Counting Arnolds

Having travelled 1268 miles in the last 48 hours I am somewhat not with it and this is a quick blog.

Despite being tired we managed microchipping this morning, something Carl does as I do not like the size of the needle.  I also checked over all the babies and tackled Flem's abscess which is pussing up again so I obviously have not got it clear yet.

Grace, the Southdown, had a slight limp so Sam trimmed her feet and sprayed them - there was the beginning of foot rot but we have, I think, caught it quickly.

Now I have a busy day tomorrow as the livestock trailer has to be cleared out and cleaned (it is currently home to approximately 24 boxes of Christmas decorations) and I need to catch up on a bit of John Deereing around the electric fence - plus, of course, collect  little poo!

. . . and I know the blog title means nothing to anyone but me - But Arnold has to be a very wealthy man!

Bit of a rocky day with a very funny end!

Not all plain sailing on the lambing front today.  Twins and a single from Sam's Welsh Mountains and then Angelina Jolie started - and stuck!  One leg and a head appeared and then no progress.  Could I find the other leg?  Well, in the end I did but it was sort of over and tucked round and it was a bit of a struggle to sort things out.  Eventually it came out - a little white boy - but then it just could not find Angelina's udder.  She is very long fleeced.  We had to tip her up and Carl clipped her - with little one latched on at the same time!  He is now fine.

Meanwhile, at the tip of the hill another pair of twins appeared!

As I went over to check them I passed Mum with triplets and gave triplet one a stroke - thinking, that's not right - she should be up and away.  Same happened with two and three - and Mum didn't move when I stroked her.  Normal for my sheeep - not for Sam's.  Further investigation showed she had a retained placenta and the triplets were not feeding properly.  Mum was put back in the field shelter with the triplets. We held them up to her every half hour and they got a little fatter tummied but it still did not look too good.  The Shepherd had a look at them, gave her some antibiotics and recommended ivy - so it was off to chop down a branch and keep trying to top up the triplets with bottles.  We hope they all survive the night.

The Shepherd had actually come to bring me a present, must have forgiven me for not getting one of the triplets onto the single mum!  This is my present - and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen!

In the photo you cannot see quite how funny she is in real life - I'll try for a better photo tomorrow.  She is a Southdown - full grown but little.  She has a bad leg and is sheared rather like a lion which adds to her completely comical look!  She is brilliant - the alpacas think so too!  They are a whole paddock away but as soon as she appeared they were up at the fence - not shrieking but staring!