The Sheep Show Podcast with Jill & Andrew Noble

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Sheep are prey animals and prey animals have a flight zone. The flight zone of an animal is the area surrounding an animal that if encroached upon by a potential predator or threat, including humans, will cause alarm and escape behavior. 

We can use this to manage, move or muster sheep in a safe way in a paddock or in yards.

https://www.grandin.com/behaviour/principles/flight.zone.html

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All the behind the scenes info on pregnancy scanning and muscle scanning - how I found out my sheep have IMF (intra muscular fat!) and how I have increased my ewe to lamb percentage by nearly 50%!!! 

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What is sheep scanning, why do it and what do I use the data for? I've been scanning sheep two ways this week - here is why i do it!

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What are the differences and similarities with farming sheep in Australia and Ireland?  In this episode we chat again with Andrew, my brother about his time in Australia and what he has noticed while being on several sheep enterprises while here. 

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A bittersweet time for me in Ireland over the last 5 weeks. Here are all the tips and unusual strategies we used while lambing in Ireland with my brother. 

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Focus on Forelimbs 

Forelimbs, front legs or shoulders in a sheep actually hold up to 60 per cent of the weight of a sheep! I chatted with Matt Hill from Aurora Park Hampshire Downs and Border Leicester stud recently to explore all things fore in sheep! 

How important are shoulders?

Matt remarks that there is more pressure on the front legs as they hold up more of the animal overall. Shoulders are important for three crucial functions. These are: standing up, walking and running. As a prey animal their shoulder function is built to run away from predators—like running away from us when we walk into their paddocks sometimes! Their shoulder function is built to run and run fast!

Matt Hill is a third-generation sheep farmer and stud breeder. Matt actually breeds seven breeds of sheep, three breeds being registered ASSBA stud sheep! Matt is a prolific collector and reader of sheep books and a big podcast consumer too. 

Matt runs Aurora Park Hampshire Down and Border Leicester stud. He also has a Shropshire stud too! Matt also runs Shepherd Tech, a Laparoscopic AI services business specialising in AI in Sheep. 

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So what is the natural grazing behaviour of sheep and how does it compare to a goat or cow. When should my sheep be feeding/eating and for how long? No doubt there are all thoughts you have had while ruminating on your sheep! Well in this episode I explore my own observations and research on the topic of sheep grazing behaviour.
 Enjoy ruminating on this one!

Here are the big words I mentioned:
Crepuscular pattern - grazing at twilight and dusk

Photosynthetic activity in plants in then afternoon

Research mentioned:
www.redalyc.org/journal/3031/303168054026/html/

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We will all have to deal with the death of a sheep maybe from natural causes like old age or you may even need to euthanise an animal.  What are the options so you treat the animal in a moral and ethical way at the end of their life. What do you do with their body. In this episode we explore some options for you to think about. 
Do know that there may be legal requirements that you need to follow for this in your location or state. 

Here is a US link which has lots of other links which may help you:  https://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/mortality.htm

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Can a single born ram produce twins? Who makes that biggest difference the ewe or the ram? In the episode we explore who is more important in the twinning game! 

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 Did you know that 95% of parasites are on pasture and only about 5% are within the sheep. This means parasite larvae numbers present in the pasture are an important factor to consider for worm management. So how do you manage worms on your farm and in your fields, we explore several approaches in this episode  for you. 

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