17 September 2022

First Three Gone

There is just the one question on the lips of every farmer I come across these days: "Have you any lambs away yet?" I don't know what sort of miracle grow these people are feeding their sheep, but our March and April born lambs are only just now approaching market weight. I've been asked this question all summer. Every time I have replied, "No, none yet." Cue the shocked response, "Really?"

My response is now, "Yes, three." My boys Eamon, Eli and Eddie, were born in February and were, honestly, probably ready to sell six weeks earlier. The silage just kept us so busy.

Eamon, Tilly's son, and Eli, Rosie's, were not the hardest lambs to say goodbye to. I knew their fates from the moment they were born. Eddie, Rosie's other son and Eli's twin brother, was a harder one. He was a pet lamb, and on another year I might have kept him just as a pet. But there were just so many pet lambs this year that I couldn't justify keeping him.

Because these were the first three to go, I thought I'd take some photos of them.

Eamon and Eli in the race, getting tagged and marked for sale. (Eddie's there too, just behind them.)

The boys in the trailer before leaving for the saleyard.

Eamon.

Eamon and Eddie's bum.

Eli.

Eddie.

Goodbye, boys.

No comments:

Post a Comment