Sheep Dipping Time

Hello again from Dingley Dell, deep in the heart of Wales. Excuse me while I just have a good scratch...Ahhhh! there that's better. Sort of feel all itchy, so i do. My name is Gywneth and one of my best friends is named Bronwyn.

Fly and Shep

There are other friends of mine in this field. About 50 there are but i'm not to sure as sheep can't count too good. There may be more.

We all live on this farm called Foxglove Farm. Pretty name isn't it. It got it's name from the rather tall flowers that grow freely in the woods at the bottom of the present field we are in. We do get moved around from time to time to pastures new as it happens, so it seems.

Oh! here comes Fly, one of the farm dogs. "Hello Fly. What are you looking so smug about ? "

Fly barks and rounds us all up and says, " time for your annual dip ".

Us sheep don't like getting too near Fly. He has bad breath so he does.

Shep, another of the farm dogs and Farmer Jones is by the top gate of our field waiting for us girls. As we approach the gate he opens it allowing us to be driven out to where we are to be...dipped.

Today Farmer Jones has a 'helper', a Farmer Pilkington. If you remember I have mentioned the Pilkingtons before when their dog, a German Short Haired Pointer (gun dog to you and me), entered a Talent Contest. Our Grace, the sheep over there entered and did a wonderful rendition of 'The Sugar Plum Fairy' so she did. 

Anyway to get back to the point Farmer Pilkington has this long stick thing which he uses to push us girls under the water with. Three at a time we go through this sheep bath and get un-ceremon-iously right and properly dunked. I broke that last word up in case some of you find it hard to say like.

Angel, the white sheep with the blue eyes bleats, "Thought only biscuits gets dunked ! " as she splutters and coughs on scrambling out through the gate that appears when all parts of sheep have been thoroughly immersed.

3 at a time we go through the 'dip' Urgh!

This sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide which shepherds and farmers may use to protect their sheep from in-fes-tation against external parasites such as itch mite (Psorobia ovis), blow-fly, ticks and lice....another long word, well quite a few but I think you will manage to say them...if not I hear Farmer Jones often telling his long suffering wife to "Google It" whatever that is. So you could do the same couldn't you, see ?

As the sheep dips contain chemical insecticides that are highly toxic to aquatic plants and animals, it is important that the dip and us dipped sheep are well managed to avoid spreading the chemicals and causing water pollution and soil con-tam-in-ation.

Farmer Jones and Farmer Pilkington are VERY careful to follow instructions on sheep dipping which although protect us girls from all these nasty parasites, can be highly toxic to say the least. Rumours have been circulating that the health of thousands of farmers and their families are being destroyed by using highly toxic organo-phosphate (OP) chemicals to dip their sheep.

Ministers were only too aware that the government had forced the farmers to use these chemicals, which its own Veterinary Medicines Directorate had licensed as safe to use.

Needless to bleat, measurements were being taken by the use of overalls, wellington boots, gloves and such by our farmer owners to make it safe for them.

I baa'rs to the girls and gives them some information they might find useful, so I do "After using the sheep dip chemical, an approved enzyme is used at the place where we sheep were dipped to render it safe...well as safe as can be."

As I related this useful information to the other sheep in the flock, some of us thought we should protest against this

Angel demonstrates adequate protection !!!

chemical...and Myfanwy (the ewe that has a lisp) even went so far as to baa that she was going to request gloves, wellington boots, overalls and the such, next 'dipping'...else she "wouldn't be taking part so there", and stamps her front feet to make it plainer, see.

All done ! Back to the field we trot...all a little bit heavier...and you know what ? My itching thing had gone away !!!