The Lambing Season

Sheep and lambs Lamb Sheep at Walltown

Walking your dog in the National Park during the lambing season

We do suggest to owners of dogs that during the lambing period, where stock is present, they keep dogs on a lead when walking on Public Rights of Way, even though legislation only suggests keeping dogs under close control.

However legislation under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) relating to dogs in the countryside has slightly complicated the issue. Dogs on access areas identified under the Act need to be kept on a lead. In some cases dog exclusion notices have been served on sensitive areas - mainly relating to nesting birds. But if the owner is on a Public Right of Way crossing the access area the dog only needs to be under close control.

So why are farmers so concerned about dogs at lambing time? Apart from the obvious rogue dogs running wild and physically worrying and often killing sheep or causing them to abort, there are a number of reasons.

Movement of grazing stock

Lambing is the main harvest for the hill farmer. This one time of year influences on average two-thirds of the farm’s annual income. The farmer is doing everything possible as a stockman to maximise the potential return from his ewes.

He/she has had them all scanned to check which ewes will produce twins and has separated these ewes and put them on better grazing, usually on an in-bye field which produces silage or hay later in the spring. As this type of grazing is limited the ewes with singles are returned to the hill where good grazing opportunities have been identified.

Good grazing is vital to the condition of the sheep running up to and during lambing.  The sheep will naturally move onto the areas where there is good grazing. If people walk through these areas the sheep tend to move a short distance and resume grazing.

If you bring a dog into this situation, especially off the lead, the behaviour of the sheep changes dramatically. They will move away at speed and flock together for protection.  This rapid movement usually attracts the dogs’ attention and the majority of dogs will follow their basic instinct and run after the sheep. This moves the sheep even further from the grazing area even if the dog is called back by its owner. It will take a long time for the sheep to settle, move back and resume grazing. If this is repeated time and again the sheep may be excluded from the grazing for quite some time. Restriction of grazing on top of constant movement will eventually affect the sheep’s condition which could result in difficult births and underweight, weak lambs.

Disturbance during lambing

Running up to the moment of birth the ewe will pick her spot to lamb. The majority of times this will be a quiet sheltered spot away from the main flock. If the ewe is disturbed at this critical time it can cause complications and even the death of a half born lamb or in extreme cases the death of the ewe. The owner of a dog may be totally unaware that the dog has caused any problems and happily continue the walk, calling the dog in to again run ahead of the walkers. If disturbance happens just after the lamb has been born the ewe will rapidly move away from the dog leaving the lamb before bonding has begun. In some cases the ewe will lose interest and abandon the lamb leaving it exposed to weather and predators.

Feeding

During lambing the farmer/shepherd will continually monitor the ewes checking them through the day and night. As lambs are born he/she will spray a number on the lamb corresponding with the mother. This helps to match lamb to ewe to monitor feeding and motherly care. Good milk supply to the lamb is especially important over the first few days and becomes critical during bad weather. The only protection the lamb has from hypothermia is a good supply of mother’s milk.

If there is disturbance due to movement from dogs, lambs become parted from mothers and feeding becomes erratic.

To supplement grazing the shepherd will feed food pellets in troughs to the ewes, and supply licks to provide nutrients and mineral supplements. During feeding the ewes push forward and compete for space along the troughs leaving lambs to mix and wander around. Following feeding the shepherd will ensure all lambs are paired with their mothers, at times physically picking up lambs and putting them back with the mother.  This exercise is very important in bad weather and can be time consuming.

Imagine how the shepherd feels, especially after three days without sleep and it is pouring with rain and sleet if after all this effort and care he/she turns round to witness a dog running loose causing mayhem amongst the paired flock. Even worse is if the event takes place just after the shepherd has left and lambs remain mixed, abandoned or lost until the next check later in the day!

So we would appreciate your co-operation in the lambing season.  Please keep your dog on a lead in areas near sheep.