November is, in many ways, the beginning of the farming year on a Scottish hill farm. It's match-making time!
What is a tup?
A tup is a male sheep. A tup is also known as a "ram", but in Scotland the word "tup" is used more commonly.
Tupping time starts around mid to end of November on Scottish hill farms like Eastside. At this time we select which tups are put with which hefts (or groups) of ewes. Careful consideration is required as we run a predominantly closed flock; the tups are never allowed to breed with the heft they were born on.
November's end : Tupping time
In November the ewes will be interested in finding a handsome tup (or ram). At Eastside we slightly delay the courtship (a conscious decision to avoid early, surprise lambs) and we plan for the lambs to be born when there is sufficient fresh grass available for the ewes to boost their milk supply.
A ewe's gestation period is 5 months so the tupping is carefully timed for the new lambs to be born in the following April or May. In the UK, this is considered to be a fairly late lambing but here in the hills, spring tends to come a little later than elsewhere.
For much of the year you might see the tups taking it easy in the field in front of Eastside farmhouse. Just before tupping season (when hormones start to run high), the tups are moved into the shed to keep them out of mischief! We also dye their wool a dashing shade of yellow so that they can be easily spotted.
When the time is right, each tup is allowed in with his ewes. Itʼs important for us to make sure that he stays in the right place and doesn't stray from his ground and his group of 60-70 ewes. He'll generally have about 6 weeks to visit each ewe. With that many, thereʼs not much romance involved - rather, itʼs hard work for him and he'll be tired by the end.
Occasionally, at Eastside during this period there can be heavy snow. In the winter of 2010 the snow was so heavy the tups were snowed out on the hill, eventually coming back a few weeks later - a little tired but in good health.
Our hill farm
For more information about farming life throughout the year see our 'farm' page. Find out how we farm with nature, and our landscape-scale habitat plans with our neighbours in the Pentland Hills.