Lambing Arrangements

Night lambing. My official shift commences at 9pm and runs through until 9am. As is the norm with lambings I am remunerated by a fixed pre arranged amount of money per shift. There are some I know of who go away to do a lambing and charge an hourly rate, this arrangement does not suit Shep. I have never lambed on an hourly basis, much preferring to go with the fixed rate idea over a 12 hour shift.

The fixed shift idea gives flexibility if that makes any sort of sense. Yes, my hours are pre arranged but when dealing with livestock you cannot always just walk away at the fixed finishing time, sometimes things over run, occasionally it all goes in your favour and an earlier finish may be possible. What will be, will be and at the end of the day it usually balances out. Also those employing you know exactly what the cost to them is going to be over the duration of the lambing.

So it is then that I am employed on this particular farm, to do a fortnights night lambing followed by three weeks hill lambing (day time, outdoors lambing), with the option of an extra week at the finish if required by the shepherd (which to date has always been required).

I have a cottage to bide in for the duration. It is sparsely furnished but comfortable enough comes complete with oil fired Aga and an open fire for which wood and coals are provided. The two downstairs rooms are all that I use, the sitting room has a put me up bed in it. Basically I am camping in a cottage which is much more comfortable than camping in a tent I can tell you.

When I first came to do this lambing five years ago I was concerned that it was a self catering job. It is usual to get fed by someone throughout the day, often the shepherd or farmers wife will accommodate the feeding but there was to be no offers of food for this particular job. An arrangement was drawn up whereas I get a food allowance and a freezer was installed in the cottage and it has to be said with the help of the Aga I find it is no great hardship to have to fend for one self.

The food thing was an issue I learnt the hard way. I got quite a shock a number of years back when I headed down to Leicestershire to do an early lambing. Back in those days it wasn’t unheard of for Shep to do three or four lambings through the season, heading away down south in late January/early February and finishing back up home in May.

I had had an enquiry from the south of the country through a connection near to home, would I consider going to lamb for an Estate in Leicestershire? I never commit to any lambing before I have been and seen and so I arranged to go down and visit the farm, look at the set up and decide whether or not I would take the job.

The set up seemed alright, the shepherd I was to be working for seemed clued up and conscientious, the sheep looked to be in good physical condition. Living arrangements I was told were to be in a caravan which I guessed would be alright for the duration. I agreed to head back down in the February and lamb for them.

Foolishly I had not enquired about food. Every lambing I had done up until that date had automatically come with meals, admittedly some had been living in conditions with the farmer or shepherd and their families, others I travelled to but still got fed. I had overlooked a serious factor on this occasion and learnt dearly.

Upon arrival for the lambing I took up residence in a caravan, a very small caravan. My bathroom was to be the workshop toilet, complete with oil, grease and swarfega........... The canteen? Well, that didn’t exist I was told, self catering was the answer.

Many miles from home I found myself in a caravan parked outside the estate workshop with one gas ring inside, a small gas oven and empty cupboards........ They were empty an’ all. No cutlery, no dishes, no pots and pans, no sink other than the one in the workshop toilet along with oil, grease and swarfega!

Bloody hell! Six weeks ahead of me..........

It was a nightmare scenario and foolishly I didn’t have sense to go to the Estate office and grumble, but then it had been an oversight on my part, I was responsible for not making sure of the arrangements, for all I had gone to the effort of travelling down there and looking the place over I had overlooked one very important issue and was about to pay dearly for the oversight.

I found myself begging and borrowing utensils, the shepherds wife gave me their camping gear, tin plates, tin cups, tin pans for a primus stove, knives and forks which clipped together to keep them in their ‘families’. I had to head out into the strange countryside and track down a supermarket and find some food. I believe I survived on biscuits, beans and bacon. The other half came down one weekend with a food hamper of home baked goodies and eventually as friends and acquaintances were made offers of meals came through, I never turned them down!

There was another issue. Washing. Clothes needed washing as did my body. I bought some bathroom cleaner and set about the oil, grease and swarfega covered hand basin in the workshop toilet, it remained squeaky clean for a few hours before the men at work once again came to work but regardless of how clean or dirty it was my body wouldn’t fit into it, there was not room for a bath. Strip washing wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences under the circumstances and even I was beginning to hold my nose in my own company!

As already said over time I got to know the staff on the farm, being quite a large estate there were a number of workers - shepherd, stockmen, manager, tractor drivers, forestry workers, workshop workers – all men, which is fine with Shep as that is how life is generally with farm work, I spend the majority of my time working alongside men. However I now found myself in the position of enquiring whether their wives would mind if I popped over to have a bath or shower.

Fortunately for me most were accommodating, I tried to share the job around, not hassling too many too frequently, I visited an array of bathrooms over the duration of my stay, often turning up with a pile of dirty washing under my arm as well – I made some good friends although there were odd ones who appeared somewhat frosty, maybe their husbands had reputations I was unaware of, or maybe they just didn’t like the smell as I entered their houses!

I recall one especially luxurious bath time, a deep bath had been run for me, full of bubbles, a lovely spacious and warm bathroom, probably the grandest bathroom I have ever been in, there was a steaming cup of tea at the side of the bath and warm freshly laundered fluffy towels – god it was bliss! However, I never returned. Rightly or wrongly I don’t know, maybe I was just being far too sensitive, a fault that I apparently possess. I am often told that I am too sensitive to other people’s feelings.

Anyhow, the luxury I was offered had all been laid on by the man of the house, which was very kind, but the lady of the house did not appear to be too enamoured with my presence, she did not seem to share the same enthusiasm for my company or thoughtfulness and kindness that her husband had shown, it left me feeling uncomfortable, more so for her than myself and so, for all it was one of the biggest treats I had during my stay away I declined all further offers of bath night at that house.

It was good to get home, the sleeping bag I had crawled into over the six week duration was itself just about crawling by the time it headed into my washing machine, it had been very tempting to just drop a match on it I can tell you!

You live and learn, mistakes are made and it pays to learn by them. Here I am now content with my lambing arrangements. Self catering it may be but absolute luxury compared to some conditions I have found myself in in the past, there is hot water on tap, baths every day, full of bubbles too, warmth and comfort in the cottage, hot food, washing machine – what more could a gal ask for?

Lambing and the weather

My lambing over the borders commenced on the night of the 1st April. As morning came around I headed off to the hill to acquaint myself with the ewes I will be lambing in a fortnights time. Out there, on the hill, not in a shed and not during the night.

Here they are, by jove they seemed fit. Might just take a bit more handling this coming lambing time. The sheep in the foreground have just received a bite of cake, not much, mebbes half a pound a head, the sheep in the background are being greedy, I have yet to reach their part of the hill and the race is on to turn them back to whence they came and give them a bite of feed on the ground which they belong.

It was good to see the girls again, they're looking well of that there is no doubt. The weather was dry and mild, a far cry from the roasting temperatures we had all experienced the week previous, more like normal April weather, quite pleasant really.

During the night of the 2nd of April it rained, not too heavy but rain all the same, I know these things, being a bit of a night owl, wandering around whilst everyone else is tucked up in bed, all I had for company was a shed full of sheep and the badger that took flight in front of me once over when I was returning to the cottage for a cuppa. No owls twit twooing yet, there is time tho'.

By the time I headed to the hill on the morning of the 3rd April the rain was getting heavier, the wind began to lift and as my route commenced the weather began to deteriotate, by the time I was heading in back to the steading the weather was truly atrocious

the above photograph was how the conditions were down inbye upon my return - ugh!

I was fortunate that day, offers of help in the morning were given before I took refuge in the cottage and took no encouraging to hide under duvet and try to catch up on some sleep. I rose about tea time and upon drawing the curtains was somewhat dismayed to find the weather had not improved.

Those lambs outdoors would be fine if their tummies were full and shelter was available. The lambing ewes had been held in the shed all day so new lambs were also fine. Shep commenced duties earlier than usual to allow the shepherd an early finish, a warm at the fire and a well earned sit down.

I listened to the radio, trying to get an idea of weather conditions throughout the country. Radio two is my preferred station and their weather forecasting is abyssmal, all I was able to find out was that there might be snow in the south tomorrow - what about us?? Do we not exist?? I also learnt that a giant panda poos 30 times a day - now there's a useful fact to have stored in your head!! As for weather conditions in the north east of England or South East of Scotland I was none the wiser, coupled with the fact the cottage 'phone was out of order and there was no mobile reception I defintitely was none the wiser!

The pens in the shed were full of new born lambs and much moving around was necessary during the night to accomodate new arrivals. The wind howled like only an arctic wind can, flurries of snow persisted throughout the night. It was cold, bitterly cold.

Morning once again saw me head to the hill, my third morning out to the hill, it was the 4th April, every morning to date the weather conditions had been different, there's nowt like a bit of variety in life! Ewes were fine out there but had all been blown off the ground they ought to have been on, no problem on that front, when conditions improved they would return home.

That the wind had blown there was no doubt, the snow had also frozen ground was glistening every direction I looked - hard on the eyes as the sun reflected off the whiteness causing a bright glare, a pleasure to behold all the same

The strength of the wind had blown through the gaps of the wall giving the snow a honeycombed effect on the sheltered side, the photo really doesn't do justice to just how intricate the resulting natural piece of artwork was.

We were fortunate on the amount of snow which fell, especially as it was accompanied by such a strong wind, it left the surrounding countryside looking beautiful without causing too much grief. One of the in bye lambs died, a very unfortunate scenario. A large single lamb, with such a kind mother she had managed to lie on it in an effort to tuck it in and keep it safe, the lamb would suffocate under her bulk and was found stiffened in the morning. Other than that all was well, we are nearly a week on now since the snowy day and other than odd little pockets of snow lying in dips and hollows everywhere is once again green. Weather has been relatively dry, sometimes even mild, good lambing weather at the moment, lets hope it holds on for the hill ewes beginning to lamb.

A Shed full of Sheep 1.05am Friday 6th April

As I headed back towards the lambing shed there was a dampness in the air, fine rain accompanied by a full looking moon

 

in a cloudy sky.

I stood outside the shed and listened, there was a definite grunt, a sound of labour, one of the ‘somethings’ was hopefully up to something!

Sure enough, as I stealthily tip toed into the lambing shed those stupid Cheviots banged to their feet and looked for the exit, not terribly helpful of them but an issue I am getting accustomed to. I stood in the feed passage which is slightly raised above the area where the ewes are held. Scouring the woolly mass in front of me I tried to get my eye on the three which I had noted an hour previous, also looking for any signs of anything else which may be ‘up to mischief’.

There was a ewe standing at the bottom end of the shed, it was from this direction I had thought the grunt had come from which I had heard minutes earlier as I had stood outside in the darkness of the night. She raised her nose in the air and gave a silent push, a birthing contraction, quite a big strain which made me think the lamb was close to being imminent.

Over at the back wall a ewe had lain down and muttered to herself, my view of her was blocked once she lay down by the mass of bodies between her and I, it was however apparent that she too was busying herself.

At the top end of the shed was the sheep which I had wondered whether I ought to have concerns about. I did now indeed have concerns about her, she was standing with her back up, not straining, not grunting, doing nothing other than standing in a hunched fashion. It would seem there was indeed a problem with this sheep.

There is only one entry point into the area these sheep are housed in, it is at the bottom end of the shed. As I entered I noticed the grunter now had a head and two legs hanging out of her backside, another push or two and the lamb would be released from its confines. A problem for me, because if I went to catch the sheep I had concerns about all the other sheep would stampede, this one included. The lamb may well be released into the big wide world and lost in the straw as woolly bodies ran by.

I could give her more time but was keen to get problems sorted, once lambed she needed a few minutes to lick and bond with her lamb, otherwise I would find her running off if I tried to move her too early, it was going to be easier to try and move her as she was. Unfortunately, an attempt to coax her into a pen in the corner failed, a rugby tackle saw her restrained, as the lamb popped out into the big wide world.

What appeared to be a big single lamb (these sheep aren’t scanned), however, it wasn’t covered in the usual lambing fluids, instead it was smeared with brown gunky stuff, there was obviously something else inside this ewe and it was unlikely it was going to be alive. Indeed, quick examination saw a mummified lamb close on the heels of the healthy chap who was already on the ground. Problem sorted and ewe and lamb were put into a smaller individual pen.

 

A quick look at the second sheep had me conclude she ought to be alright to be left to the job for the time being, there didn’t appear to be anything untoward to be seen at her backside. My attentions moved on to the third sheep, it took me a while to get my eye on her in the melee but find her I did and yet another rugby tackle saw her and I lying in the straw of the shed floor as the others scudded around our lugs. Give me lambing outdoors any day!

A quick inspection below her tail told me all I needed to know. The stench which was released with my hand is a smell you never really get accustomed to and can often leave you gagging. They all smell the same, rotten lambs carry the same smell from every sheep I’ve ever been unfortunate enough to deal with, it has its own unique aroma.

I quickly realised this was not going to be a speedy procedure and took my jacket off and covered the ewes head, tucking the edges in around the sides of her head to prevent any light seeping in. Sheep will generally remain quiet if left in darkness, this tactic was used to give me the opportunity to open one of the bigger individual pens, leaving the sheep lying prone in the straw, lying quiet for a second or two whilst I got organised for moving her.

 

Upon my return, as soon as I removed her ‘blindfold’ she banged up onto her feet, it took all my strength to keep a hold of her as we bounced off in the direction of the individual pen. Even though she was in a potentially serious predicament she still wanted to take flight – these cheviots really don’t help you to help them!

It was indeed a time consuming procedure, the lamb was coming arse first (breech), with a twist, as the rump of the lamb was presented first with both back legs tucked forward and as is often the case when badly presented the ewe hadn’t opened up properly so a little gentle manipulation was required. Concern was rising as first one back leg came out, followed by the second leg, the skin was coming off as pressure was applied, inevitably the legs came away, released themselves from the body.......

Not a good place to be.

String tied around the spinal column of the torso found that also came away from the rib cage.

It was somewhat gruesome and would be extremely unpleasant for the ewe. Much lube was used. Lambing lube, a gel used for lubrication. Fortunately the bottles have a long pipe on the end of them allowing the stuff to be released into the insides of the sheep by putting the pipe into the sheep and then squeezing the bottle. It was needed as it became necessary to remove a front leg inside the sheep to make the remaining torso and head smaller.

I was truly hoping that the remaining front leg would stay attached to the rib cage and give me something to help release the final remains of the rotten lamb. Fortunately it did and finally all the ‘bits’ were removed from her body. Oh hell! There was another one! This was not as rotten as the first and managed (only just) to come out in one piece. The second lamb would die later than the first and so would be less rotten. If caught in time the second lamb can often still be alive.

So, if caught in time? Does that mean had I investigated an hour sooner the lambs would have been alive? NO.

It is difficult to say how long this sheep had been stuck lambing. She had been moved from a field further away at lunchtime along with all the other second week lambers, she would probably have been in this predicament then, the natural flight instinct would have seen her willingly run with her mates and once in a new field all of the sheep would be unsettled and she was probably acting fairly normally. It has just been unfortunate circumstances which will hopefully have a happy ending.

They are resilient creatures, you just have to take your hat off to them. Poor soul had been stuck with two rotten lambs inside her, followed by an hours worth of gynaecology, she gets a big shot of antibiotic and a live lamb given to her. At the moment she is standing up, licking her ‘new born’. To a sheep there is no better medicine than to have a live lamb to tend to. Time will tell, but if infection can be held at bay it would be hoped this sheep will go from strength to strength as will her adopted lamb.

A keen eye will be cast over her for quite some time, it is always possible the milk may go off her, or she may feel under the weather but they are tough cookies, fighters, we could learn much from them.

Left in her pen to quietly recuperate I set off to see what the other sheep was up to, she ought to have lambed by now. She hadn’t, she was having a gi normous single lamb, an absolute monster he was. Presented correctly, nose and two front feet but he was getting nipped. His nose and tongue were just beginning to swell, yet another rugby tackle, yet another sheep wrestled to the ground, fortunately for this ewe once the front feet were pulled to straighten the legs the lamb came out of her without too much bother, gentle pressure from my part with her natural contractions pushing the beast out.

The night is not through yet. Before leaving the shed and the three new lambed sheep it was noticed one sheep was unwell. An injection of Calcium with Magnesium was administered under her skin to give her a lift. She had ‘dropped’ a sign of staggers, also a sign of pre lambing stress, hopefully the treatment she received will have lifted her back to her feet. There were also another two sheep tweeking their lugs, muttering to themselves................. It is time once again to go investigate and see what them woolly blighters are up to.

A Shed full of Sheep

That’s what faced me on the night of 5th/6th April – a shed full of sheep. There had been only about 20 sheep which had left the shed that morning but the ewes due to lamb in the second week had now joined them, bringing the total closer to 100.

 

When I say they had left the shed that morning this is because the ewes are only housed at night, being allowed out to grass during the day to lamb in more natural conditions. The twenty however had been whittled down indoors during the previous two days due to the inclement weather, they had been held in during daylight hours to save them from dealing with the harshness of the weather. Boy were they pleased to see daylight and fresh air on the morning of their release after two days of total confinement.

Cheviots are not well suited to being housed, being a flighty breed they don’t seem to settle too well when they are housed and looking them throughout the night is not always easy. No matter how quietly and gently I tiptoe into the lit shed there is always one on sentry duty, as soon as she spots me she bangs to her feet as a warning and all the rest follow suit, I find myself standing, looking, listening, studying for what seems like an eternity to try and work out if anything is up to mischief – either thinking of lambing or on lambing, the more sheep there are in the shed the more difficult it is.

So it is this particular night, shed full of sheep, even flightier than usual due to the fact that for many it is their first night indoors - their first night of disturbance..

At this point I am going to tell you that there may or may not be accompanying photographs, bear with me if I suggest there is a photo and yet there isn’t, due to having to use a mobile dongle to access the internet not everything runs as smoothly as I would like, there are many photos I wish to share with you all but it isn’t always possible.

 

It took me some time to ascertain that indeed something was going on, I tailed and castrated some lambs ready to go out tomorrow whilst quietly trying to keep a beady eye on those in the lambing pen, I finally concluded that there may be three ‘something’s’ going on. I gently walked in amongst them to try and see what exactly was going on and wasn’t just too sure of what I was seeing.

At this stage it really doesn’t help that Cheviots don’t take too kindly to you gently walking into their space, that flight thing they are so renowned for comes to the fore and they ‘kindly’ all run in a tight bunch to one end of the shed, attempts at quietly trying to look at backsides can see them all charge to the other end of the shed – an absolute nightmare which requires quick recognition of issues and the sheep with the issues.

So it was, there are definitely at least three sheep in the throes of lambing. I exited their pen and stood back and studied. There is one in particular that I am not convinced is managing, however, how can you really tell when sheep are so unsettled, so uncooperative and held together quite so tight?

Sheep commence labour by appearing unsettled, sometimes they just flick their lugs (ears) around, or look back at themselves, lay down and rise, turn around, scratch at the ground, curl their lips up, basically sometimes looking confused (especially first time lambers), other times looking uncomfortable. Eventually the spasms kick in, the contractions. Lying or standing the nose will be raised in the air and lugs laid back as a ‘push’ is the order of the day, this can be silent, may come with a grunt or a blaar – they are all different.

Some sheep can start their labour and have lambs on the ground in no time at all and with very little fuss, others can take an hour or two, some with much fuss and commotion others in a more covert manner.

It is the covert manner which can give rise for concern. Should a lamb be badly presented inside the ewe, be lying in a manner that she will not be able to lamb it naturally her body often seems to shut down to the idea. The first signs of lambing will be present, there will probably be a water bag passed but after that she may well just ‘give up’. This is fairly easily spotted outdoors as the ewe will appear ‘off the stott’ (not right), even in sheds it can be fairly obvious if there is sufficient room to see what is going on and sufficient memory space in your head to recall those who had started to lamb but never got any further. These sheep are capable of ‘giving up’ the idea of lambing and actually chewing their cud or heading for hay so it is necessary to be able to store everything in your head and not overlook one if things get busy.

Should they be overlooked they will become apparent eventually, the lamb dies inside the ewe and soon begins to rot due to the body heat of its host, this will lead to the sheep looking sick and upon inspection it will soon become apparent that a lamb is stuck inside the sheep, a smelly lamb at that.

So it is then that there is one sheep Shep isn’t too sure about. What ought I do? Dive in and lamb her? Chase all the sheep around the shed, including the other two which are starting to lamb to catch a hold of her and see if there is a problem or not?

Time. That is the answer, or it is to me. Early into my night shift and I don’t fully know the history, length of times etc that these sheep have been in labour, they are also extremely unsettled in their new environment. I concluded I would exit the shed, give them all an hour before going back to see what if anything they were all up to.

I am writing this post during that hour, having headed back into the cottage for some warmth. An hour is a long time to fill in, especially when there are concerns, some may say it is a huge risk and I would have been wise to catch all three sheep – that is the reason I do night lambings, the least interference the better is my logic. I will be able to tell how things are going when I head back out, hopefully the sheep will have had time to settle down and recommence their labours, I know in my head who I am looking for, where their spots in the shed were, unfortunately I also know that the one who is left on sentry duty will alert all the others and they will bang to their feet when I re enter the shed.

It is 11.15pm on Thursday 5th April and I am heading back out there, my hour is up and it is time to go see exactly what them woolly critters think they are up to.

Aargh.........

Shep's away, over the border into Scotland for the annual lambing stint. A fortnight on the graveyard shift, those anti social hours between dusk and dawn, which will be followed by a months day lambing out on the hill.

Why Aargh? It's due to that annual problem of internet access. There is no doubt it will drive me around the bend if time would allow.

This is the third attempt at accessing the internet in the 6 days I have been away. I've even driven to a local border town called Jedburgh which advertises free Wifi, very useful if my computer would only connect to it!

The mobile phone dongle I am using is a dodgy character, painfully slow and totally unreliable, as is mobile 'phone coverage in this area. It is fair to say my patience is waning.

I left Tarset after we had experienced a heatwave, temperatures in the mid to high 20's for a complete week. Two days into the lambing here and blizzards were the order of the day - there's just nowt like the good old British weather! There's one thing for sure, we never get a chance to get bored with the same old routine! Shep was fortunate, lambing in a shed at night saw hiding under the duvet during the day, missing the worst of the weather, although assistance was given outdoors before retiring for the day.

I have written a number of postings which need to be copied and pasted, I'm not too sure this is possible, I'm very confident it won't be possible to download the photographs as well.

So for the time being I will sign off. Attempt to copy and paste the pre written posts before the second battery flattens on this computer and then I will head back to my digs and dive under the duvet.

Sheep and Bananas

If you go back to the 26th March posting you may recall that Shep had been caused some grief by a sheep whilst dealing with them in the pens. This is not an unusual scenario as sheep are generally uncooperative, which isn’t surprising really when you consider that almost every time they are being handled they are having something or other done to them without their prior consent.

Sheep, for all they are domesticated to a degree still harp back to their natural wild instincts, we may gather them with dogs and handle them but they still remain hugely independent and the fight or flight instinct rarely leaves them, especially the hill sheep, they generally have far more gusto about them than the quieter in bye breeds.

So it was then that Shep found herself well and truly in the firing range. Dosing and inoculating was the task in hand in a cattle race, which is slightly wider than a sheep race coz obviously cows are wider than sheep, the sides of the race are also a great deal higher. Regardless of the fact it was a cattle race it was still a good set up, no problems on that front.

I went down the race with the sheep facing away from me and injected them, then changed equipment and came back up the race with the sheep facing me and dosed them. An easier and quicker option than clambering out the bottom end after injecting them and climbing back in the top end to come back down through them with the dosing gun.

Heading towards sheep in a confined area can put you at risk, their natural instinct is to try and run past you – take flight. They don’t really wish to just stand there and wait to see what is going to happen. I would like to think I possess enough sheep sense to be aware of this probability, it is not an unusual scenario for Shep and over the years, dealing with horned sheep especially, I have collected some impressive bruises from the blighters as they try to pass and I use my legs to block their way. There is no doubt you need to keep your wits about you but there are ways and means of handling the woolly beasties and only the odd few find themselves successful in causing grief.

I was getting confident and wishing to speed the job up a little so found myself opening the front of the cattle crush as I commenced dosing on my way back up the race, this allowed those which I had handled and dosed to then pass me and make their hasty departure out of the pens, keeping sheep tight up in front of me meant nothing could get past without my permission, until....... I found myself with a gap in the proceedings, all those dealt with were gone and there were a couple of yards of empty space before reaching the final three.

As said, sheep like to run past you, I had given these three the ideal opportunity, they had room to make a charge and knew their mates were disappearing out of sight at the far end of the race, I was still confident however that if I rushed up to them they would turn and all would be well.

I have been in this position with sheep hundreds of times. This time was different. What happened next I don’t truly recall, I can only conclude that something caught my attention, something took my mind off the job for a split second – there was definitely a lack of concentration, I was soon to learn that none of us are infallible.


Sheep will try and pass you when faced with you heading towards them. This is indeed what happened in this instance, except I never saw her coming, never even saw her pass. Like all true accidents they happen in a flash. A slow motion flash in this instance but a flash none the less.

I have two recollections of the ‘accident’. The first was a sensation of being air borne, my feet and legs being raised up behind me. I never felt a knock; a clatter of a sheep going by, I just remember having time to think “how weird” as I sailed through the air with the greatest of ease. I don’t think I’ve ever been air borne before in such a way, it really was quite surreal and seemed to last some time although I doubt it was just a matter of split seconds as what goes up has to come down due the laws of gravity which I vaguely recall learning about in Physics lessons. The heavier the ‘thing’ the quicker it comes down and as Shep is no featherweight I presume I would actually come down quite quickly. Which brings me to my second recollection of the accident – landing.

The landing must have been as graceful as the aerial acrobatics and once again I had time to think to myself “how strange” as my body made contact with the concrete. “How on earth can you possibly land on that part of your body” was what was going through my mind as the pain told me I had landed on my lower rib cage. On realising two sheep were still facing me I decided to jump to my feet, I quickly concluded that that probably wasn’t the wisest of ideas. Catching my breath all I could concentrate on was how on earth I could land on my lower rib cage, the bit which bends around, just below the boobs and above the belly, both of which are parts of me which stick out far further than my ribs do – How on earth?

I did eventually gingerly raise to my feet and was relieved to find that the two sheep which had remained in the race appeared to be suffering from shock, standing stock still with eyes out on stalks they kindly allowed me to dose them before departing to join their mates and undoubtedly tell some sort of tale about Shep and her attempt to fly like the birds.

On recounting this story to a friend she suggested that I must have landed like an inverted banana. A banana?? I could describe myself as many things but a banana?? I still chuckle at the thought of Shep being a banana. It is indeed a mystery to myself. Supple I have never been, gymnastic abilities only stretched as far as forward rolls, all my friends were able to do handstands, cartwheels and crabs whilst Shep only ever managed to master a forward roll, so to suggest I could be anything like a banana leaves my imagination running...............

On looking back at the incident I just cannot believe how lucky I was, not only can I say I flew through the air with the greatest of ease but I can also say that I hurt no other part of my body. I didn’t knock elbows, knees, hands – nothing other than my ribs. I must have been a very relaxed banana! Thrown in the air like a rag doll – now that sets the imagination running an’ all.

I have a friend who always says you should try everything at least once in life. Well, I can tick this one off the list, not one I would wish to repeat I may add but at least I have tried it. I did finally give in and visit the quack, due in part to the fact it was feeling worse rather than better plus the fact I was about to depart for my six weeks lambing stint, I decided to do the hypochondriac thing. Cracked ribs is the official diagnosis. Have to say, I thought it was a bit mean of the quack to prod my ribs a second time just to ensure the yelp induced on the first prod was genuine!

I will be fit and well by the time I return from the lambing which is good to know. In the meantime I pray I don’t sneeze, laugh, cough, or get the hiccups – god that ain’t funny! I have to say I was very kindly prescribed a cocktail of pain relief, which does a grand job of relieving the discomfort but unfortunately leaves me feeling spaced out and weird and I have concluded that I am weird enough without adding to the affliction so I will probably just grin and bear the company of my ribs.

My vocabulary has come up with a new word. GREAK. ‘Tis a cross between grate and creak and causes a most peculiar sensation, feels like a lump of you is moving around! Ach well, only five weeks left until ribs are mended and greak is history!

sheep tagging - a welfare issue?

I have already stated in a past posting that by law all sheep have to be tagged. Those destined for pies just require one tag, those destined to remain on farms as breeding sheep require two tags.

If a sheep is found to have lost a tag the farmer is required by law to replace that missing tag or pair of tags.

Now I have my ears pierced and over the years I have lost many earrings out of my lugs. Pull your jumper off over your head and hey presto! gone, left with just one lug ring, t'other never to be seen again, mainly due to the fact that it generally takes me days to realise I lost one in the first place.

So sheep don't pull their jumpers off over their heads so they won't have the problem I experience, they just have other problems. Sheep have wool and it can indeed get tangled on their person, they also like to stick their heads through wire fences, they like to feed at hay hecks, they traipse through heather, lie down in dense undergrowth, wander into woods, rub up against things including each other, especially when in the sheep pens. They have a hundred and one ways of managing to lose a tag. They also have the trouble of flies, which irritate them, make them flick their ears around, scrub their heads, kick up with their hind feet - anything to dislodge the pests.

I Know! I take some strange photos! The above is an ear, a sheeps ear no less, a normal ear, a healthy ear, it is the last one you're likely to see on this posting - be warned!

Blackfaced sheep are not meant to have droopy, floppy lugs. Their ears ought to be pinned back behind their horns and pointing skywards not drooping forwards.

This poor soul had little option but to hang a lug. Having been tagged a year previous she had been doing well, until there was some warm steamy weather and headflies became a problem, her incessant flicking of her ears against her horn would cause the skin to break, the headfly would then get excited to a feverish pitch, she would flick her ear even more and before she knew it she had a very sore and very infected ear.

This sheep had also been bothered by flies, the tag is actually still in the ear, just encrusted with infection.

Was this sheep luckier? She has lost her tag, it has ripped her ear, probably she caught it on something and tore it away from the flesh of her lug which it was pierced through. Unlike the earrings which I wear, which have a removable back her earring is meant to be a permanent fixture, it won't come to pieces, it will come out in one whole piece - torn or ripped out, She had obviously had an infection as well, the hair missing off her ear says it all, although healing up nicely she will have had a rough time of it.

Another who had lost a tag, healing nicely?

Upon closer inspection there is obviously still a fair amount of infection in the ear, I wouldn't like my lugs to be oozing puss like that.

Who would be a sheep hey?

So? Is tagging a welfare issue? It most definitely can be, and unfortunately it is the responsibility of the farmer not those who lay down the regulations to ensure their sheep don't suffer from welfare issues.

When noises have been made it is the farmer who is told he doesn't do the job correctly, it is the farmer who foots the bills for the antibiotics and replacement tags, it is the sheep which can suffer and once ears are healed find themselves having a replacement tag re inserted into their ears, they will have no peace from the dreaded tag until they are dead, and even then, they must have a tag in their ear for the dead cart to collect them.

Maybe our sheep ought to join the maasai people?