Full of the Joys of Spring

Lambing here on the farm has been a delight this year.  With 3 sets of healthy twins and a singleton our nursery field is buzzing with spring happiness. Every new guest to the farm lets out an "ah" when they see their playful frolics and can't wait for a cuddle.

I was beginning to think we could be in for a clear run this year with no orphans or disinterested Ewes; however that dream was shattered this weekend. Saturday is our busiest day, the only day when we don't do an animal feed run with the guests, instead two of my boys Theo and Jed are in charge of feeding the animals while the rest of us are all hands on deck for our holiday changeover day. All was calm, the animals fed, the guests had said their farewells to us and the cleaners were hard at work to turn things round before the new holiday makers arrived.

I Spy Trouble

Nick was just working on re-hinging a door in one of our lodges, when his eagle eye spotted a small black and white blob across the river lying alone. Alert to the fact it might be a baby lamb and that lying alone was trouble, he radioed for the boys to go and check it out. Two anxious faces racing up to me said it all before they uttered a word. Twin lambs shivering violently, abandoned with all the cold slime of birth still lying wet on their skin. The boys were clearly in panic mode like rabbits in the headlights needing a sense of purpose and instructions to act. I sent them back to the field to gather up the lambs and bring them back to the house. They really were a sorry sight and my heart went out to them as we wrapped them in big old dog towels to clean and dry them before popping them in a laundry basket together under the radiator. The boys then set off in search of a large box and straw and were left to watch and cuddle the twins back to temperature while Nick downed tools and headed off to the farmers shop for bottles and lamb milk.

By this time the cleaners were finishing and I was tied up with checking the properties but Nick arrived back with all the necessary items in record time quickly setting the boys up to help the lambs take their first drink while he returned to hanging that door which was still sitting in the pathway!  

The lambs were hungry and took most of the first bottle which is so important for them. They visibly perked up and had by now stopped shivering completely. The boys were thrilled and tended to them all day helped by Guy and Clio when they had finished their jobs, stripping beds and bagging up the laundry. It is important for new born lambs to stand and practice walking so tending also included a little exercise out on our lawn once they were warm and fed.

I gave the dear little lambs their last feed at 2am then left them snuggled together in their box under the radiator for the night.

The whole house woke to the welcome sound of bleating lambs in the morning. Guy and Jed were first up to do the morning bottles and Nick declared them strong enough to try the day out in the nursery field. They rode in style with Guy and Jed on the morning tractor and trailer run much to the delight of the newly arrived guests.

The boys made their home in a pen within the field and proceeded to tend to their needs diligently all day. The wind was wicked so they made use of their little shelter too.

As the day wore on the boys feared for their new "babies" over night, so they took it upon themselves to carry them back to the house and make them a home in the green house. Minutes later they wheeled up a bale of straw to make them very cosy indeed. Just as well I hadn't yet got round to planting in there this season!

Before I knew it they had sleeping bags out there too and were planning to spend the whole night with them. I considered calling them in at this point, but given they had got this far I thought I would just let it play out a little longer, this turned out to be a wise call since it wasn't long before the weaker of the lambs with less than solid poop had made a lovely mess on the boys in their sleeping bags sending them scurrying back indoors!

Far better to have the children change their mind at the reality of the situation than me pre-empt the inevitable and drag them in earlier when they were so committed to their plan. It was bath and bed for them and straight to the washing machine for all the clothes and sleeping bags!

Fingers crossed for a good night all round! 

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.

When everything happens at once....

A kid goat is born

We have had an eventful couple of days on the farm to say the least. It started with a lovely kid goat being born on April the first. Mum and Kid are doing just fine together. They are now in the "Lamb Nursery" while the 3 orphan lambs have been moved to the old goat meadow.

Runner ducklings Hatch

All this has coincided with the hatching of our lovely apricot runner ducks. They have progressed over the past 2 days from  incubator in my laundry room to their own special house where they are now under a heat lamp. At a few days old they are beginning much enjoyed by the guests as they come out to say Hello each morning.

A disaster for our Guy

We are strong believers in the children helping out on the farm and earning pocket money. Making kindling bundles for the guests is one of their tasks. They are only allowed the small axe and have been shown repeatedly how to use it safely, but as soon as Farmer Nick turned his back yesterday Guy managed to chop his hand! It was nothing too dramatic but a nasty gash that meant he had to go straight to casualty. Kids timing is always spot on; I was just finishing off the BBQ for dinner!

Another baby Lamb

With Guy on his way to hospital with Nick, the remaining children and I continued to have our supper when the guests came round to say they were worried about a newly born lamb in the field who had no mother nearby. Abandoning our fated supper the kids came with me to the field. Sure enough I could see who mother was, her bottom gave the game away, but she could not be persuaded to go and attend to her bleating new born lamb. On feeling the lamb he was cold and clammy where Mum hadn't cleaned him up at all. I scooped him up and warned the guests that the mothers usually abandon them for a good reason, but that we would let them know the news in the morning. The kids then rallied round opening up Farmer Nick's shed and bringing our make shift lamb house and bedding into the kitchen.

Felix sat warming up the lamb as Nick came home. We then caught mother and milked her to give the lamb his (I had time now to check the basics) first all important colostrum 50ml which he guzzled. I now had two poorly soldiers in my kitchen! To be fair, Guy got away with glue and a bandage, but as he didn't feel that was impressive enough they gave him a sling too. Now he feels much better!

A new day dawns

 I am pleased to report that the lamb is thriving today. I am feeling rather the worse for wear after the night feeds, but it was all worth it to see his perky face in the morning. We decided to give him another go with Mum and put them together in their own quarters. The little lamb was shown the basics of feeding and happy to go to Mum.

Sadly after an hour of trying we had to rescue little lamb back out as Mum was not having any of it and began head butting her own lamb with her horns and the poor little chap was desperate to escape.

Jed was only too pleased to have him back in the garden with us! Now we have 4 orpan lambs to the delight of all our guests! 

It is certainly proving an eventful Easter holidays and it is only Tuesday!

It's Sunday again Sshhh......

Welcome to the big wide world

Wednesday the 29th February was a beautiful morning, the sun had the first spring warmth, and there in the field were 2 healthy looking twin lambs emerging. After the sad loss of Pancake, http://www.coombemill.com/blog/post/2012/02/23/A-lamb-in-my-kitchen!.aspx we were taking no chances with these two. Mum and twins were straight into Farmer Nick's Stock trailer, angled purposefully into the morning sun. 

First Concerns

As the 1st hour ticked by and Mum didn't appear to be feeding her new family we became a little concerned. Farmer Nick lent a helping hand, introducing Mum and twins to the basics needed in life!

The idea dawned and they were away to go, except it soon became apparent that Mum just didn't have enough milk for her hungry pair. Out came the bottles again as the children and I gave a helping hand.

By day they played in the sun and by night we gated the trailer to keep them safe from any passing foxes and wet weather. I bravely announced them on facebook and twitter and they were soon named Leap (the girl)  and Year (the boy)

In real trouble

Then the alarm bells began to ring. On two consecutive mornings as Theo and I had ventured out early to check on them with a bottle we had found Leap with Mum in the trailer and Year hiding underneath, apparently having fallen through the bars. The first time I thought it was a mistake but on the second occasion the shivering Year was clearly in trouble and had most likely been pushed out by mother. I was now cursing my decision to announce their safe arrival to the world as we took him indoors. The poor little lamb had chronic diarrhea, and I spent a day cleaning him up like a baby in the utility, watching him reject the bottle out right, lose strength and generally display all the signs of giving up on life. 

Our now smitten children were desperate to save him and not lose another lamb. They wrapped him up with my heated welly warmer and a cover by the radiator. I stayed up to comfort him half the night after warning the children that he was unlikely to make it through to morning.

Fighting Spirit

Theo was first to wake, running into our bedroom thrilled to announce that Year was still alive. I was surprised but still not hopeful on seeing the frail bundle in my kitchen. Theo on the other hand was convinced he was looking better. After the school run I cleaned up the pathetically weak little chap and forced a little milk into him. All day I did this, just a few sips every half hour. By the end of the day he really was beginning to pick up, drink a little and not lose it straight out the other end! We had turned a corner!

Step by step

Slowly he has moved from his small box in the kitchen, to the greenhouse during the day and progressive visits back to see Mum and sister in the field! Mum has now rejected him and won't let him feed, but Leap seams happy to let him come close. It is so rewarding to watch them together again and know that we have most certainly saved his life. 

Year will need bottle feeding through the spring and summer, which I am sure will delight our visitors but to have him back with the other sheep too is the best of all worlds.

Happy Ending

Nick has even bought a new shelter for their specially fenced nursery field;  well he did need the stock trailer back. Turned out to be perfect timing as yesterday we had another new arrival; Mum and baby boy are doing really well with no intervention needed from us.

I am linking this post to the blog hop "Reasons to be cheerful" see what has made others cheerful this week"