After seeing so much snow over January & February, we had really hoped to see the back of it, especially with lambing fast approaching. We are due to start in a few days, so we really want to get the sheep indoors before any lambs are born outside in this new dump of wet, nasty snow!
It is so much harder to feed the sheep, as the snow is too deep for the quad bike to pull the snacker (above). We have had to hitch the snacker onto the back of a tractor to reach the sheep up on the higher ground! The snacker has been a great piece of machinery this winter. We have been feeding the sheep with it since the 28th of December, as the grass has been lacking in so much nutrition because of all the cold weather. The snacker is divided into two parts, the small part holds treacle, and the large part, mixed grains. When the wheels of the snacker move, it turns a wheel, which mixes the treacle with the grains, which then drops the mix onto the ground in small clumps! The sheep go mad for it, as it has everything in it to make their baby lambs grow.
Quad bike noise equals food! They can hear it from fields away, so are always at the fence to greet the bike!