Hello everyone!

We have had a really busy time over the last couple of weeks, and are coming to the end of lambing for this season with only 4 ewes still remaining and 5 of our youngsters from last year's lambing.... including Pee Wee, the Hamster twins Dotty and Curly, and Freckle and Dixie......

Over the next few weeks I'd like to tell you about some of the highs and lows from the barn during spring 2014.... with Tales From a Lambing Shed....

I'll start within the next couple of days when I've taken some up to date photos and let you know what we've been up to... 

You'll meet Oscar, Holly's twins, Arnie, Winkle and Dolly Hamster.... and many more!

Talk soon! xxx

Today I have time to think..... yesterday the Jacob was touchingly trusting.....

She has always struck me as rather bossy because she is horned and the other sheep feel intimidated by her, but in the barn this year she has shown a much softer side and while we spent time together yesterday, she allowed me to gently gain confidence in what I was doing as we muddled our way through her labour....

She let me be in the pen with her, and when her water broke she allowed me to check her behind to see how far she was progressing... even spending time licking my hand as I smelt of her, a trick I shall keep foremost in my mind as it bonded the trust between us for a short time, and stopped any fear that she might have been feeling.... a powerful tool in such a situation.  

The photo above was taken as she turned to lick her second son.. born with much less strain than the first..... I heard it born rather than seeing it and after removing much of the mucus from its face, lifted its head so that it was the first to be cleaned...

Today Mum is quiet and is feeding when the lambs demand, which is often..... sometimes it takes a while to recover but I have no doubt that she will be out in the field within the next couple of days.. I'm back to the barn now to see if there are any more developments!

I'd fed everyone first thing and had noticed that the Jacob was rather hotchy... so when I had fed Dudley etc and popped home for a cuppa and breakfast, I went back.... she was stomping about in the old part of the barn that we cleared out at the weekend and was shoving all the other ewes out of her way so I thought I'd better bring her into a pen, where there is more light and no chasing round... and of course she has handlebars so she's really easy to handle!!  It wasn't long before she began to "stargaze" the classic sign that a ewe is in labour and is pushing! 

This little lad arrived at 2.05 p.m. with just a little help in the final stages, and this was taken about 20 seconds later.... Mum has just got up and this was her first sight of her new son... 
Her breath is like a hair dryer and she licks all the membrane off and eats what she can... its a safety precaution to ward off the scent from predators and she's really thorough!

The first lamb was standing up and looking for food within 10 mins... but I knew that this mum always has twins... so I waited
Her second son was born at 2.18 p.m.... mum didn't even bother to stand up, she just started cleaning and warming... when I left them they were both up and running.
Just had a cuppa, so I'll go back to make sure she is cleansed and they are feeding... 

Hope there are some more today, we're expecting another 12 or so this week and I wish they'd get a move on!!!!

On Friday I published the last item on the blog, only to discover that the website wasn't working?

We were busy and I had other things on my mind with lambing so I didn't do much about it until Sunday, when I got on to Weebly.... taking part in a live chat to work out what had happened and who was responsible.... I sent an email to the relevant person and today we are back up and running!.... Thank you Lorna!.. just want to understand what had happened?

We had 2 more sets of twins on Sunday morning, all girls. Lucy one of our home bred Ryelands and one of James's mules..... I had been a bit late doing my early shift, as we were out to dinner and had a late night, but nothing was doing at 5.30..... by 8.30 they had been born simultaneously.... trouble was all the lambs and the mums were together with the mule trying to adopt everyone and Lucy, who is low down the pecking order, trying to keep her lambs to herself.... What a muddle!

We separated them into pens, keeping some distance between the two, with the mule replying every time Lucy's lambs said anything... she has stolen other lambs before, and has a really strong mothering instinct.... anyway by the afternoon they were settled and bonded properly...... One of the Ryeland girls has a cloudy eye and is blind on that side, but she is strong and finding Lucy's teats so we'll keep a watchful eye on her.

The previous weekends lambs were put out into the field and even with the rain over the weekend are thriving! Nigel put some hay out in the field and they all thought is was to sit on after being penned on straw for a week... very sweet!