The time has come to dock the lambs tails and castrate the boys bits.
The most difficult part was getting the sheep into the pen. There were 3 of us... and 15 sheep/lambs. It took us at least an hour or so to round them up, running around the paddock... we need a bigger pen, a smaller paddock and a trained farm dog would be nice too. I'm not sure if it is the same with all sheep breeds, but these Arapawa Sheep, are very skittish. One jumped out of the pen below, right over the top.
Finally In The Pen.
I'm all for docking the lambs tails as the sheep we've purchased, some have their tails, and some don't, but the one's with no tails are much cleaner at their rare end, compared to the sheep with their tails still attached. Surely a cleaner butt is a good thing for the sheep.
So Cuddly...Both Of Us!
However I was unsure whether we should castrate the boy lambs or not, especially when within a year they will end up on the dinner plate. After chatting to a few people everyone said castrate them, so I did... poor little boys, the girls just got on with it after putting the ring on their tails, but you could see the boys were not comfortable. I could feel their pain... so that will be the last time I do that. The boys in the future can keep their bits. I'd read the boys with their bits still attached, will grow quicker too. So I don't see there is any point in putting them through any unnecessary stress and pain... well that is until the time comes a calling for Lamb Shanks or Roast Lamb!
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