Winter Preparations....

The winds are roaring, the snow is falling, the temperature is well below 0. No animal dares to come out, the trees bent at near right angles with the relentless blow of the wind. Only a faithful farmer, battling the elements, wrapped up like an eskimo, is out.

Inside the stables is a cosy scene, the sheep slowly chewing the cud, one drinking water, another eating some haylage. As the farmer stumbles into the stable, with at whirl of snow behind him, he slams the doors shut, and is greeted by some welcome bleats from the sheep...

Winter is coming, its only 2 months away. Thankfully we have plenty of housing in our farm, 6 individual stables in all, 2 of which are in the sheep field.

This is the first time I have kept sheep during the winter. And how i was planning how to look after them was like this.

I was going to take them into the stables, and make a feed trough and indoor drinker for them and then lock them up for the winter.

But I wasn't sure so I decided to Google some info about it and here's what I found.

1. Keep them fed - obviously during the winter, the ground is wet, the snow is on the ground and the grass isn't really growing, so its clear that I need to keep them fed, with whatever, silage, haylage, ground feed or grain.

2. Make sure they always have access to warm water - I would have never have thought of it, but sheep are less likely to drink water during the winter, because as the weather cools, so does the water, so to us, its like trying to drink an ice-cube. So if you give them warm water, they are more likely to drink the water that they need.

3. Keep them dry (obviously) - They need shelter during the winter, which is clear and apparent, even if its just a windbreak, or a roof.

4. But....don't lock them in - I was surprised at this one, i would have gone right ahead and locked them in the stables, but the experts say this. Actually its quite a simple reason, because sheep need exercise, and fresh air. So have a good shelter available, like a stable or a barn, but don't lock them inside unless your sure of the next point.

5. Ventilation - This is an important point, make sure that they have enough fresh air, because otherwise they will suffocate, so keep the doors and windows open, even during a blizzard.

6. If you are comfortable, they are not - One thing I found out is that if you can work in the housing without a coat on, they are too hot, (too hot! I didn't know sheep could get 'too hot' in the winter) but if you can work with a coat on and not be too hot, then it should be fine.

7. Clean bedding - Make sure you keep them clean, even because there are no flies and smell(because of the cold) the sheep can still catch paradisal diseases from the bacteria in the bedding.

So surprisingly enough, you can keep them outside during the winter, because actually they have a permanent coat so they can actually can get too hot.

Has anyone got any tips for me?

Please put them in the chat.