Blog
Winter time on the croft
Sunday 6th February 2011 – Wow – what a night on Thursday with windspeeds estimated at 90 mph !!! Went to look for the cows and Eric the bull on Thursday afternoon as they were not at their silage, but they are not stupid as they were all in the lee of the hill in the shelter, chewing the cud and looking at us as if to say …….. are you crazy – coming round the hill in this weather – don’t you know there’s a gale blowing ??? When we got home our old old Spaniel Meg got loose and the silly old deaf dog couldn’t hear us calling her. Average Spaniels are daft enough but deaf old ones are a real challenge !!! However all ended well and she appeared to enjoy her trip back home on the front seat of the pick up.
Sunday 23rd Januray 2011 – Much better weather, day length is stretching and animals are all well. Pregnancy scanning for the ewes is scheduled for 9th February – this will tell us if they are carrying twins, single or no lambs and enables us to manage their dietary requirements more efficiently. All cows have been confirmed in calf so now we wait for Spring when the hard work starts all over again!
Friday 7th January 2011 – Snow again today – hopefully this will be the last snow of the winter. It is lovely to look at, sledging and snowball fights but it can take it’s toll on the animals. The sheep and cattle are now getting a daily ration of concentrate feed to supplement their silage. The first calf is due in early March and lambs in the last week of March.
Wednesday 15th December 2010 – With the unusually prolonged snowy and freezing weather for Lewis all hands are on deck to keep up with the feeding of the animals. ‘Eric’ the bull, this year’s weaned calves and the pregnant ewes have been fed silage for the past month. The cows and heifers normally graze croftland 10 miles away in the township of Achmore with a supplement of concentrate feed on a daily basis, however due to the snowy conditions we are moving them back to Carloway today.