fattening the lambs

This seasons lambs are now 7 months old and have changed beyond recognition in those 7 months. Although most now weigh around 35 to 40 kilos, they need to fatten further before they can be  sold at market. By November the grass of of limited quality and the best fields have been saved for the ewe flock, so there is little chance of fattening the lambs at Borough Farm. Traditionally autumn lambs are fattened on root crops, such as stubble turnips and swedes, and this year I have been fortunate to be able to buy 22 acres of turnips from a neighboring dairy farmer.

It took several days for the lambs to decide that they could actually eat the turnip leaves, so I provided a grass field adjacent to the turnips for the lambs to graze until they became used to the turnip. However once they acquire the taste of the new feed they love it, so much so that the field has to be divided into small sections with an electric fence. Without this the lambs would walk over the whole crop, gorging themselves and trampling the turnips in the process. Every second day the fence has to be moved and  the lambs allowed to eat a new section, and now my arrival in the land rover is enough to bring the lambs running across the field bleating, in anticipation of a fresh section of turnip. Fly and Mist accompany on each occasion and understand that for a change their role is not to gather the sheep, but to hold them back until the fence is moved.