Successful Lambing

This was our first lambing season and as expected it was a steep learning curve although a very positive experience! Ahead of time we split the shed into three areas, the waiting area (maternity ward), the single lambing pens (for the newborns or those needed a bit of extra TLC) and the nursery (for those over a couple of days old). The ewes were brought inside a week or so before their due date, and spent a couple of weeks ‘resting’

The maternity ward

A lambing pen with our only set of triplets

The first lamb was born on the 2nd March with a slow start for the rest culminating in a busy few days towards the end of March. Most lambed on their own, although some of the large single lambs needed a bit of help from David.

Unfortunately we lost a couple, one born dead and another failed to thrive (despite being brought inside and bottle fed) and died after a couple of days. All but two of the ewes were excellent mothers (they were all first timers), two decided they would quite like to kill their offspring – coincidently both were difficult births. We kept the ewes tied up for a couple of days to allow the lambs to suckle without being trampled on, this worked well and they were released into the ‘nursery’ successfully.

The nursery (with no mums in sight!)

Once the ewes and lambs had bonded properly and the lambs were feeding well they were tagged and released into the field.