Storm has arrived.

"The Once in a Lifetime" Storm has arrived, although I think I can actually remember 5 or 6 that have been worse.  Hopefully it remains that way.  And apart from the fact that there are still some cows up higher than they should be, we have done all we can.  Surprisingly the worst thing for cows stuck in snow is they can't get enough to drink, but there won't be enough up there as yet, as only about 15cm down here, although it is drifting with the high winds.



Yesterday




Today




Sheep scanner - the ewes come up the ramp, stand to the right of the screen and the operator puts his hand with the scanner under the uterus to check for pregnancy




In position and ready to go

Pregnancy scanning of ewes has been one of the most valuable developments of our farming career.  Why?  Because it allows us to identify the ewes carrying multiple lambs and treat them appropriately for good ewe and lamb health.  We can also sell the ones that are dry (no lamb) and don't put good feed into them.

After scanning we draft the ewes into separate mobs - twins (and triplets) and singles (only 1 lamb).  The twinning ewes then go onto the best feed we've got saved, and are fed basically all they can eat in the latter stages of pregnancy (except at the moment as everything is covered in snow).  The singles don't require so much, so they are rationed more. 
At crutching time the twinners don't get the night off feed in the shearing shed, as to be shorn comfortably (for both the sheep and shearer) sheep can't be full of feed.  The singles do the night, and this means we don't get metabolic disorders occurring as we used too, before we could identify what a ewe was carrying.

At lambing time the twinners again go onto the best feed as they have to produce milk for 2 or more lambs, and they also go into the best sheltered paddocks.  Multiple birth lambs are smaller than single births and not as strong, so they can't cope with as much bad weather,

Yesterday after scanning the twinners at least got a good bellyful of really good grass, which by the sound of it they'll need as this storm is supposed to last most of the week, and the snow will soon be too deep for them to dig down to the grass.