Watch: still learning after 40 years lambing

Lambing has just about finished, apart from one or two sheep that scanned empty in January and may yet turn out to be in-lamb.

This happens every year, and some day in the middle of May, a few new-born lambs could magically appear among the dry sheep.

It was a decent lambing season, with a good crop of lambs and plenty of grass to keep them contented and milking. Nevertheless, I have been reminded (yet again) that no matter how long you have been working with sheep, they can still surprise you, and this year was no exception.

Number one on my list of eyebrow raisers was the scanning result.

This had an undesirable knock-on effect

Before lambing, I wondered why the main flock had only achieved 177%, since this was lower than normal. I now feel a bit daft for listing my potential reasons and wish I had thought of the blindingly obvious one – an inaccurate scan.

The ewes were carrying 20% more than the scan suggested, which translated into about 40 sheep that gave birth to an extra lamb. This had an undesirable knock-on effect, because these mothers were not getting fed accordingly, thus contributing to smaller lambs and limited milk supply. The result? Vulnerable lambs that required extra attention, with increased likelihood of E. coli infection.

Blood test

The second ‘ovine surprise’ on my list stems from a random blood test, carried out as part of an updated veterinary health plan.

The vet thought it would be a good idea, even though I told him my flock was supremely healthy and sampling blood was a waste of time and money.

The entire flock had to be dosed with something to temporarily adjust levels

However, when the result came back, it showed that selenium levels were low, and action was required. Therefore, the entire flock had to be dosed with something to temporarily adjust levels, and we may have to use boluses next autumn. I’ve no idea what the drench tasted like, but the big feed of humble pie I had to swallow was fairly bitter.

Pet lambs

I am also surprised at the size of other farmers’ lamb crops. This has nothing to do with official information, merely the fact that I had zero demand for pet lambs.

Perhaps I’m putting two and two together and getting 10, but I would normally have a steady stream of people looking for wee lambs to put onto a wet ewe.

I’m not sure how this will end

By contrast, I managed to get rid of four pets (early in the lambing), before realising we were going to have to set up a proper ‘pet regime’.

The upshot of this situation saw two semi-automatic feeders being fully utilised to supply the needs of almost 40 extra lambs. I’m not sure how this will end, and still reckon 15 quid apiece at two days old is the more profitable option. We shall see.

Ewe lambs

The biggest surprise of all has been the ewe lambs, where every positive possibility seems to have come together to create a perfect scenario.

A relatively huge crop of lambs, coupled to almost no lambing difficulties, plus the addition of perfect weather since lambing has resulted in unprecedented numbers being successfully reared (at least so far).

I haven’t got a clue how this came about – 34 home-bred Texel/mules went to the ram and they were identical to every other year in all aspects of selection and management. They have now finished lambing and carried 1.8 lambs per ewe put to the ram.

Two lambs finished up in the pet enclosure

One was not in-lamb, another aborted, and a third ewe isn’t rearing anything after having a dead single. Two lambs finished up in the pet enclosure, and this leaves me with 31 sheep rearing 56 lambs (180%). They are currently being fed twice daily and are eating just short of a kilo each.

I have been working with ewe lambs for over forty years and am fully aware this situation may never occur again. Therefore, when I am talking to other shepherds, I constantly steer the conversation towards the subject of ewe lambs.

Skill

This takes considerable skill, especially working around to the bit where they ask how my ewe lambs performed.

I refuse to apologise for any form of one-upmanship on display

I then casually mention, “nearly two apiece”, and when their facial expression registers surprise and shock, the feeling of overwhelming smugness is just fantastic.

I refuse to apologise for any form of one-upmanship on display; when you’ve had hundreds of kicks in the teeth from any form of livestock farming, it is vitally important to bask in any glimmers of sunshine that come your way.

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