Moose wrote
On 9/3/2016 11:05 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> I am
posting this from Oxford, having travelled here from Cardiff earlier
today. Yesterday I drove around in the beautiful Welsh countryside, up
to the town of Brecon. The area around it the Brecon Beacons National
Park, beautiful even in rain. I hiked up a hill and made a new friend:
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-PWKnGHt/A [1]
That reminds
me of my distant past. The last time I saw a sheep with that much blood
on it, it was dead and eviscerated.
What was scary was that it wasn't
there a couple of hours earlier, when we passed the same spot in the
other direction.
I suppose it's more likely paint for ID, in this
case.
Sheepish Moose
I don't know if Welsh farmers do as farmers do
where I live, most likely as the paint ( actually a kind of large crayon
used on wool, which doesn't mark it permanently - called 'raddle' ) ( I
never realised I had that named stored in my memory bank), is used to
tell the farmer if the ewe has been mated.
When the rams are put out
with the ewes (tupping time), the rams are fitted with a harness
carrying the raddle on their chest so that the farmer can tell whether
or not a ewe has been mated and therefore likely to have a lamb.
Those
which have not mated are likely to be separated off (drafted) and sent
early to the meat works / slaughterhouse. Barren ewes have a lesser
value on a farm producing both meat and wool.
The rams are let loose
with the ewes at a time which ensures that all the lambs are born at a
time which suits best spring grass growth and before the drier summer.
Lamb size and growth are therefore maximised, and when they in turn are
sent to the meat works (also to suit expected market values).
The
timing of farm operations is not random. It's mostly about the money.
The sheep don't know that, of course!
Brian
Links:
------
[1]
http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/i-PWKnGHt/A
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