Trouble at Tupping Time

Well the tups have been in with the ewes since the 5 November however, we have has an outbreak of ‘pink-eye’ in our flock.  It’s a kind of conjunctivitis, which is often associated with adverse weather of high winds and driving snow during the winter months.  This year our vet says that there have been a number of early outbreaks due to the wet conditions.  We have been treating and isolating the affected ewes and hope we now have it under control.

It has meant that we haven’t been able to send our three Hebridean ewes to our neighbour for tupping this year just in case they carried the infection with them.

We are hoping that the ewes will have had plenty of time with the tups and that some may still be in lamb this year.  It’s certainly not all plain sailing on a smallholding.