All 17 happily grazing the slopes by the silver birch in the sunshine. All very keen to receive nuts .
One or two hobbling slightly but nothing too concerning. Must admit that I didn't notice snotty noses !
Only a few handfuls of nuts left. Salt bucket empty (again !) Troughs and gates OK. No walkers.
Tim
All 17 sheep found towards the North East corner of the compartment (quite spread out).
16 are healthy, one has a slight limp and is slower than the others (by the sound of the weekend blog the limp has improved quite a lot).
Sheep nuts almost empty (enough for 2 maybe 3 days), Salt lick is empty, water troughs are full.
No dogs or walkers seen.
Gate 5 is not connecting to the latch and can be pushed open from outside the compartment, but not from within it. The gate closes under its own weight.
The main thing to note is that we think that one of the sheep needs to be seen by a professional, due to potential lameness (please see notes below).
1)All 17 sheep were counted and present, and all of them are in the central enclosure.
However, one of the sheep (a particularly small one) was a long way behind the others in terms of time and distance when coming for some food (from the tin of nuts in the tree near the water troughs).
There was possibly a bit of lameness in that particular sheep, when observed from a distance (less visible when nearby).
We would recommend that a good look is done by a professional - as soon as practical.
2)The salt lick (in the orange bucket) looks like it will need replenishing – there isn’t much left in the bucket, just a smallish lump
3)The water troughs are all ok and are filling properly.
4)Some paper litter has been picked up from the top path.
5)No one was seen in the central enclosure on Saturday, four people were seen on Sunday – but all without dogs.
6)Gate No 8 (the lower-level gate between the eastern and central enclosures) looks ok and secure.
So does gate 7 (the lower-level gate between the central and western enclosures).
So does gate 6 (the higher-level gate between the central and western enclosures).
7)At the top of the Down, the five barred gate which has a “Welcome to Broughton Down” notice swings shut under its own weight but the gate catch goes nowhere near the post – so it’s secure only under its own weight. From the map of gates you sent us Pippa we aren’t actually sure what number this gate is.
8)The swing gate approximately 50ft further east has no functioning gate catch mechanism – so a determined sheep might find a way through. (We are not sure what number this gate is).
We think it would be sensible to suggest to the Trust that all of the gates are numbered.
This could be done with a screw on number on each gate (like a house number).
That would make it easier to properly identify all of the gates that need to be catch secure, and also easier for anyone sorting out the gates to fix the right ones if a problem is spotted.
Pippa pp Paul Pethica & Will Hacking
Pleased to report that all 17 in fine form (congregated around the salt lick tub). Gates all ok. Plenty of nuts and lick. One walker with dog on lead.
Tim
All 17 sheep found in the North East corner of the Central Compartment and all looking healthy, phew !!
They all followed me to the sheep nuts and were very keen to have them today.
The water troughs were full and the sheep nuts about 45% full.
All fences were fine, but there is a slight problem with Gate 5 (in the South Western corner).
The latch isn't catching properly so you can push it open from outside the compartment, but with the weights I don't think the sheep could open it from inside the compartment.
No walkers or dogs seen.
There were 17 sheep who emerged when I went down. They followed along the fence line to where the nibbles are kept. The water trough is full and working. There were no dog walkers in the compartments while I was there (lunchtime). The top westerly gate does not latch properly although it is closed by the mechanism. The mid easterly gate at the bottom of the slope is secured by bailer twine not a proper latching mechanism. All the rest of the gates were in good order. We saw five hares in the open field below the western end of the enclosure. No other activity except as we were leaving an off road motorbike seemed to go along the path at the top end of the Trust land, I was not close so couldn't catch a number plate.
Pippa pp. Mike Mossman & Chris Lloyd
All 17 appear fine - were sheltering in the bottom thicket. Water, nuts and gates all ok. Salt lick bucket empty. Two ladies with 4 dogs outside the enclosure but advised them that sheep were in central compartment.
The sun actually came out briefly !
Tim
A nasty cold wind on the reserve today (from the N or NE I think) all the sheep were hiding in the central over grown area with Yews which was more sheltered.
I'm a bit confused about how many sheep there should be as I think there was one that died last Tuesday and another on Sunday, so I think there should be 18 ?
Anyway, after quite a bit of calling and shaking the margarine tub 18 sheep came to me (2 much later than the others) and all looked healthy although some have bramble in their coats (so I think I found them all ?).
Sheep Nuts are about half full and the 2 water troughs are full (and unfrozen today).
There is a sheep lick up at the top with some sheep lick left (I'm not sure how full it was to start with).
No walkers or dogs seen (even on the Clarendon Way).
Mary 07904217455
Pippa pp. Mary Hagger & Gwen McConnachie
A cold and windy morning on the Down but all 19 remaining Shetlands were on the lower slope waiting for the food bucket to be opened, all appear healthy. There is plenty of food and water.
One walker but no dogs.
All 20 sheep looked healthy.
Initially 14 were down near the food/water troughs, when I called the other 6 arrived from the undergrowth.
Sheep nuts about 35% full, water troughs full, salt lick empty.
No new trees down on fences.
No walkers or dogs seen on the reserve.
All fine Saturday I thought one was stuck in the fence but was just reaching for tasty foliage the other side
Hi team! All 37 sheep have been taken off site today to head back to our farm for some summer grazing. This will hopefully allow the wildflo...
