Freedom

After being well looked after in our sheep maternity ward for a few days, the first lot of lambs and their mums are now ready for the outside world. It is always a lovely sight to see the ewes and lambs leap of of the trailer into a field of fresh green grass. Let's hope the weather stays kind to them. Apologies for the not so good photo quality, it was taken first thing in the morning with a wriggling baby in my arms waving at his daddy!

Little Visitors

Today we had our first Greenwell Lambing Live visitors of 2012 - approx 15 children from Meavy pre-school! They had a lovely time cuddling the lambs (and our sheepdogs!) although I think the lambs were glad of a rest once they'd left!

Ladies in Waiting

The sheep maternity ward was set up last week just in time for the new arrivals. Mat and Gem spent the day putting together the lambing and nursing pens which will soon be full of new mums and their newborns.

A Swaledale ewe has early triplets

On Sunday this ewe had the first mule lambs, she was sick and weak by the time she had lambed which left her unstable on her legs and unfortunately she lay on one of her lambs. Both of these lambs have been feed by bottle until today, mum is feeling much better now and her milk has come through.

First arrivals for the season

The first born little pair of ewe lambs arrived on saturday afternoon to a blind ewe. This Whiteface Dartmoor ewe had been rolling in the grass to itch her back and could not get onto her feet again. Birds (properly crows) had noticed her helpless in the field and pecked at her eyes, had she not been found by Mathew the birds would have continued until she died.

Now she is a very proud mum and the lambs will quickly learn to quide her around the farm fields

Last of 2011 lambs ready to be sold

This is the last of the 2011 crop of lambs in early Feb waiting to be purchased. The grandchildren and their friends enjoy playing in the lambing shed.

Happy New Year bloggers and another lambing season is looming

It has been a long time and I have to apologies for not keeping it up last year, but will try to do better.

It was indeed a good year for sheep in 2011, spring was good weather meaning not to many lambs died, the summer produced good grass (not to much sun though) thus  lambs grow well and fatten for the butcher easily and on top of that prices were better than for years, so sheep farmers generally have been as happy as they get, of course costs have risen just like everyone elses.

The last of the crop of 2011 lambs are in the sheep shed being fed well to go to butchers before the middle of Feb. when we start to think about housing the first ewes to lamb. Hugh our scanning man has pregancy diagnosed the first half of the ewes and unfortunately the Beloved Whiteface Dartmoor have let us down or rather the ram has, unfortunately one ram was infertile and 50 of his ewes are not in lamb, which of course will mean a loss of income for 2012/13. The ram is for the chop and the girls have been sent to Roborough Down to graze, saving the good field grass for the profit making pregnant ewes.

Hope you have been to see War Horse as our Whiteface Dartmoor ewes feature there in the Dartmoor scenes as Chris Evans (radio2) discussed live with Mat yesterday morning, so maybe they have a reprieve having earnt their money on location.

Time to go  bye