Wednesday 28 March 2012

Sheep stress

The sheep have been causing me immense grief today, they've been escaping onto the main road - not good!

Having done the morning rounds and sorted everyone out with food, water and more lick buckets for the sheep I set about my job list.

It has to be said I'd not got far down it when I noticed that some of the ewe lambs were on the wrong side of the wall .  In fact they were on the outside of the field the alpaca girls had come out of and were munching their way to Otterburn.

Out with the quad and off I went down the track and noticed there were some of the gimmers out too - not happy.  They were nowhere near the lambs so I couldn't work out how they had got out.  I managed to get them back in through the gate at the public footpath.  I thought maybe someone had left it open and that's how they'd got out.

When the gimmers back the right side of the wall I headed off to get the ewe lambs back.  Now these girls are wild, thankfully I got them running in the right direction and they went back over the wall!  Yes just jumped over it - umm need to rethink these boundaries.  I wouldn't mind but we don't have a food shortage so why do they feel the need to wonder.

Then this evening when I went to feed the alpacas I glanced down toward the road and saw them out again, this time they were both sides of the A696.  So back down again to try and get them back.  This time they ran back and went over a bit of wall they'd knocked down, so I think I have now found their escape route - nowhere near where they eat!

With the sheep back in I have patched up the wall in the hope that that will keep them in.  As I went back along to road to check all the remaining sheep and boundaries I was met with a police car, flashing lights the lot!

Someone had reported the sheep on the road to the police; marvellous now they are getting me in trouble with the law.  Luckily with the sheep back and the wall patched the very nice police man just thanked me for getting them back and saving him having to chase some sheep.  I did get a ticking off for the second number plate on my quad. 

I'm hoping the only sheep activity tomorrow may be another set of lambs from the pet ewes.

1 comment:

Zanzibah Alpacas said...

Sounds like the sheep are running you ragged !! .....good job you could spot them and get them back in the right place !! ....after all that drama, the last thing you need is a brush with the law !!!!! .....jayne