The unpredictable weather since the start of lambing last week has meant something of a Lanigan’s Ball for the ewes: they step out, then they step in again.

If out-by-day and in-by-night is good enough for dairy farmers, it is good enough for us mere mortal sheep farmers too.

Being back in the shed at night also means the lambs are off the local foxes’ menu, and thankfully we have not lost any to this ginger predator at time of writing.

What could be helping in this regard is the liberal use of shoe polish. Bear with me on this one a minute. I asked a question on social media regarding Stockholm Tar, which is used on young lambs’ necks and tails when they are left out with their mammies in an effort to discourage foxes.

Shoe polish

Plenty of good sheep farmers offered advice on using it, including how to keep its messy texture from going everywhere.

Just as I was about to go off and buy the Stockholm Tar, one Twitter user said he had been using shoe polish for the very same purpose for years, and it was doing the business for him.

Now, fashions change all the time and there are not many wearing shiny shoes these days so the market for shoe polish is somewhat small.

But I did manage to find some under the sink in my mother’s house, and when that ran out I located more in a shop that sells a bit of everything in the local village.

I am not sure how long the little tin of Nugget Shoe Polish was on the shelf, but its price tag said 55p. In case we are on another new currency the next time I need some, I splashed out and bought two of them.

Lambing

Overall, lambing has gone exceptionally well for us so far. We are halfway through and have an average of just over 2.0 lambs per ewe joined to the ram. Our target before we started was 1.5, so we should hit that at least when all is said and done.

This is our third year lambing sheep (fourth if you count the seven we lambed in 2016) and we have never gone above 1.2 before now.

There have been no major changes in our approach, but we have made a half-dozen minor changes over the past three years.

Ewes now get beet as part of their late-pregnancy diet. We invested in high-quality maternal ewes from two very reputable flocks; we got a loan of two elite terminal rams for 2018’s breeding season. Housing and feed space have been improved and a few other little things here and there have all helped.

Weather

The biggest contributor though has been the most uncontrollable factor of all – the weather. The mild winter meant plenty grass and a shorter housing period for ewes. They are in great condition—averaging a BCS of 3.5 at housing—and they are much less stressed.

So, a little bit of Lanigan’s Ball is fine now as we negotiate March of many weathers, especially since we have plenty polish to keep our dancing shoes right.