Weaning!

Well, first things first, we bring the mobs in! Mustering now takes place early in the morning or in the evening cool. We do this for two reasons; it's kinder to the sheep in the cool, and it's quicker as they're not slow and thirsty in the heat.

The lambs are drafted off mum, given a booster needle for their vaccinations, drenched to give them the best worm free start possible, and sprayed with Clik. Clik is a pink chemical that is harmless to animals and humans but deters flies thus ensuring they don't get fly struck for a certain period of time. What next?

They get pushed into a paddock (this is a very slow process as they're not bike and pressure savvy yet), this year it's a pasture paddock that we locked up for the winter season. It has oceans of ryegrass and clover (as you can see above) and we've cut tracks through the paddock for them which doubles as our summer hay quota. From here on out we have to monitor the weaners very closely as they do silly things like walking in the mud in the dam or not walking to the dam at all. Funnily enough I watched one voluntarily swim across the dam this week. Very strange occurrence!

Before we wean we go out with the sheep feeder and give the ewes and lambs a quick 'training feed'. This helps in summer time when we have to supplement the pasture that is or isn't left. The lambs learn to pick up the grain and get the idea that sometimes it's ok to chase the ute, not run away from it!

Our other feed option for the weaners is to put them into a small paddock we grow kikuyu (lawn) in. This stays green in our low lying wet country through the bulk of summer and is great for giving the weaners a boost!