.

Week Twelve

Hi

This week has been my first week of summer holidays. It was boring! (I kind of want to go to school) The sheep are looking fine and ready for tupping. I am going to use a Suffolk ram. I will use raddle on the ram to check that it is working. If the Suffolk ram dosen't work after 2 weeks we will use a Texel ram. If we use a Texel ram we will be producing commerical lambs. (This could be good and bad)

This week we have also made hay using an Edwardian method. We had to make Edwardian hay because we can't get a tractor into the paddock. If you want to make Edwardian hay just follow these few steps:

1. First you need to cut the hay with a sythe or you can cheat and use a strimmer.
2. Next you need to row it up and turn three times a day unless it has rained then you need to leave until it gets warmer and then start turning again
3. Then you need to put them into cocks.
4. After that you need to put it in to a stack.
5. Finally put a cover over it leaving a little bit of air to keep it cool as you don't want it too hot inside.

Thank you for reading my blog and hope you read my next blog.

Jack

Sythe = An cutting devise.

Cocks = Small piles to let the hay dry.

Stack = The final pile it will be in.

Week Eleven

Hello again,

This week I have been on an activity week with my school. It was great fun. As I was away my sister has been checking my sheep for me. I have been up to check the gimmers yesterday and - to my amazement -the gimmer that had the problem on her leg is much better. This means that I will not need to bring her back in and give her some more penicillin.

Yesterday I went to Shewsbury Livestock Market to see the National Suffolk Sheep Show and Sale. There were 234 Suffolk Rams entered and there was about 200 present. Some farmers think that their sheep will not sell or they think it is to far to go and if they don't sell they have to bring them back so they don't bother taking them. The top price was 23,000gns sold by Chris Holmes with his Ram Lamb which won at The Three Counies Show. Chris also had a lamb at 2200gns and 1500gns. Robert H Wilson bought the top price Ram to use this year on his flock. The champion Lamb was from J G Douglas which made 2000gns and the reserve champion was from Myfyr A Evans and it made 7200gns. Also other top prices were from G C Beacom which went for 9000gns, W G Troup Ltd which made 70000gns and Mrs J J Tooze had a lamb that went for 2200gns. Messrs A E Weaver & Son bought that ram. The top price for the Shearling rams was from Messrs T C & C A Harding which made 1600gns.

The average for the Shearling Rams is = 1012gns.

The average for the ram lambs is = 1171gns.

It is the stirling sale coming up and it has entries  200 Rams and on the 12th of August it is the Carlisle sale and if you would like to enter there is still time, so go on to this website to enter. http://www.livestock-sales.co.uk/

I am still looking for a pedigree farmer who uses BASCO to tell me how to use it, that would be great. I also need to learn how to read the notches in the ears to be able to trace their history.

Thank you for reading,

Jack

Gns =

Week Nine and Ten

I have been on holiday to France for the past week so I have not been able to keep you up to date.
When I came back from France I saw that one of the gimmers looked lame. I asked my dad to come and have a look just to make sure that I was not imagining things. We took the foot shears and the spray as well as the string. Dad said that I was correct and there was a problem on the front left leg of one of the gimmers.  We had to move the ewes from one side of the field to the other. (I had to get them through the small gate with food) Once they were through I had to set up the pens with dad. We had left gates up from last time we had to work with them. We put some wire up so when we try and get them in they will not run the other way. Once I had got them in I got dad to tip her up as I am not strong enough. I saw a hole in the top of her leg. Dad said it was an abscess that had bust and it wasn't that bad but we put some spray on it to make sure that the flys wouldn't attack it. Two days after we treated it, she is putting presure on her leg again and that is a great sign. If it does get worse again we will give her an injection of penicillin.

There is no more to tell you about my sheep but there is some more show results:

Great Yorkshire Show:
Champion: Lilburn Estates Farming Partnership, Wooler, Northumberland
Reserve Champion: Lilburn Estates Farming Partnership, Wooler, Northumberland

Well done Lilburn Estates Farming Partnership.

As I am just starting in the farming world could any pedigree farmer who uses BASCO tell me how to use it, that will be great. I also need to learn how to read the notches in th ears to be able to trace their history.

Jack

Penicillin = Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi.

Week Eight

Hello again,

I have been busy this week with school. I've just finished exams and now nervously await my results!

This is the final week with the feeding the sheep for a while as they are looking quiet fat at the moement. The flys are still hovering over the gimmers but they are not landing and not laying eggs.

This week I am going to tell you what is the best way to make the good use of your land.

I have 2.7 acres of land and I have cut it in to half so there is 1.35 acres on both sides. On one side I have further divided it in half so there is 0.675 acres in each part. This means the sheep and pigs (the pigs are not mine) can move around. If you keep cows please read this next part.
An old 'rule of thumb' is 1/2 acre per cow for spring, one acre per cow for summer and 1.5 acres per cow in the Autumn.

I only have sheep and pigs at the moment but if you have more land you might start to think about what else you could have on your land, perhaps goats or alpacas? (i know that alpacas are good for keeping the foxes away!)

Here are some more results from around the UK:

The Royal Norfolk Show
Male champion: M J & J A Pinny
Female champion: Needham, Miss Elizabeth

If there are any more shows that I have missed feel free to comment and I will cover it next week.

Thank you
Jack

Week Six and Week Seven

Hello again,

These past two weeks have been very busy. I have just clicked (see below) the gimmers and heptavac'd(see below) them. I also looked at their feet to make sure they are healthy, which they were.
I am going to move them from the section of grass they are on, to another patch because they have grazed the grass right down.

As I promised I am going to tell you what you need to have when you want to start your own flock.

1. You will need a herd/flock number from your local agricultural office as all sheep have to be registered and tagged. Your sheep tag will have your herd/flock number on it so all of your sheep are identified and can be traced back to you. These tags are placed permanently in the sheep's ear as soon as they are big enough perhaps 2 to 3 months old. If you haven't been given a herd/flock number do not buy sheep or lambs as you are breaking the law.
2. Your land must be well and properly fenced for sheep because they are the cause of many arguments in the countryside. Sheep have a knack of spotting something better on someone else's land and managing to get to it.
3. A dosing gun (for giving them worming and other oral treatments) is essential and you can by a multi-purpose one from your local farmers store. You can buy them with "pour-on" attachments for applying anti fly treatments which are all the better as then sheep dipping can be eliminated by applying pour-on applications.
4. A holding pen in a dry, good spot where you can easily drive your sheep into and hold them for dosing and shearing.
5. Food and water are the only other essential requirements for sheep, but they do not look after themselves and will require inspection at least once a day because there is always problems with sheep, but most times the problems are only minor.

As well I said I would tell you the latest show results from the UK:

The Royal Highland Show
Champion: Mr Sandy Fraser with his Ewe lamb.

Three Counties Show
Champion: Mr Chris Holmes
Reserve Champion: Mr V E & B M Samuel

If you would like me to cover any particular subjects on my blog or to explain any matters I've already mentioned, just leave a comment.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Jack

Heptavac = Heptavac P Plus sheep and lamb vaccine for the active immunisation of sheep as an aid in the control of lamb dysentery, pulpy kidney, struck, tetanus, braxy, blackleg, black disease and clostridial metritis caused by the above listed organisms. An opaque fluid vaccine combined 7 in 1 clostridial plus pasteurella vaccine.

Click = Is a water-based, ready-to-use, pour-on formulation, containing 5% w/v dicyclanil.

Week Six

I am so sorry but I am very busy with the play I am in, so this blog will be joined together with week seven. I am going to be talking about how to start your very own flock of sheep. I am sorry for the wait but come back in a week and it should be up. If not just leave a comment telling me to get a move on.
Jack

Week Five

This week as been another good week. The rain has finally fallen, so the grass will start to grow. The wool on the gimmers is starting to grow back from when they were clipped last month. This will mean that in the winter the gimmers will be nice and warm. 


This week I am going to tell you who is winning the Suffolk classes at the major shows from around the UK:

At the Royal Bath & West Show

Champion: , Mr R F Holmes

Reserve Champion:  Mr  Brooks

At the South of England Show:

Champion: M Legge

Reserve Champion: Miss D Lindon

At The Royal Cornwall Show:

Champion: Mr R Lawrence

Reserve Champion: Not known.

Next week I will be telling you what you need to start to keep sheep and I shall be visiting the Three Counties Show to see how my sheep compare to the sheep being shown there. I shall be able to report back with the showing results.

As well as having a great interest in sheep, I love acting and I am currently reheasing for a village play, so I am having to learn a lot of words. The play is called Mystery and Merriment and it is all about the Bible, both the old and new Testament stories. If you live in the Worcestershire area and are interested in it, please look at the website www.3villagesfestival.com

Thank you for reading my blog,

Jack

Week Four

This week has been a great week as I have been visiting a Suffolk sheep farmer in Bristol. Later in the blog I will be telling you how he helped me by telling me what makes a good Suffolk sheep. But first let me tell you about my sheep. My sheep are looking really good at the moment. Yesterday as I was checking them I only saw three, so I thought the fourth must just be sleeping so I carried on  feeding the others but it did not come, so I went looking. I saw her in the distance but her ears were down and she was not moving so I ran over. As soon as I was near to her, she did just what sheep do - got up and ran away! Typical sheep!

As promised I am going to tell you what makes a good Suffolk sheep:
When I visited the Suffolk sheep farmer this week,I asked him what made a good Suffolk sheep.
He replied:
"A Suffolk sheep needs to have...

1. Good back
2. Silky hair on head and legs.
3. A tight skin.
4. Good teeth
5. Good back end (If it's a male).
6. Stands nicely."

Thank you for reading my fourth blog.

Jack

Sorry I cann't send any replys from the comments page so here is the reply

Hi, thank you for the invite to judge your local show. Where is it as it maybe a problem to get there?
 I only have 2.7 acres and it is in an apple orchard with plenty of apples as well as grass but will give them some cabbages which I am growing in my garden.
The only problem I am having is that my neighbour has some P-P horses in the next door field and they are annoying my sheep. I will speak to my cousin who is a top P-P jockey and I am sure she will advice me what to do.

Jack

Week Three

Dear All

Well this is my 3rd week of blogging. Last week I told you about the Suffolk Sheep Society so this week I am going to tell you about Showing Sheep. But first let me tell you about my sheep. They are looking well at the moment so we are going to cut down feeding from three days a week to two days. It will be a week or two until the Gimmers get the grass well eaten and we can move them on to the Camp Fire Field. It is important that we do not get the Gimmers too fat, so I will keep an eye on them.


These are my gimmers eating



Here are a few tips about showing Sheep, (I hope next year I might have one good enough to show):

1. Always wear a clean white Coat to go into the ring.
2. Make sure the sheep are halter trained
3. Make sure the sheep are presented well for the classes. They need to be: 

• Washed (Dipped)
• Trimmed when needed

Next week I will tell you what to look out for in a good Suffolk Sheep.

Thank you for reading

Jack

Week Two

Thank you for coming and reading my second blog!!

This week has been a good week.  We have bought some ewe nuts - and I am introducing feeding them every two days - so we can get the gimmers in easier and to get them eating food other than grass. My dad bought me some old wood and I have made a gate so I can get to the gimmers eaiser instead of turning the electric fence on and off. This weekend I am going to make some more gates out of the panels in the field. I have divided the field into two and they are called Long View and Camp Fire.

I thought I would tell you a bit about the Suffolk Sheep Society history:

• The Suffolk began by mating two different breeds: A Norfolk Horn ewe with a Southdown ram. They first did this in the Bury St Edmunds area, these sheep were know as Southdown Norfolks, or locally, as "Black faces."
• The first classes to exhibit Suffolk Sheep were at the Suffolk Show in 1859.
•  The first flock book was published in 1887. This had 46 flocks ranging in size from 50 to 1,100 ewes and averaging 314 ewes. All 46 flocks were in East Anglia and 34 were in Suffolk itself.
•  The oldest flock was E.P. & H. Frost of West Wratting, established in 1810
• The breed expanded rapidly, with the first flock in Ireland established in 1891, in 1895 in Scotland and 1901 in Wales.
• From the earliest days sheep were exported around the world, to Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, North and South America and the colonies.
•  Lambing was in February or March, outdoors in the fields with a hurdle shelter or in open yards surrounded by hurdles and straw.

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you will read again next week.

Jack

My First Blog Entry

16.05.11

 

Dear All,

This is my first entry to the blog and I hope there will be many more. I am a 13 year old boy who has just started my very own flock. People have been telling me that I should give it a try, so here I go!

Let me tell you a bit of history about my family. My granddad has one of the oldest Suffolk sheep flocks in England and I will be able to ask him for some advice even though he lives a long way away. I lived in Northumberland for most of my life and moved to Worcestershire 3 years ago as my dad changed jobs. My dad once trained as a Farm manger and then turned into a Professional Rugby player and now is a rugby coach.

It all started about a year and half ago when I met a lady in the village who was my mum’s friend. She offered me 2.7 acres of land, she knew I wanted to be a shepherd and have my own sheep.

I have bought 4 Suffolk gimmers this week. I was so excited when I got them on Saturday and I am checking them on the way to school every day.

My plans for the future include:

·         Breeding ewe lambs so I have a bigger flock.

·         Produce my own meat to sell and to eat.

·         Finally the main thing is to have fun.

If you have enjoyed my first blog I hope you will check my blog again next week!!

From

Jack

Gimmers = A one year old sheep.