It must be spring..... Options

[lordtup]

Sometimes I hold my head in despair at the British press . While sitting in the barbers yesterday I happened upon an article in the Daily Mail ( date not noted ) that stated that spring was imminent because new born lambs had been spotted .
Ye gods and tiny fishes who writes this drivel ? The sad thing is that a proportion of readership probably believed it .
With this sort of "education" is it any wonder teenagers become pregnant before their time .

[JeffG]

Well, I consider myself reasonably well educated, but I have always associated new-born lambs with one of the things that happens at spring-time.

Perhaps a country person or farmer would think or know differently.

And I never became pregnant as a teenager

[lordtup]

Well, I consider myself reasonably well educated, but I have always associated new-born lambs with one of the things that happens at spring-time.

Perhaps a country person or farmer would think or know differently.

And I never became pregnant as a teenager

Glad to hear that you behaved in a responsible manner during your youth , but the procreation principal is the same in all mammals . For the human the gestation period is 9 months for the sheep it is 5 , but both are reliant on a male of the species being present at conception .
The farmer has control over the dates his sheep interact ( autumn only ), not something the average man in the street goes for .

[Jayjay]

Glad to hear that you behaved in a responsible manner during your youth , but the procreation principal is the same in all mammals . For the human the gestation period is 9 months for the sheep it is 5 , but both are reliant on a male of the species being present at conception .
The farmer has control over the dates his sheep interact ( autumn only ), not something the average man in the street goes for .

Understand the principal that the farmer lets the sheep mate in the autumn, thus new lambs in February/March. Over the years have read lots of reports of lambs lost in the snow - so why mate the lambs in the Autumn?

I didn't get pregnant as a teenager, but until recent years have been a city girl so forgive the ignorance on country matters.

[Strafin]

I have been unable to find that particular article on the website and wonder if you misread or misinterpreted something. I did however find this which I thought was cute and worth sharing
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...life-glory.html

[lordtup]

Understand the principal that the farmer lets the sheep mate in the autumn, thus new lambs in February/March. Over the years have read lots of reports of lambs lost in the snow - so why mate the lambs in the Autumn?

I didn't get pregnant as a teenager, but until recent years have been a city girl so forgive the ignorance on country matters.

The science bit as they say....
Sheep , with the exception of the Dorset Horn breed , are seasonal breeders as opposed to opportunist breeders such as our good selves . The ewe's oestrus cycle is triggered by the reducing daylight in the autumn ( photo periodicity ) this is primarily designed so the sheep produces her offspring in the early spring so to take advantage of the flush of new grass to produce milk for the lamb . This natural cycle has been harnessed by the farmer to maximise output .
Now neither sheep nor farmer has any idea what the weather is going to be like 5 months hence so it's a bit of a leap of faith to get the dates right , too early and run the risk of a late spring , to late and the market for your produce is diminished .
One of the sad things about our present countryside is the noticeable lack of flocks of sheep in the fields . Importing our food may suit the supermarket 's balance sheets but we all know where it's going to end .