Breeding Rare Breed Sheep

There are many rare breed sheep in the UK, such as Boreray, Soay, Jacobs and Grey Face Dartmoor. To keep these breeds from going extinct we need to keep the bloodline pure whilst preventing in-breeding (where 2 sheep that are closely related, e.g. a father and daughter, breed). In-breeding commonly causes birth defects.

In order to ensure the bloodline is pure without being in-bred, farmers must record the breeding of their sheep so that they can track which ram breeds with which ewe, and which lambs they have.  Every sheep has an ear tag with its identification number, and the identification number of the breeder.  The farmers can use these records to keep track of their breeding stock.  Once a ram has been used several times, a farmer may sell it on and buy a new, unrelated ram to replace it.

The Boreray are the rarest native sheep in the UK, with only about 300 sheep.  It must be very hard to find an unrelated ram in such a small gene pool.

A Grey Face Dartmoor Ewe at Spring Grove

Tupping Time at Spring Grove

It is tupping time at Spring Grove.  As they breed rare breed sheep at Spring Grove it is important to mate the correct ram with the ewes in order to maintain the purity of the breed.  Click on the link to see a video where I talk to Scott Harding about the key attributes he looks for in a good stud ram.

How to Warm your Dragon

I have a Bearded Dragon, called Spike. Recently he hasn’t been eating and his faeces have been mostly urates rather than faecal matter.  Last week, we decided to take him to the vet.

Bearded dragons, like all reptiles, are ectotherms (cold blooded) and cannot regulate their own body temperature.  They need to be kept at the right temperature when they are out of their vivarium.  If you do not keep them warm it will affect their bodily functions, such as digestion – which only happens between 100-115 deg F.  This is why you will see them basking on a hot rock after they have eaten.

 

The Trip There

On the trip to the vet, we used a plastic bucket, lined with newspaper and with a towel which we had warmed in the tumble dryer. 

The Trip Back

After the long stay at the vet, the towel had gone cold, so this would not work for keeping Spike warm on the way back.  Instead we got a hand warmer, activated it, and put it under the towel (so that his claws would not puncture it).  This generated enough heat to keep Spike warm on the way back home.