Ovine Ultrasound

Countryside Column for 14 March 2014

A monitor to show ewe the spring lamb

Spring seems to have sprung and I’m not happy.

Usually I can’t wait for winter to end.  I love seeing snowdrops poking their noses up on verges. I venerate bunches of primroses and clumps of daffodils.  And  early pink and white blossom gives me hope of things to come.

But not this year.  It’s all too early.  Plus we haven’t really had winter yet.  I can only think of a couple of mornings when there’s been frost on the ground as I take Myrtle for her early run.  And she so loves the snow I feel somehow I’ve deprived her of her annual treat.

A good hard freeze would certainly help sort the fields.  The Land Rover will slip and slither on ice, but that’s better than being bogged down in mud.  And at least I’d be able to drive down to the bottom orchard to attend to the trees there.

That’s my problem with the early spring.  I’ve just not had enough decent days to do the pruning.  And the mild weather has brought the apple buds on, so as the blossom opens the pruning window will close

But the new season won’t wait for me. It’s certainly not waiting for the orchard sheep. Two-thirds have already gone back to the farm to lamb.  They’re the ones expecting twins or triplets.  The rest will be going soon.  It’s rather poignant. Most remaining ewes have green marks sprayed on their back to show they’re carrying singletons. Quite a few though have a red dot.  They’re the barren ones destined for slaughter.  There’s no sentimentality in sheep farming.  No lamb, no future.  And it’s all the fault of modern technology.

The same ultrasound that shows us a baby in the womb is now employed to find the fertility of a flock. The conditions are a little different though. The monitor and machine are run off a Land Rover battery via an inverter. The sheep are pushed through the pens in a line and the probe is held briefly against their woolen bellies.  The operator shouts the result and they are sprayed with the appropriate colour before being segregated into separate holding areas. There’s much baa-ing and bleating and pushing and pulling and hooves churning up the mud.

Next thing the lambs will be returning to gambol beneath the trees. Then we’ll know the new season really has started.