As I write, the flock is coming through the winter well after a very open back end with more growth than was ideal. This may sound odd, but it meant they didn’t eat down Kilminning as hard as we would have liked and so the move to Fleecefaulds was later than ideal, as some dieback had started to occur, which will mean this winter’s grazing will not be as tidy as last year’s.
During the autumn we increased the flock to 155. Twenty eight of the new sheep are Hebrideans – all black with up to four horns! They have a reputation for being very good browsers and have been recruited with Bankhead Moss particularly in mind. We are going to put them on the Moss at end March/early April so they will be ready for a feast of fresh Birch leaves as they appear.
We are going to be lambing 60 of the ewes starting on 15 April and so most will have lambed by the time you read this. Some of the ewes and lambs are to spend the Summer at Lielowan in an effort to try and get some control over this site. The rest will be in the Laurennie Field at Bankhead while the non-breeders will be on the Moss or at Kilminning (which we are planning to have fully sheep-proofed with the help of David Blair’s Team).
Laura and I would like to thank everyone who has helped with the checking over the Winter and hope you have enjoyed it.