An Introduction to SHEEP Keeping |
Course title: An Introduction to SHEEP Keeping
Start & end time: 10:00am – 5:00pm,
Venue: South Yeo Farm East
Tutor: Gillian Dixon
Course type: Classroom & practical handling
Course materials: Summary handouts to take away
Provided: Teas, coffees, soft drinks, biscuits, course pack & handouts
What you need to bring: Packed lunch, clean outdoor clothes & wellies
Who is this course designed for?
Anyone with an interest in keeping sheep who wants to know how to get started - either with your first few animals or before you buy. Opportunity for plenty of questions
The course will cover the following:
Regulations: What you need to know or have in place - Holding number/CPH, Flock number, current Ear tagging rules, movement licences, Transport regulations, Standstill periods, Flock records, medicine books, Public liability insurance, Fallen stock, Annual Inventory, Cross Compliance
Choosing the right breed for you: Size, need (meat, wool, milk, lawnmowers), market, pedigree, ‘look’, land capacity; Buying stock - private, market, society sales. What to look for / what to avoid. What age to buy your sheep
The Shepherd’s year: Daily/weekly routine, Breeding, Feeding, Caring for the in-lamb ewe, Lambing, Caring for lambs, Shearing
Managing the land for sheep: Fencing, Grazing - rotation, grass height, Housing / shelters, Handling facilities / equipment
Caring for your sheep: Routine / most likely husbandry tasks, health care looking at foot trimming, worming, fluke treatment, fly prevention & more…
Meet the sheep (practical session): Equipment, Signs of good / poor health, Condition scoring, Foot trimming, Dagging, Drenching, Ear tagging, Injecting, moving sheep/loading onto trailers
Sending sheep to the butcher: the process of booking them in, prepraring lambs to go ‘off’, butchery cutting lists
Summary & handouts
