Lambing Tales 2021

February wandered into March, and we were working hard to get as many miscellaneous jobs done before lambing officially started on the 19^th. Fences were fixed, troughs emptied and cleaned, hurdles jet-washed, and the sheds tidied in anticipation. Sitting here on the 13^th of April, that all seems like a lifetime ago … because when lambing got going, it got going with a vengeance. At one point we felt that we may end up lambing the whole flock within a week, and while we knew this couldn’t be true because of colour-coded bums showing later cycling ewes, they just kept popping. Thank goodness Irene arrived that first day, pulled on her wets, and threw herself into the fray.

Evening troughing.

While there are always busy times, normally there is manageable activity with quieter periods. This year, they were queuing up for pen space. No sooner had we built an additional nook, it was occupied and another ewe had started lambing. On one day Farmer Ian went to bed at midnight having filled most of the accommodation. Leah came at 1am and I got up at 4am – and between us, we had 8 doubles, 3 singles and a triple. With no free pens, we were housing them in any available gap. On another night, I came down and hadn’t realised that Farmer Ian had put a family in the back of the trailer, still attached to the quad bike, and got the shock of my life when mum’s head popped up beside me unexpectedly.

Mum is choosing to ignore her four - yes count 'em - four lambs.

The lambs have been good this year, mostly decent sized. There have been the normal interventions needed of course – one leg and a head only, head only, backwards, two coming at once. One day we found a struggling ewe and investigated, only to find a snout, a front leg and a back leg. Two were trying to decamp at the same time, one awkwardly, and the other backwards. That required quite a bit of untangling, but everyone ended up happy. Feeling good, Irene and I looked up to see two other ewes nearby needing help – they were stacking up like planes at Heathrow.

Lovely chunky lambs.

This one is more like a tea-cup sized fashion statement lamb.

The combination of silage, hard work, and amniotic fluid have left our hands a bit raw and chaffed, despite the hand cream. I’ve also managed to spray myself in the eyes with milk while checking udders – important rule of lambing, point the udder away from your face!

Ann has been coming to help let out the sheep, giving me time to clean pens, while the others get the next group ready to leave for the fields and shift the homeless into homes. I often found that the pen I had just cleaned, looking tidy with disinfected floor, new straw and clean water, was immediately colonised and I was back to square one. We’ve also had help from Amie (Ann’s granddaughter) who is an excellent rat spotter, and Harriet (the granddaughter of friends) who has now lambed her first sheep, and cuddled all of the tamies.

Tub o'tamies.

Kate and Limpy the Lamb in his natty jumper, with foam inserts to push his misaligned legs outwards.

We had about 80 or so ewe lambs this year (last year’s lambs that are now having their own). They bring their own challenges, not least of which is being over-friendly. They are noisy, demanding, often look at their newly born lamb with wonder or fear, and are generally a nuisance (hence my usual name of Beastly Ewe Lambs). Their one redeeming feature is that I can pick them up bodily if they need to be moved and are not obliging, rather than straddling the older ewes rodeo-style and fighting my way into a vacant pen.

Beastly Ewe Lambs - get out of your dinner, you fool.

While we are officially lambing, this has not stopped the cows from getting involved – we’ve had six calves so far. Kate arrived for her veterinary experience placement and has been very hands on. Helping with a calf birth and getting covered head-to-foot in gunk is a very important rite of passage. Important second rule of lambing (and calving) … whenever you have just washed your hands, there will be something disgusting to do. Fortunately, most of the cows are just getting on with it and we wake up to another lovely friendly face.

We didn't want to be left out of the action.

Slightly shocked, as I was only born yesterday.

I finally saw the cat, only to find that there are now two.  We are hoping that they are both males, otherwise we’ll be rehoming farmyard kittens. Neither are particularly friendly, but are very vocal around the edges of the house at night if not fed. They are probably avoiding the hedgehog who comes to eat the fallen peanuts from the bird feeder.  Less welcome are the rats that have started to thrive on spilt food, seeds in the grain and other less savoury items. There are some days that I worry I may end up bottle-feeding a large rat instead of a tame lamb if I leave my glasses in the house.

First swallows seen 5^th April. Hooray! And things are beginning to green up.

By Quarry Field gate, courtesy of Ann.

The dogs have had a bit of a rough time of it regarding sleep, as whoever gets up wakes them. However, they each take turns with the various chores and get plenty of exercise, so are not too hard done by.

Harry and Scout are too tired even to get up and say hello.

The three faces of Ned ... Number 1, The Collie Stare.

Number 2, The Regal Pose.

Number 3, The Feeling Shy.

Needless to say, we're all a bit pooped. A brief respite, then onwards to shearing, hay-making and the long list of things on the "round to it" list.

Irene is forced to join us raise a glass - raspberries in Prosecco.

As a postscript, because we have different shifts during lambing, we leave each other explanatory notes – what’s new, who to feed, anything of interest. Here’s a sample, left by Irene and Kate late one evening for Farmer Ian, just proving that every realm of work has its own shorthand and occasionally undecipherable language. They also insist on naming them lambs ... sigh.

Twas the evening of the 9^th April (today!)

Plugged in Jack (pen 1), mum kicking (but he’s a good boy, he knows what to do).

Pens 14 and 17 – full tummies (milk watch).

New biiiiiig double in Pen 34. Navels dipped, one with very full belly and the other was stuck behind the race, so we plugged him in. Will check before leaving.

Milk updates – pen 30 full bellies and not gassy, topped up whiter-faced one in pen 33, and gave all 4 lambs Spectam as one of each pair had wet-mouth.

Black-face in black bucket in small tamies has been Spectam’d , plus 1 tube.

White-face that is not Tiny Tim in the small tamies, Spectam’d. Lethargic.

Tiny Tim’s double (Stuart Little) given milk.

Number 19, medium tamies, Spectam’d.

Put pen 2 ewe back in a head-stock as she was head-butting the lamb.

We have checked all bellies and for wet-mouth and have fed the cat! OK!

The cat

 I still haven't seen it.

What a lot of weather

January and February this year, Mother Nature seems to be having a fit of pique and is throwing everything at us. We’ve had snow, sleet, hail, sun, rain, mizzle, drizzle, howling gales … and that was just Monday. The last few days the ground has been frozen solid, and we’ve been swede-less as Farmer Ian can’t get them out of the ground. Our bird population has moved into the sheds, eating bits of fallen sheep cake, seeds in the hay and silage, and in the case of the blackbirds, the cat food. My poor plants are suffering desiccation, and many a daffodil has poked his head up too early, only to be decapitated by wind. I remain unimpressed.

Now most of the ewes are inside, with just the late doubles and singles out in Big Field with the swedes. The ewe lambs are having a lovely time in Cleave Shed … it’s warm, dry and has a nice stack of hay bales for them to climb over when they inveigle their way through our increasingly pathetic attempts to keep them off. Our main problem, however, has been frozen water pipes everywhere … which just makes everything unnecessarily more bothersome. And during all of this, one of the cows decided to calve.

Yesterday was bum trimming day – Gavin the Shearer came in to do it, as in previous years it has taken us (mainly Farmer Ian) ages. Almost 550 short-butt-and-sides completed, clearing the way for clean and clat-free lambing. However, with this cold wind, I bet most of the girls were less than happy that they were forced into mini-skirts (an Ann-ism). We’re feeding most of them every day now, and it’s just a month until lambing. Blimey, that came round again quickly!

The dogs have been loving all the work, and I had Scout and Ned working quite well together a few days ago – I could see them each watching what the other was doing and adjusting tack. Of course, they have their adrenalin hyped moments when no amount of shouting gets through. Harry is a perfect yard dog … calm and unphased surrounded by curious ewe lambs who want to touch noses with him. Ned wouldn’t put up with such nonsense.

On those days when we are soaked outside or frozen to the bone, we remind ourselves that we are incredibly lucky to have outdoor spaces like these, and that some folks stuck inside would give their right arm to be drenched, covered in dung and smelling “interesting” – or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

We had a bit of rain.

Ned keeps an eye on the sheep, even when not needed.

Scout likes to take more of an overview.

H, tries something totally different.

Our new arrival.

Proof that we did have a few drier days and some sun ...

... with some glorious sunrises.

Leaky dams and sneaky cats

With all of the rain we had recently, powering in from the south-west, it was a good time to see how the leaky dams were doing … and they were doing well. Interestingly, the first dam held back a lot of gravel, while the second now has a bank of silt. Hopefully, the latter will persist, providing materials for the swallows and martins later in the new year.

The grass in Goyle and Rabbity Woods looks decidedly lush compared to the grazed hill on the other side of the fence, although there is a nibbled strip along the edge where the ewes have been pushing their heads through the wire. Wild watercress has colonised large parts of the water, now that the cows are excluded, and even though it is winter, there are visible changes. Yesterday, a grey wagtail was scouting up and down the stream, while a wren is often seen sneaking around lower down. Both new woods have been patrolled by buzzards, barn owls and our now resident kestrel.  All are also seen in the garden, the buzzard looking a bit daft perching in one of our small fruit trees. I keep expecting the branch to bend over and leave her hanging upside-down.

Although grazed, the rough grass in the fields is being used regularly by a different suite of birds. Huge flocks of starlings come in to feed on worms and whatever happens to be attracted to the dung, the magpies and carrion crows make a living, and teams of fieldfares and redwings strip the bushes of any remaining berries and hoover up bugs.

Just outside our living room windows, where Farmer Ian puts down grain and has some peanut feeders, our very own Heathrow has evolved, with a full schedule of take-offs and landings from dawn until dusk. Doves always seem to arrive in pairs, and then strut around with exceedingly vacant expressions. There has been an influx of blue tits, dangling from any available toehold, and thinking nothing of crawling into the Christmas wreath on the door to firkle out reluctant insects. The sparrows have taken over the swift boxes and martin cups, snuggling in groups to keep warm, and occasionally popping their heads over the edge to chat or hurl obscenities at their neighbours.

So far, it appears that the phantom cat is not interested in birds (good), other than one night stealing a brace of partridge that our neighbour had given us. Not a feather or any sign left that they’d ever been there. To date, I still haven’t seen said cat, but s/he is doing a pukka job of keeping down the rats (although the leaving them as gifts we could probably do without).

We've also had some interesting fungi...

Roll on spring - there are a few brave primroses and snowdrops starting to flower, and daffs are starting to poke out their heads ... but as it is currently snowing, botanical caution is advised.

New fields, new woods

 

Autumn is the season for hedges and planting trees in the farm calendar (among many other things), so in between dealing with sheep and cattle, we've been hacking on with the new fences, laying hedges, coppicing and filling in gaps, both here and at Farmer Rob's gaff. This year we had a Woods for Water grant, with the aim of increasing tree cover and protecting the stream from hoofed paddlers - both elements improving the quality of the water that makes its way into the Mole, with the added benefit of being a tiny part of the government's goal to plant millions of trees. Our agreement split our large (and imaginatively named) Over The Road field into two, with the goyle and stream being fenced off and 400 trees planted in the stock-proof interior, with a second block of 200 or so saplings on the hillside, again protected from nibbling, both by fencing and tree-guards (pesky rabbits and deer). At the same time, we also split a second large field (Below The Farmhouse) into two (Far Hill and Burch Lane ), giving us five fields on the lower side of the road for stock rotation. As well as fences and new gates, we've installed water troughs and replanted some of the barer parts of old hedges ... and even saw a kingfisher on the stream while chain-sawing! As an added bonus to wildlife, we're creating lots of small leaky dams in the stream to slow the water and make more permanent water features. While faffing with logs, a dragonfly came and landed on my construction, I guess giving her seal of approval.

Looking up the hill - before we started.

En route - digger and dogs.

Fences, trees and dams in place.

We did have some "help".

Farther up the valley.

Dams in place.

More "help".

Ned wisely keeps his own counsel.

Introducing Goyle Wood, Cross Field (left) and Sonny's Side (right) ...

... and back down the valley, Rabbity Wood.

This tree planting game is a long one, but we should see a big difference in ten years. In the meantime, a few more photos of dog shenanigans.

While coppicing at Farmer Rob's, on the other side of the field Scout, Harry and Flossie have a Mexican Standoff.

 

Genuinely, I have no comment.

Guess who are seriously dischuffed about being relegated to the trailer.

Ann's mini-dairy

 

We recently took the opportunity to have a weekend away on Dartmoor, staying at The Three Crowns in Chagford, which means that someone had to cover the beasts, domestic and domesticated. That someone, of course, was the wonderful Ann. Here's her mini-diary!

Friday pm

All settled in. Scout decided that I looked good enough to eat, in small nibbles. The owl flew past the window and I was able to watch it quartering Sonny's Patch. It also sat on the shed roof for a while, then headed off to check the next patch. The sky was amazing when the gang went out for their last wee - cold though!

Saturday

A lovely sky greeted me, and I took the dogs out and walked as far as Rabbity Wood (more news on that in a later post) - got drenched on the way back by a lone small black cloud! Tony came at 8 to help tube the calf that refuses to suck, and things went well feeding the others. Ned had the first bike ride - all was fine. Harry came to Burch Lane, and then Scout joined me for Richard's fields. I saw some deer in the field above Holt's Cleeve. I could have done with some binoculars as it looked like they had a beautiful stag in attendance.

Sunday

The reds were up this morning when I took the gang out. Tony came early and was bedding up the calves when I arrived at the sheds. We got the poorly ewe up and I offered her some of the tasty calf mix to tempt her. She liked that and then had a nibble of hay. I had a few light showers on my rounds. Ned again had the first trip, followed by Harry and thne Scout. Farmer Rob came with calf cake. We move the smaller lambs in Little Field into Gratton, but had to catch the blind one as the rest of the flock rushed out of the gate too quickly for her to follow*. A few cows managed to get through to Far Hill as the gate was open, but they came back easily with Harry in charge! Neil and Amy came at calf feeding time and they went to have a look at the new Goyle and Rabbity Woods. Amie would like to come and help plant more trees if there are any left to do during half-term. I picked the apples in the orchard - sadly not too many left on the trees, but the ones that were there are beauties.

Monday

Tony wasn't able to come this morning so the calf has not been tubed yet - you'll need to do it when you get home. I managed all other jobs, except going over to the Peek District as I was getting wet and cold. Scout was a bit short-changed and could do with a little excitement later. The salt lick from Little Field is by the bottom Gratton gate waiting to be taken up over. Neil brought up the trailer for me to get a bit of dung for the roses, but it was too wet this morning so I'll come later in the week. It's been left in 8 acres. Sorry, but I brought part of a bale of straw into the house during my stay!

* the blind "lamb" is the same one from two seasons ago, born with no eyes and a cleft palate! After keeping her alive for a few days and expecting the worst, she has thrived and is still here 18 months later, hanging out with this year's smaller lambs. Who says farmers aren't soft-hearted sometimes?