This section describes a typical year's work with sheep on an Exmoor farm, although there will be some variation, for example due to weather conditions, and farm location and size.
Autumn/Winter
In late October/November rams are put in to mate with the ewes which then lamb in about April, when the worst of the winter weather is over. Mating is called 'tupping'. There is one ram to 40 or 50 ewes and each ram has a coloured patch or raddle on its chest to mark the ewes when they mate. The colour of the raddle is changed each week so that the farmer knows which week the ewes will be due to lamb in the spring.
Traditionally, ewes and rams are kept out through the winter and are generally fed hay and silage from mid January, depending on the weather and the amount of grazing available. Some farmers over-winter their sheep in sheds as an alternative. In the six weeks up to lambing the ewes will be fed concentrated food as an additional supplement.
Spring - lambing
Some farmers still lamb their ewes outside, which is a more traditional method, but lambs can be lost due to exposure or in some cases to foxes. Where buildings are available, ewes are brought inside shortly before lambing. Following the lambing, they are kept inside for a few days before being turned out into the fields. About 65% of the ewes will have a single lamb, the rest of the flock will have twins and occasionally triplets. Each lamb is marked at birth, generally by a coloured number, so that it can be identified with its mother who is also marked. On the fast growing spring grass, the ewes naturally produce plenty of milk and the lambs grow quickly.
Once outside, the ewes and lambs have to be checked several times a day to pick out any sickly or weak lambs and to make sure no lambs have been separated from their mothers.
The ewes and lambs are moved around the farm from field to field about every three weeks. This breaks up the life cycle of the parasitic worm which is one of the worst killers of young lambs. After six weeks, lambs are wormed regularly to make sure that their growth is not reduced by this parasite. Certain fields on the farm are now laid up for hay and arable land may be ploughed for drilling root crops for the following winter. The ewes are 'dagged' to remove all the mucky wool around their bottoms!
Summer
Shearing (removing the sheep's wool coat or fleece) takes place in early June. This may then be followed by 'dipping' the sheep in a special solution to prevent flies from laying eggs on the fleece.
Silage and hay are made during June and July, depending on the weather. After this, the lambs will be weaned from their mothers. By the end of August the first of the lambs will be 'fat', weighing around 18-20 kilos (dead weight), and will be ready for the butcher. Fat lambs will continue to be sold throughout the Autumn with the lighter lambs being kept as 'stores'. These will be fattened over the winter to be sold after Christmas and in the spring. Once the lambs are weaned the ewes are left out to graze in fields or on the open moor until tupping begins again in late autumn.