Brian came in to tell Finn about sheep farming on Coll

How many sheep do you have?
About 400

What types of sheep are they?
Two different types - blackfaces and blackface x leicester crossbred.

When is lambing time?
March 25th. It lasts for 6 weeks. Sometimes the ewes have twins!

When do you shear the sheeps woolly coats?
At the end of June and beginning of July.

What happens to the fleeces?
They go away in a lorry to Paisley. Then they are sorted and washed. The clean fleeces are used to make carpets and for stuffing mattresses.

What happens if a sheep is poorly?
We give them an injection of medicine to make them better.

Do you have any lambs as pets?
There are always pet lambs! Some lambs have no mum because they die. Other mums can't give any milk to their lambs. Sometimes we give an orphan lamb to a mum whose own lamb has died.

How can you tell the sheep apart?
You soon get to know all the sheep - by their ears, markings, ear-tags and their limps!

How do you mark your sheep?
We put a blue dye on their shoulders.

Do you give the sheep a bath?
Yes, once a year. It gets rid of the beasties in their wool!

What do sheep eat?
They eat grass but in the winter time they get extra feeding - hay and special sheep food. I have to get up very early to feed the sheep!