Father and son team Paddy and Barry were back this year to clip the flock. They were overheating in their thick, woolly coats.
First up were the hoggets who had the thickest coats of all. Prudence's turn:
They hadn't been clipped before so it was a whole new experience for them.
Jess was back on duty, helping me to get the sheep onto the trailer.
Teddy was helping, as usual.
A handful of the hoggets had lambs in tow, who became very confused when their mummies lots their coats.
Barry still working on Prudence - there was a lot of wool there!
One of the hoggets decided, rather than jumping off the platform like every other sheep before her, to stay and supervise.
"Hmm..."
"You missed a bit."
She even let Paddy tidy her neck.
"Yes, Barry, that's how I would have done it."
Almost finished the hoggets.
Next up for the clip were my sheep - also mostly hoggets. Rosie was in the trailer first.
Barry gets started on Millie.
Paddy got Honey.
Margo awaiting her turn...
Rosie drew the short straw and had to stand at the front to help lure the others in.
Millie and Honey clipped well.
Millie wondered why she suddenly felt so light and cool.
"Who are you?"
Suckie was still with us at this point and Barry clipped her.
Paddy had Bob - his wool had become very brown, so it was nice to see him with his proper colour.
Millie and Honey watched on.
Four down...
Paddy starting with Margo.
Barry had Rosie.
"Is that all mine?"
They didn't quite know what was going on!
A flock transformed!
Next up were the tips.
PD was first.
PD is so quiet you can go up to him and give him a stroke.
The Kerry Hill boys on the platform.
After the tips it was the turn of some ewes.
Iris being clipped.
One by one the ewes were clipped.
It was very hard work and during breaks the dogs relaxed as much as everyone else.
Jess relaxed with an audience.
This year we had extra help from Owen. As well as helping with moving sheep and rolling up fleeces, Teddy found him very useful for hugs.
And Jess liked his tummy rubs.
After two days of hard work the final sheep was clipped.
314 was the total for this year. Numbers have gone down - we need more sheep!
Ok you are going to have to clue me in on sheep terminology. Hoggets and tips... I take it hoggets are females before they have a lamb and tips are young males?
ReplyDeleteNo problem! I should probably have a glossary page on this blog!
Delete"Tips" are male, entire sheep of any age, although those under a year may sometimes be referred to as "tip lambs". I've never heard the term used outside of Northern Ireland. On the Mainland UK they use "tups".
You're not far off with these guesses, you know! Females transition from lambs to hoggets at the start of the next breeding season. So my pet ewe lambs from 2016 became hoggets the moment a lamb was born in 2017, even though they were 9 months old at the time. They remain hoggets until the following breeding season, so in the case of Rosie and her friends, 2018, when they are two. Then they're just ewes.
Hopefully that clears things up for you a bit! :)
Love all the terms! Great series of pictures, as always. We are going to need to see a new Bob pic :-D.
ReplyDelete