The official start of lambing. I was up and out earlier and had my lambing kit rucksack and shepherd’s crook. It was dry but windy. A good day to be born outside. Any lambs would dry off quickly.
I checked for eggs first. There were 3 but one had been eaten. Not good! Straight over to thr barn to check the twin mothers. The mud in the wall garden was already drying in the wind which was awesome news. They were all lounging around. I let them out into the sunshine because Rascal was complaining persistently. I fed him and assessed the damage. In all honesty they didn’t seem to have done much. Too heavy to get up to any mischief!
I walked round the farm then. The wind was north easterly and biting. I had my scarf partially round my ears to keep them warm and my hat on top. The other bit was around my mouth so the wind didn’t take my breath away. I had a good look all around. Nothing was happening. The 26th is the first possible day lambs could be born and they never come in good weather! It was good to have the sun out and I even had to put my sunglasses on. I had to leave the crook on the fence by bridge so I could carry the two buckets. I emptied the weanlings buckets of rainwater and then fed them. They still shared but they ate from three buckets so it’s getting better. I put food in 3 of the boys buckets before realising there was rainwater in them even though they’d been under the shelter. So I had to refill those 3 buckets. I fed the girls and then the rams.
I collected the crook in the way back. It is easier walking uphill with it. It’s good in the mud too. The trouble is, it’s metal and does make my hands feel icy cold. As I came over the bridge, there was an ewe in front of me. She had a lot of raddle on her so is likely to be one of the first. She was calling out but went towards my favourite oak tree. When I got up the slope she was there, still calling out as though looking for a lamb. She went off jn the same general direction as me, still calling. My father has said that ewes sometimes call for lambs like this when they are due to lamb. I mentioned it on the chat and Neil said that was why he put the wellfield ewes in, because Molly was calling out. My answer was that Molly is ‘different’. His reply was odd. “True crimes” What? I started to reply and Jordan popped up and read the message too. Of course she did. She loves true crime, her Netflix is full of true crime. At that point Neil messaged to say that his phone added ‘crime’ without his knowledge. Jordan was disappointed to say the least!
I went back up in the afternoon to get hay, alpaca mix and ram food in the mule. I was so glad Neil had managed to fix it. I was annoyed he’d parked it up where I had to reverse it uphill to get it going. Anyway, it started and I set off. Two seconds later, the sound of scraping plasticine a thud. I looked out of the window and he’d left a trailer behind it, which I had hit. There was no visible damage to either. I went forward a bit then moved the trailer out of the way. I got back in, put it in reverses and out my foot down. There was plenty of noise but no movement at all. FFS! I gathered up my crook, my rucksack a d two green sacks I was taking to collect hay and I started the long, steep trip back up. The ewes were interested in me because I was carrying those two bags. They turned their attention away from me immediately when they heard the quad.
I explained what had happened so after feeding the ewes, we went to look at the mule. Neil managed to get it going and he’s taken it home to work on now. It’s touch and go whether it will survive. It’s vital to me on the farm so I’m worried. We used Neil’s quad and small trailer to get the hay and feed.
No lambs today but a pink sky to finish the day. What will tomorrow bring?
Helen x
