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Livestock
Hillsheep on a hill looking over a wide valley (opens in new window)
Some figures on livestock kept at Bush.
SHEEP
Hill: There is a total of 1,100 Scottish Blackface ewes on Castlelaw and Turnhouse hills, both of which are classified as Less Favoured Areas (LFA). A programme of hill improvement allows operation of the two pasture system.
Most of the ewes are pure bred to homebred and purchased rams, with the best ewe lambs being retained as replacements. Ewes are brought down to the enclosed and improved fields to lamb in mid-April, after which those with singles are returned to the hill and those with twins are kept on the improved land. Normally, 130 lambs are weaned per 100 ewes mated.
Upland: A flock of 700 April lambing Mule ewes are maintained on upland areas, along the side of the Pentland Hills. They are crossed with Texel, Suffolk and Charollais rams to produce prime lambs, with replacements being purchased from high health status flocks. The ewes are housed at Woodhouselee from January until lambing in late March/April, when they are put back out to grass. Normally, 170 lambs are weaned per 100 ewes mated.
BEEF
A herd of 200 suckler cows is based at Easter Howgate. Replacement heifers have since 1994 been homebred, with Limousin and Aberdeen Angus breeds being evaluated for their suitability as sires of replacement heifers. Belgian Blue and Charolais are also used as terminal sires.
Cows are bred by artificial insemination to calve during April and May. The calves are weaned in October and housed. Finished animals are sold mainly to local abattoirs at 12-14 months of age. The cows are housed at weaning and fed a straw based diet through the winter. Some finishing animals are used for feed trials throughout the winter.
PIGS
Easter Howgate has a high herd heath status pig unit capable of carrying some 120 sows and finishing all pigs. The focus of work is on animal behaviour and welfare studies in the farrowing sow and the young pig.