Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: sheep farming

  • Flocking Together: Hebridean Sheep and Sheepdog Training

    Flocking Together: Hebridean Sheep and Sheepdog Training

    I heard, through the ever-reliable grapevine, that this small flock of Hebridean sheep at Aireyholme Farm is being used to train a young sheepdog. Predictably, just before this photo was taken, the dog had had its lesson, and the sheep were beginning to calm down. Hebridean sheep are apparently the darlings of the sheepdog training…

  • Yow and Gimmer

    Yow and Gimmer

    A wary pose for this yow and her gimmer lamb. She looks quite healthy, a bit clarty perhaps around the rear end. A clarty arse, clogged with urine and faecal matter, can be actually quite a problem for the sheep farmer. It can provide a breeding ground for maggots, a condition known as flystrike. Treatment…

  • A changing pastoral scene

    A changing pastoral scene

    We are all familiar with flocks of sheep grazing on the hills and moors. They were first introduced by the Romans and we are now by far the largest sheep and lamb producer in the EU with a quarter of the total flock. We have 14 million breeding ewes here in the UK which last…