Chaos!,

Lots to say but no time to say it!
Lots of photos but no time to upload!
In brief - 10 lambs yesterday and 6 (so far) today.  This morning Stumpy was a nightmare with two of the dopiest biggest lambs I have ever seen - combined with a prolapse and afterbirth before the lambs - honestly, Sam agrees that is what it was.  It took an arm up to he elbow, lambing ropes and lots of rolling around swearing.  We now have 21 lambs but poor Grace looks like hers is on the way so, it is now 9.30pm, pitch dark and her last lamb Shovel was a real drama!
Got to go!

Eau d'sheep

Twins and a single lamb today.

You may know the aroma of sheep wee with a touch of afterbirth - I need to go and have a bath!

Hang on little lad!

A busy day today.  I was up early to check the sheep and alpacas and couldn't miss a big bunch of flowers left for me by Sam.  Thank you Sam!  No more lambs in the field and the little black one still didn't look too good.  I gave him a feed and then we had to rush off to do an alpaca husbandry visit.  One of the girls there is walking very stiffly on her back  legs, we gave her some vitamins and checked her feet - to me it seems like a bit of a strain - we'll have to keep an eye on that one.  Sam checked the sheep again  before we got back and little black lamb was still hanging on but going downhill.  His Mum snuggles up to him but he is very weak.

I spent the afternoon with him while Carl went home to try to finish the Duck house - pictures of that  coming soon!  Then he came back to the field and spent an  hour sitting with Mum and lamb trying to get lamb drinking properly.  We milked out some of Mum's and fed that to him as well, she is very good.

The Romney Rebels are very lively and jump around all over the place - no worries about them!

It is a good job my mother comes from a farming background because I didn't get to visit her and say Happy Mother's Day until early evening and then it was a flying visit and I forgot the card and present!

I had to race home  as we needed to give Zara her drench.  I have been battling with Zara's nose for ages.  She is a black alpaca and keeps getting a bald nose.  I have tried lots of things and some things work for a while but then it goes bald again.  It is not scabby or sore or anything - just bald.  The new thing we are trying is a drench of selenium, zinc and other things - I don't know whether it will have any effect but time will tell.

Cold little lamb

Sorry for the lack of photos but I have been struggling a bit today. A tiny little Black Welsh Mountain lamb was hypothermic this morning and I struggled to warm him up.  He was so limp and lifeless, I thought I had lost him but after what seemed forever he stopped shaking and his temperature went up.  Mum was very good and stayed near , (Just as an aside - there appears to be no semi colon on this tablet I am typing on), when I put the lamb on the ground wrapped up in my jumper, she came and lay beside him with her head resting on his - would have made a lovely photo that.  In the end I had to stomach tube him as, as good as mum was, I couldn't manage to hold her and latch him on - he was too weak to stand.  Plus, I was getting crosser and crosser with Carl as he had gone to help the Gamekeeper with some pheasant pens and was late back - but I coped.  I saw the Shepherd up on the opposite  hill and he obviously wondered what I was up to rolling around trying to hold onto the ewe and latch the lamb on - he phoned to check all was well.

It has been a sheep day as on the way home I passed the Grave digger waving his milk bottles at me.

I've started!

Romney twins, born at lunchtime.

One of them has very large ears!

Fat sheep and over excited alpacas

We definitely have no lambs - but we do, definitely, have big sheep!

Big, bald sheep in Pugsley's case!

As nothing was happening (not really supposed to until Friday but you never know)  I went down to the library van to stock up on reading material and then went home to check the alpacas who were in a very funny mood.

Everyone but Bert was charging at high speed round the paddock.  I think Cassie was going to the toilet.

Later Sam and Kristy arrived and did a bit of halter training.  This will be much easier when we have constructed a holding pen - not that Trouble needs a holding pen to catch her!

Tyjke and Wonky are far more interested in playing together -

And Glorious Gloria just likes to pose!

Tonight I have to concentrate on a bit of knitting  as I have a black scarf which has been on the go for weeks and still is not finished.  The Flower lady has knitted a pair of gloves and two scarves since I started this scarf and this afternoon she came round with a beautiful multi coloured beret.

Where are all the lambs?

No lambs.
Tired of watching sheep pretending they might lamb at any minute.

Mary had a little lamb
it's wool was white I think.
She washed it with her underwear
and now it has turned pink.