There is nothing quite like the magic of new born lambs on the farm. For me it is what makes spring. Our delightful Matilda Mae and Early Worm are thriving but I was beginning to worry that something might be wrong as they were still our only two.
Farmer Nick was up this morning at first light for a quick sweep of the field and spotted two new little heads with Mum, all was looking well so he left them alone to adjust to the world for a couple of hours while we sorted the children out for school. With three school runs each morning it is quite a military operation in our house. I must confess we dashed in after the bell this morning at the primary school since the younger children had been over to see the lambs before breakfast.
Morning Tractor Ride.
Having delivered the children I caught up the morning tractor ride just in time to help out with the lambs. With a lamb under my arm and iodine on my hands it was a bit of a job handling the camera too! The guests watched with fascination as Nick tagged, sprayed, dipped and tied their tails. A boy and a girl; the Dads among our holiday visitors all heaved a sigh of relief for the little boy whose balls had not yet fully dropped; his manhood spared for another day!
The children's faces were a picture as they had never before witnessed new born lambs just hours old and and few worried the lambs were bleeding when we dipped the end of the umbilical cord in iodine to protect them from infection.
It really isn't that gory despite the expressions on their faces, all the after birth and real gore was a few hours earlier, this was just giving nature a helping hand to protect them and ensure we know who belongs to who!
It was then a game of chase where all the guests helped us catch Early Worm and Matilda Mae to move them in with the older sheep and leave the nursery free for our new arrivals. Mum was easily coaxed out with food but the older twins certainly gave the children a good run around and put a smile on their faces before being caught!
The nursery is protected with an electric fence to keep the fox at bay and some lovely cosy shelters in case of a wet night. Hopefully they will be safe and happy here for a week or so until they are strong enough to join the others in the larger field. It is so very cold but so long as it stays dry in their first few hours of life they should thrive.
A job well done with our lovely little helpers it was time for a new driver and off to feed the rest of the animals who were wondering what had happened to their breakfast!
One Day on and our lovely newborns have been joined by another set of twins. The nursery is filling up and the lambs making friends. They are still unsteady on their feet as you can see in the video here. I love the sound of their bleating, it reminds me of happy times and new life.
I'm linking up with Magic Moments over at Oliver's Mad House. Why not pop over and see some more special times from other bloggers.
