Early in my week at home in Uist recently I was supposed to be taking the five Hebridean wedders/wethers to the abbatoir near Lochmaddy.  The day before Denise and I agreed that the young ram lamb would have to go too, as we had no means to manage him properly.  I got everything ready the day before to transport them early in the morning.

Morning came and Denise and I went over to the croft to drive the sheep into the fold and extract the sheep we’d be taking off.  The sheep had other ideas!  It became apparent that during my six weeks away a fault had developed with the electric fencing and not only was the dividing electric fencing not active, even when I reactivated it the sheep were completely unafraid and ducked and dived through the gaps!  Even with Iain Ruaraidh’s help (a near neighbour in Bun a Mhuillin) we hadn’t a chance. We had no choice but to cancel.

Later in the week, thinking about re-scheduling the trip to the abbatoir to November, I realized we urgently needed to get the young ram out, or otherwise he’d start to take an interest in any female, his sisters or aunts or mother or whatever!  In the end I asked my neighbour Seonaidh MacInnes, who not only is very experienced with livestock but also has sheep dogs, and asked his advice.  No problem, he said, he could get the ram out.  But rather than take him to the abbatoir, why not put him on a small island between Eriskay and Stack: he was going to take some sheep down to Stack and could drop him off on the way.  He’d have to stay there until the spring (that’s the ram, not Seonaidh!) but the grazing was good, and though the weather might be wild it would at least toughen him up: Hebrideans are supposed to be a hardy primitive breed!

So, let’s hope that goes smoothly! But I’ve still yet to organize the wedders off to the abbatoir, and a tup for the ewes, all in November.