Following the long, hot summer and the frequent, heavy rain through
October, the grass put on a tremendous spurt of growth during October,
which although not especially nutritious at this time of year,
nevertheless gave the ewes a very nice ‘plumpness’ (BCS3-3.5 for my
technical readers) ready for tupping!Max, our 2-year old ram is also in fine fettle having had equally good grazing for the past few weeks, and put though a very vigorous ‘MOT’ at the start of the month. No ram likes to be tipped, and with our Hampshire rams weighing something in the region of 120kgs, it’s not a job I’m particularly keen on either! Max – ‘Yarcombe Maximus’ to give him his proper title, has a very clever trick of fixing his neck that makes it doubly difficult to tip him off-balance. It’s no use pitting my strength against his; he would win hooves-down every time!
How to Tip a Ram
Start with the big boy standing in front of you: hold his head with your left hand and put your right hand under his jaw to turn his neck sharply away from you with one hand; at the same time, place your left knee just behind the ram’s left shoulder while keeping your right leg against his near-side left hip and place your right hand on the ram’s back right over the hips …
…
now you’re in the correct position for tipping, continue as follows:
turn the ram’s nose away from you towards an imaginary spot just behind
his shoulder – as you do this you’ll feel his weight shift against your
legs, then push down with your right hand and step your right leg back,
this will cause the ram’s back end to sink; carry on pulling the head
around, and the ram will find himself sitting on his bum reclining
against your legs. In this position you can inspect his teeth, brisket,
feet, testicles and penis with ease!Alternatively, if like me, the above method generally finds me in the mud and the ram steadfastly refusing to sit down, there is an acceptable alternative: stand him against a wall or hurdle then reach underneath his belly, grab his rear hind leg (or both, you’ll develop your own technique over time) and pull it towards you – this should make him sink onto his rump. If he’s really stubborn, get help; if you continue to wrestle with him you will undoubtedly fall down exhausted before he does!
Elsewhere
on the smallholding it’s been ‘clear-up’ time. The vegetable plot has
had its autumn tidy, leaving just the over-wintering brassicas (Brussels
Sprouts, Purple-Sprouting Broccoli and Cauliflowers), and a row of
leeks left standing. All the other raised beds have been forked over and
the bare soil covered with a thick layer of stable manure (thank you,
horses!). I’ve sowed Phacelia as a ‘green manure’ onto one, as much for
the pretty cerulean blue flowers as its organic matter when dug in later
in the year! The horses also supply a generous quantity of woodchip
from the stables that I use to make paths between the beds. The green
house has had its annual clear out and clean, and now houses rows of
Butternut Squashes (a bumper crop this year) to finish ripening.We’ve also got the final shots for “Showing Sheep” in the can, including an interview with a specialist sheep vet on aspects of biosecurity at shows, a very important aspect that many feel is sometimes not given the attention it deserves. Our vet discusses the potential disease hazards and describes the preventative measures that can be taken to ensure that, as far as possible, the risks are minimised.
