Quake

All thoughts of blogging went out the door very rapidly last week, when Christchurch was shaken to the core.  But Facebook was invaluable tracking family and friends down as we have no cellphone coverage up here.  Only one we know of so far has been seriously injured, but at least alive, and all the family ok physically.  Just feel for all the poor people still awaiting real news about missing loved ones.  For many it will now be a case of  just hoping to get them back so they can mourn and bury them properly.  2 minutes silence today at 12.51 NZ time.

A Sustainable fibre - as natural as you can get.

Just starting - belly wool off

Weaning over, shearing done.  As we run Perendales which are notorious for escaping (new fence, can't go under, can't go through - oh well no probs just jump it!) we shear all the ewe lambs we are going to keep, then we cull any that are found shorn in the wrong paddock - sort of works.  By the time they are a few years old there are always some where they're not supposed to be.  Anyway -
The day after the ewe lambs are weaned they are shorn - so they go into sheds overnight to keep them dry, and the shearing gang arrives at 7am next morning. 




Almost finished



But I don't want to go down that hole!



Classing the wool



Down the hole you go



On the 2nd side



Removing impurities

Oh Noo don't like waiting for my turn

Wool into the woolpress



All baled up

 Looks easy doesn't it, but believe me it's not and shearers and most shedhands really earn their money.

You look a bit different now, I'm sure I don't look like that!



And contrary to what some people believe the sheep does not die so the wool can be harvested.  It is a truly sustainable fibre.

Whew!! A busy week

Weaning the lambs is always a busy week, and thankfully it wasn't too hot,  yesterday we were at 40 degC and today its over 30 again. 
But wasn't good on the Wednesday when everything had to come down to the yards for drafting (separating the ewes and lambs) that evening.  It was blowing a gale - Norwesterly wind getting up to about 120 - 130 kmph, you really appreciate just how terrible a cyclone at 250 - 300 kmph would be, as what we get are bad enough.  Luckily the wind didn't last all day, and by the time I had to go out in it things weren't too bad.  The Boss already had half the sheep down, before  I had to do anything which was good.  Anyway the last half were into the yards by 5.15pm and Drafter (our Stock agent) arrived at 5.30pm.  His son came with him, so saved No 3 Daughter from yard time - or should I say DUST TIME!!

The work's about to start

Not rain, but dust



Drafting



Two trucks and an escapee

 By the time all the drafting was done, and the cryptorchid lambs were all resorted into those that were going to the buyer on the trucks next morning, and the ones staying were in different yards it was 10pm.   Then for The Boss it was out the door early next morning to load the trucks. 

We then drafted off all the ewe lambs, sorted them up into those being kept for breeding, and those we'll fatten or sell as stores to someone else, and by the end of the day the ewe lambs were into the shearing shed for shearing the following day.

Cryptorchid lambs - have their testicles remaining, but pushed up into the belly slightly by the purse being removed by a rubber ring  at tailing time.  This makes them infertile, doesn't cause any pain after the initial few minutes as the blood flow to the purse is stopped, and provides overseas markets with the lean meat they desire.  A Wether lamb - has purse and testicles removed - tends to be more fatty.

Store Lambs - are not heavy or correctly conditioned enough to be killed at the Meat Works so they are onsold to Fattening farms to grow out.  Our growing season is too short to allow us to do that with any large numbers.

Oh - the escapee did make it onto the truck!