Everything you ever wanted to know about keeping sheep - our two comprehensive courses, packed into one weekend!

Saturday 18th October - Sheep: Health & Husbandry

Sunday 19th October - Sheep: Breeding, Pregnancy & Lambing

Immerse yourself in the world of sheep over this packed weekend, with back-to-back courses. Full details of each course are given below.

There are some very nice places to stay nearby - have a look at our suggestions here: https://www.argaecottage.co.uk/local-accommodation

Saturday - Sheep: Health & Husbandry (10am - 5pm)

Before you start:  Choosing the right breed for you.  How and where to buy sheep.  Legislation and paperwork required.

​

Handling: Essential facilities and handling equipment for small flocks.  Hands-on sheep handling - learn the essentials such as moving sheep, catching, turning, checking and trimming feet. We'll show you how to carry out a general health check, condition score and how to give medications and injections.

​

Grazing and Feeding: A look at grassland and our rotational grazing system.  Nutritional requirements and feeding the pregnant ewe.

​

Routine Healthcare: Vaccinations, worming, worm egg counts, footcare and other routine tasks.  How to create a health plan for your flock.

​

Health Problems:  A look at some of the common sheep ailments, how to treat and prevent problems.

Sunday - Sheep: Breeding, Pregnancy & Lambing (10am - 5pm)

Preparation: Planning for lambing - pre-breeding health checks, tupping, scanning.  Pre-lambing vaccinations.

​

Feeding the Pregnant Ewe: Body condition scoring, planning rations and supplements.  Metabolic problems related to nutrition - twin lamb disease and hypocalcaemia.

​

Lambing Shed:  Setting up, pens, essential equipment.  Hygiene in the lambing shed.  Lambing indoors vs outdoors.

​

Normal Lambing:  We will look at how a normal lambing proceeds, timings, and when you might need to intervene.  We obviously cannot guarantee a 'live' lambing during the course, so we have plenty of good videos available to demonstrate this process.

​

 Assisted Lambing: When to intervene.  Recognising and dealing with abnormal presentations.   When to call the vet!   This is a practical session, using our realistic simulator, where you will gain the confidence to assist your own ewes during the lambing process.

​

Care of Newborns: Ensuring vital colostrum intake.  Tube feeding.  Routine tasks - navel dipping, castration & tail docking (we will look at the ethics of these procedures, and some improved welfare options)  Managing and avoidoing common problems such as hypothermia, watery mouth, joint ill.

​

Orphan Lambs:  Adopting & 'twinning on'.  Bottle feeding and rearing.

​

The aim of this course is to send you away with the knowledge to prepare your own flock for a healthy, problem free lambing time - and to be able to confidently deal with any issues that do arise.

​

Orphan Lambs:  Adopting & 'twinning on'.  Bottle feeding and rearing.

What else is Included?

A homecooked lunch will be provided on both days, featuring delicious produce straight from our smallholding.   There will also be plenty of tea/coffee and homebaking.

All courses include a comprehensive book, covering all of the information taught during the day.

Courses are held in small groups (max 10 people on this course), and are relaxed, friendly events. Questions and discussion are encouraged!

Many people stay in touch following the course, and we are very happy to answer any further questions you might have after the day.

​

Please note that there is a minimum age of 16 for all courses.