There are many busy times for us during the year, however lambing is definitely one of the busiest. Not only do we spend time tending to new mothers and their offspring, it’s normally Easter holidays and so the shop is incredibly busy as well. This year we’ve also had a late and incredibly wet start to spring so the bulk of the sowing and planting vegetables is needing done now. This makes for a very long day but it’s definitely worth it. To see new life running around the fields in the beautiful spring sunshine, the lambs charging around in little gangs, skipping over tufts of grass, and crops flourishing makes our work incredibly fulfilling.
We took the decision, when we brought sheep back to the farm, to lamb later than some farms, when it’s a little warmer and there is more grass. This enables us to be able to leave the sheep outside over lambing. There are many and varied arguments in the agricultural sector debating the merits of lambing inside versus outside. Many farmers lamb inside, especially if the lambs are born at the beginning of the year. However, an increasing number are deciding to lamb outside, later in the year. On the whole, we think we get less infections and disease, the mothers are less stressed and have space to go away from the flock to lamb, with their lambs getting a great start to their lives. It also allows the animals to be 100% grass-fed so we’re Pasture for Life assured.
Nights like last night however, do make you question our decisions. With around 20mm of rain, wind and a very cold night it was the perfect storm for new born lambs. Thankfully, our lambing field is very sheltered with lots of nooks and crannies for the lambs to hide in and the sheep to shelter behind. After a sleepless night worrying about the weather, it was an early start at first light. We were relieved to discover that all the lambs were quite happy, snuggled up with their mums. We lost one ewe due to a bad lambing over night but thankfully the lambs were up and bright. We’ve heard from friends throughout Scotland that many weren’t so lucky.
As farmers our whole lives are spent caring for the animals we rear on the farm. Nights like last night can be devastating. After years spent researching and learning the best way to care for our animals often Mother Nature has other ideas. Farming can be a lonely job and we’re very proud to be part of a strong support group of farmers. Despite many having a long, cold night with fatalities, there were many messages of support and encouragement this morning reviving spirits.
We’re really only a few days into lambing at the moment. There is a long way to go still. We’ll keep everyone updated with pictures and more information on our social media channels. We’re on facebook, instagram and Twitter.
Fingers crossed for some more dry weather and a little warmer wouldn’t do any harm.
