Even in December you can get an occasional good day to dip. Today its dampish but mild which is exactly right for dipping the last few sheep. Too big a contrast in temperature isn't ideal and dipping during frosty weather is not recommended.
At Pry House Farm we dip our sheep once a year. They are dipped to keep their skin & fleece clean and free from disease. There are other methods but the alternatives are simply not thorough enough. So once again, its a case of 'The old ways are the best'. The sheep are in the tub for less than a minute. Its not cruel. Sheep scab, on the other hand, is. Its nasty, its contagious and soon makes sheep sore and out of condition.
Once they have had a good soaking the trap door is lifted, the sheep walk up the ramp out of the dipping tub and have a jolly good shake!
A shake of the head and a rattle of the ears and the job is done.
The mark on the back of the head is the ewe's 'heaft mark'. This red mark shows that these sheep are off our High Seat heaft.
The yellow raddle mark proves they have been covered by the tup. All sheep with a yellow bottom will lamb within the first fortnight of lambing time (last 2 weeks of April).
