Little and Large

Sun making a brief appearance meant a lot of playing dead from the boys.

But I have no time for sunbathing as the sheep are keeping me busy - the latest was Angelina this morning.

I was a bit worried about the smallest so gave him a couple of stomach tubes - he perked up but finds it hard to find the teat fast enough.  I was going to give him a bottle tonight but Angelina is a very protective Mum and she has decided I have interfered enough!  She has horns and caught me once on the side of my face, but that might have been accidental, the butt she gave me on my leg this afternoon was not accidental!  There is a vast difference in size between the two lambs so they are now known as Little and Large!

A Sheepy sort of day

I really will get back to alpacas soon but at the moment it is all a bit sheep like around here!  We did go and do an alpaca check over visit this morning but other than that it has been a sheepy day.

This little one has been struggling a bit after his difficult birth but hopefully we are getting out of the woods now!

Proper lambing should start on Thursday so time to get more organised and retrieve all the bits and piece that have got all muddled up over the past few days - including the thermometer which seems to have disappeared - last time I saw it was sticking out of a lambs back end and I have checked, it's not there now!

Lambing

The weather is horrid and not at all suitable for lambing.  Luckily it is only the 7 Southdowns who are due, the rest are due next Thursday onwards.  Two have now lambed - both dramas.  The first was a mini drama but happened at 10 in the late evening - not ideal in the dark.  Those twins are now doing fine but the latest one to lamb was not good.  Again it was late with the water bag appearing at 1 in the morning after a long time of restlessness - well what counts for restless for my Southdowns who are incredibly lazy sheep.  Little progress was made until 2am when the water bag broke but then nothing else.  Luckily, we had put her in a pen and Carl had rigged me up a light on a car battery so I had some chance of seeing what was happening.  Investigations showed a head jammed against the pelvis with one leg just forward behind the head but locked at the joint.  The worst was I could feel the tongue out and swollen.  The other leg took a while to find and proved to be further back pointing forward but again locked at the hip.  I managed to get the rope on one leg and manoeuvre that forward then crossed it over and wiggled until I could pull the other leg forward.  I was pretty sure it had to be dead by now and it was very dry but we kept going until the front bits were all out and then it slowly opened one eye and stared at me!  I got a bit of a spurt on - it was a big lamb but then Mum closed her eyes and appeared to expire - poor thing was loosing blood.  This led to a 10 second panic as I tried to work out which one to try to save first but to cut a long story short both have survived,  Mum didn't get up for a couple of hours and lamb couldn't suck - I think his tongue was too big so he had two lots of stomach tubing.  I think all is now well - Mum is fine and likes her lamb but Lamb is a bit odd.  Possibly he is blind in one eye - I may have poked him while getting him out - or it may be that he is a little brain damaged.  She is now drinking from Mum so we should be alright even if she is always a bit dippy.  No pictures at the moment!

I am tired!

I am sorry - I am really running out of blog writing time - so this will be brief!  Lots happening as we have some dear little sold boys we are organising to deliver, knitting to deliver to new owners, fields which need chain harrowing, vehicles which keep having tyre problems - and lambs have just started to arrive.  At least the weather is good!  Last night we finished lambing at 2 in the morning (before you think I am lambing 100s I should point out it was just one ewe who lambed and took ages about it, then got the head jammed against her pelvis.  Came out easily with a little help but by then it was dark and 11pm.  Second twin then arrived amidst bitter wind and went hypothermic!)  By the time all was sorted it was very late and I had to get back to the sheep by 5 this morning to check lamb hadn't expired and no one else had started performing.  I therefore now have a headache and a feeling another lamb could be on the way soon!  So just a few photos - and best wishes to all at the BAS National show - though I expect that is all over by now!

The sun has shown it's face - although not much!

Everyone wants possession of the rolling pit!


 

My first two lambs - sired by Leaf!