An update

The above photo was taken on the bank holiday Monday at the beginning of May. It was absolutely beautiful but that is about all that could be said. Hard frost which once again cleared to a dry but very cold day, those winds of a northerly aspect really weren't keen on giving up. That has got to be my main memory of this past lambing time. The cold and barren weather. I don't think I have ever been so thankful that it managed to remain dry for the majority of the time. The barren lambing season reminds me so much of 2001 lets hope the outcome for farmers will be more positive than it was that year.

All in all my lambing over in the borders of Scotland went well, sure there was the problem of dysentery but other than that all was fairly good, had it not been for that problem I would have had a very good lambing. Ewes were beginning to take hurt by the time I was leaving, they were getting what we call sucked down. As the lambs grow so do their bellies, usually by this time there is a flush of spring grass which gives the ewes a lift and also supplements the lambs diet. The flush didn't come and some ewes were showing signs of weakening.

There have been some poorer lambings which is to be expected. The atrocious weather at the end of March/beginning of April hit those who were doing early lambings hard. Hill sheep were also hit hard, just a matter of weeks before they were due to lamb it was very much the last straw after such a long hard winter.

It would seem that quite a number of sheep kebbed (aborted) at about this time. Those who battled on were weakening by the day. Ewes succumbed to drains, burns, twin lamb disease and general poverty. This is no reflection on either the farmers or the shepherds - it's nature, good ol' mother nature at her worst. There were lean ewes lambing down and walking on - a last ditch attempt at self survival, no interest in the lamb just an interest in surviving - you can't blame them.

It hasn't all been doom and gloom, there are lambs running around everywhere. Some have had very good lambings but I for one wouldn't like to foot their feed bills, others reflect on the fact that it could have been worse, wet would have seen phenomenal losses on a year such as this. All will tell you the same "the lambing gets through, unlike hay time which may never come to an end"

My twins over the back ended up on cake. For all this is a high running hill farm it is a very grassy place and would normally feed the sheep no bother, this year was different with the result the twins needed feeding. I would have let them away to the hill, however the intention was to have all the ewes and lambs through the pens and the lamb marking done, seemed daft to let all the twins away to cause bother when I then had to gather the hill and so onto cake they went. What a difference. The ewes had been getting no peace from their lambs, forever hammering away wanting more milk, the cake gave the ewes a lift, helped the milk supply and everything settled down.

There was much I could have reported on at lambing time, if only time and energy had allowed. Dongling is all well and good but very time consuming, especially as it meant driving somewhere where there was full mobile reception, more often than not my bed beckoned.

Once the height of the lambing got through I shed in. Those lambing on the hill were dropped into a field, I went through them to see what was and was not in lamb with those still expectant held in so as easier found. Herding the hill dropped to twice a day as all those due to lamb were nearer at hand. We started lamb marking with the other shepherds flock as he had lambed in fields all the time and the ground was so bear he was desperate to release them to the hill. The last week saw my ewes all gathered and their lambs marked. It's the first time since I've lambed there that everything got done before I left. I left at May Term (13th May) and there were only 9 remaining to lamb. I've often wondered since how they're getting on.......

The last few nights a great deal of socialising went on. I am so fortunate that both neighbouring farms are shepherded by people I know well and they are kind enough to offer me the occasional supper, which is much appreciated as I seemed to live on bacon butties, chocolate and salad (not the weather for salad but it is very easily made!)

I spent my last night in the cottage making a snowman. I always like to leave my mark when I leave - very sad I know! Anyhow, there had been snow showers on the last three days I was there and I thought this was a hilarious idea to make a snowman. As is oft the case there is a story..........

A neighbouring farmer had told me I must call in for a cup of tea before I left. A guy I have know since my first shepherding job and who came over the border many years ago and played his accordion at my housewarming. My last day in the Borders was spent lamb marking the Crunchylaw and Dod Law lambs, come mid afternoon the shepherd and I headed off to visit the fore mentioned farmer for the cup of tea. It was the usual Borders hospitality, which I partook of in the mid and late afternoon, the tumblers of whisky went down well...... I headed to the hill that evening barely able to mount my trusty stead. Once back to the cottage I had the brainwave of making a snowman.......

Plastic feed bags were my chosen material (well, there was nowt else) and after many laborious hours I had a snow man to be proud of. By the cold light of day the following morning I really wasn't so sure - plastic bags stitched with baler twine and stuffed with twigs......... umm........ Also the cheesey smiley face which I had drawn on with sheep keel had a rather macabre look about it. Never mind, I wasn't going to let all that hard work and effort go to waste.

I have been told by a friend that she spotted my 'snowman' that afternoon, it had a lopsided plastic bag look about it........ In my drunken stupor I do wonder if I had made a self impression!!! The shepherd I had worked for recounted our visit to see this farmer to the other shepherd on the morning I left "we came away and my lambing man was tipsy....... mind the auld herd was nae better!" It had been a good afternoon!!

So, Shep is back in Tarset. It seems like an eternity since I was away lambing and yet it is just a number of days. Life has been hectic and much has been done since my return - lamb marking and also clipping hoggs. My old boss years ago often used to say after lambing time that he felt he had a touch of louping ill (a sheep disease caused by ticks which can drop sheep off their feet) and that he felt a bottle of ewe tonic wouldn't go amiss. I must be ageing coz I feel exactly the same this year, I now know what he meant and how he must have felt. I'm putting it down to fighting with the cold for ever and a day and probably too much 'partying'. However, life is looking up as today has been hot, even though I have been bent over looking at my feet and clipping sheep I was still aware that it has been a beautiful spring day - At long last! Let's celebrate!!

Stone walls - a habitat

Its a wall, dry stone wall or dyke, but look closer. What else can you see if you look beyond the obvious?

There is always something to be seen if you open your eyes and take it in, as I often say "there is beauty all around you, just open your eyes and see it". Bear in mind I was working at this wall on a wet, windy, day. You could be forgiven for thinking there was nothing to inspire me on such a dreary day, standing in clarts (mud), lifting heavy stones and occasionally taking shelter in the dyke back - not much to be cheery about? Well there was.......

I was able to enjoy my own private nature ramble. Not only did I have the birds of the countryside for company, I also had the curiosity of some sheep forever hopeful that I may have some cake (sheep food) for them along with the 'pleasures' of the weather. I also opened my eyes and looked closer. Lichens grow all over the walls, a sign of good air quality they seem to thrive on our stone walls, the above always catches my eye, bringing brightness to an otherwise bland background.

Mosses and lichens grown together, some walls can be covered in moss, usually to be found in a sheltered damp area the moss will soon clothe the stones in a green blanket. Seeds can find themselve blown or deposited by birds in a wall, a small amount of soil is all that is needed to have ferns or sapling trees sprouting from the cracks in the wall

There is also the unseen. As the back fill settles in a wall tunnels can be found through it, ideal habitat for adders, stoats, mice and voles and even rabbits. The gap I repaired had me delving in the foundations, a nest of grasses was found alongside some sort of mouse droppings, a cosy home.

Over the years I have found some interesting and not so interesting artefacts in a stone wall. Empty bottles and glass can be a favourite. These bottles are often old corked bottles, many of them coloured, some so small I imagine they must have been used for storing some sort of medicine. Fossils are often found in the stones themselves. Once I was fortunate to find a whole fossil, cylindrical and the thickness of my wrist it turned out to be the fossilised remains of bracken type plant and now adorns my office. Skulls and bones of some life long since lost can while away a minute or two as I try to discern what the living version may have been. The worst I've ever found? Has to be adders. A built in human instinct to fear danger causes your heart to stop and an involuntary reaction kicks in which causes me to gasp and jump backwards - never fails!!

The next time you walk past a stone wall, look closer. If you live in a town don't despair, your air quality may not be as good as we have in Tarset but still take time and look. There will be something to catch your eye, even if only the patterns left by bird droppings I'm sure you could find something to marvel at for a second or two.

Setting lambs on

When lambs are born dead or have died the ewe is given another lamb to keep her happy and healthy. The lamb adopted on to the ewe is generally a twin. By lifting the twin lamb you then have two singles which fare better on the hill ground, you’ll hopefully end up with two good lambs rather than two average lambs. Twins off gimmers are often lifted first, a gimmer is having her first crop of lambs and it is deemed kinder to let her run with one if possible, however, there can often be something which needs lifting, a pair of lambs struggling due to lack of milk from their mother, these lambs will have priority for being set on over a gimmers lamb as they need a fresh mother.

So you have a dead lamb. The mother will usually be standing over the carcase or be nearby. Occasionally they are nowhere to be seen and so a hunt ensues, invariably in this situation you will be looking for a gimmer (first lamber), or a very lean sheep which has no interest what so ever in being a mother, she just wants to survive, in this case it would be pointless setting a lamb on.

There are many approaches to getting the ewe gathered up. Catch her with your stick, dog her down, carry the lamb and hope she follows. I’m lambing cheviots which are notorious for being wild and feisty, I’m also lambing on steep ground, sheep do like to run down hill and also catching them with the stick takes a fair bit of strength on steep going. I learnt the hard way as stick and sheep careered down the hillside as I was practically pulled off my feet

A very kind sheep, one which only runs a couple of yards away as you approach the lamb will easily follow the carcase if it is dragged along by a long piece of string. A wilder sheep, one which bools off in a frantic fashion is best turned down the hill by the dog and followed down to the net and parracks at the bottom.

Nets and parracks are situated all over the hill ground, often to be found in stells (sheep folds) as well. They are invaluable, no sheep ever head back into the farmyard, there is absolutely no need and anyhow it would be far too time consuming, especially when on foot, even with a bike unless you were strong enough to lift the sheep onto the bike you would have to tow a trailer which is a real hindrance. Nets and parracks are the answer and all my shepherding life I have been accustomed to them, in fact I wouldn’t be happy doing a lambing without them.

The parrack is actually a small pen in which to confine the sheep whilst the lamb is being set on. The net is an enclosure – often posts and sheep net – into which the sheep and set on lamb can be released into prior to being let out into the big wide world again.

So, the ewe has followed the carcase of her lamb from the spot that she was standing over it all the way into the net. The dog was left lying back, absolutely no need to excite the beast and cause her any grief, her natural kind instinct got her this far.

When the ewe entered the ‘net’ I climbed out and secured the wicket behind her, I’d got her this far I really didn’t want her to change her mind and charge off into oblivion. (Never trust a sheep!)The gate of the parrack was opened and the ewe was gently coaxed by walking towards her (they will generally run past you if you walk to the side of them), she shot into the parrack and like grease lightening the gate was shut behind her. Captured. As you can see the dead lamb is put in beside her but left for me to gain easy access to it when I want to remove it. I do not want to open the parrack again until the sheep is released if I can help it.

This episode all happened on my first lap in the morning. I left them and set about the rest of my herding. Neither ewe or lamb would be going anywhere and I most probably had more important matters waiting to be found, I also had my breakfast to get. I would return on my second round with a lamb to set on.

When lambing on foot I always carried a lambing bag, usually a hessian sack with a band to hang over your back. With lambing on a bike I tend to stick the lamb in the front of my jacket, it’s held secure and leaves my hands free for driving the bike. Once at the net I’ll set it into an empty parrack until it is ready to receive its jacket.

A lamb is skinned in a similar way to a rabbit. Slit through the skin along the inside line of the back legs and peel it away. Gruesome? Well you might think so but it is the best and most successful way to set a lamb on to a hill ewe. The smell of her original lamb is all over that skin, even if it was born dead she has invariably licked it and the scent has been logged in her brain. Give her a lamb which smells totally different to what she is expecting and she will bash it, we call it knocking off, in a confined space such as a parrack she is quite capable of killing a lamb which she deems is not hers and so....... give her a lamb which smells like her dead one and she is content.

There is no need to use your knife to cut the skin off at the hocks as a good tug will tear the skin away at this point. The skin is pulled away from the back legs and hips, cutting through the tail to release that with the skin. The most important part of the skin is the bit which covers the backside of the lamb. The whole skin is important but when the lamb goes in for its first suck the ewe will turn to sniff it – the backside needs to be well covered.

Once the back legs are removed from the skin I usually stand on both back legs and pull the skin up towards me, this is a bit like peeling a banana (you’ll never see a banana in the same light again!) So long as you haven’t got into a layer of muscle the skin will peel off the body relatively easily, it will however stick at the head and front legs, like when a little kid has its jumper pulled off over its head, they always seem to stick at the hands and head – same thing! Except a knife is needed to cut around the leg and upper neck to release the ‘jumper’ all together. (just as well we don’t have to do that to kids!)

Once off the skin does resemble a jumper, it has sleeves at the front and a polo neck, the back legs have a slit put into each of the flaps of skin so the live lambs legs can be pushed through and this will keep the skin securely in place and hold it tight over the back end of the lamb – the important bit!

The live lamb then has to be dressed with the dead lamb’s skin. Depending on the size of the lamb and the size of the skin adjustments do occasionally have to be made, skins stretch quite easily and this is sometimes necessary to get them to fit the new lamb, sometimes they are far too big and will be a hindrance, preventing the lamb from moving freely and so they have to be shortened – tailored to fit, no expense spared!

It is now time to introduce lamb to ewe. The ewe is as already said confined to a parrack, the lamb is set in with the intention of having its head pointing towards her bag (udder) and its arse towards her nose. I will often hunger a lamb before setting it on as it is a great help if it wants a suck. Sucking is a great comforter to both mother and lamb and if the lamb will go in and suck straight away the only thing the ewe has got to smell is its back and backside, which pleases her no end as it smells exactly the same as the lamb she had, the lamb which seemed to go into a long sleep and has suddenly re awakened and relieved the pressure off her bag. Once sucked and full the lamb will settle down and sleep, causing no hassle to the ewe. She too will settle and feel content. I leave them.

This ewe was found with a dead lamb during my first round in the morning, on my second lap the lamb was set on. I looked in on them on my last lap later in the afternoon, both were settled, lamb was full.

First lap the following morning the skin came off the lamb, I reached in with my lambing stick and dragged the lamb close enough to reach it by hand, lift it out of the parrack and remove the skin and place it back in the parrack with its new mother. By this time, less than 24 hours, the body heat of the lamb had caused the skin to start to go rancid, the lamb would no longer smell as it did originally but the ewe had become accustomed to the new odour as it gradually ‘matured’. At this stage I also opened the parrack and quietly walked away.

The second lap after I had had my breakfast both were more than content. I opened the net to the hill ground and walked away. At their leisure both ewe and lamb would walk out into the big wide world. Just 24 hours from having been first set on they were united as mother and offspring. The bond had been made and all was well. During the whole episode I had never laid a hand on the ewe. Cheviots are indeed very kind creatures, they are also extremely kittle (touchy), where possible it pays to keep off and treat with the utmost respect. Treat them right and they’ll treat you right.

Even the ones that I have to turn down the hill and steer with the dog into a net down at the bottom, they are agitated due to the interference of the dog but if you treat them with respect, don’t show the whites of your eyes, as quietly and quickly as possible get them into a parrack and then leave well alone the results are quite rewarding.

At the tender age of eighteen I recall coming in for dinner one day and relaying to my boss the difficulties I had experienced trying to get a ewe and lamb out of the stell after I had successfully set it on. The boss looked at me and with a wry grin said “you open the gate and walk away, at their leisure ewe and lamb will saunter out” Sound advice I have never forgotten.

Having a wretched time?

I guess the last few postings may well lead everyone to believe that I am having a wretched time.

There is no doubt about it that for a couple of days at least my humour was anything but sweet. I did eventually knock on the big house door, the morning I came across three little stiff bodies on my first round. Three perfectly healthy lambs - lying dead. I knocked on the big house door and requested they looked further into a remedy my vets had vaguely mentioned. My mother would have been proud of me as I remembered my upbringing and my manners, trying to be courteous and managing to hide my anger. It was my last ditch effort to do my job to the best of my abilities, I was clutching at straws, remaining forever hopeful, unfortunately to no avail.

However, life is far too short to let such matters overtake ones sanity (my sanity has always been questionable anyhow). When working with livestock there are always highs and lows, it’s a fact of life, this low was preventable and that caused me much anger and frustration but there are far more positives in life to concentrate your mind on.

There have been some powerful highs – the hung lamb (big fat head sticking out of a ewes backside) which came out alive and she adored it, the gimmer I dropped down one morning from the furthest end of the hill, she was obviously struggling to lamb and I eventually got her into a net; the lamb had a leg back and she was tight, I eventually got her lambed and before I could place the lamb in front of her she licked my hand, sounds soppy I dare say but these cheviots are wild, gimmers (first lambers) more so, here was one prepared to ‘eat’ me in her impatience to get to her lamb, no need to put her in a parrack to calm down, no need to shut her in the net, just leave her at peace with her lamb and her natural kindness.

There was the twin lamb, probably unfortunate to have been the second born to a gimmer and overlooked in the proceedings. Lambed on a hard frosty morning, never licked and never footed, I honestly thought it was dead. It wasn’t, I stuck it inside my jacket and continued on my way. It went in the bottom oven of the rayburn at breakfast time and had rallied sufficiently to be given some colostrum before I headed back out. By lunch time it was footed and by night time it was making such a racket it got shoved out into a shed. It has since been set on to one of the field ewes (there are still 4 left to lamb), a real kindly ewe who adores this little mite, every now and again I pop my head over the wall and check how he’s doing, he’s doing just fine.

I am also extremely lucky to be lambing in such a beautiful area as this. I have a whole month to enjoy the ever changing scenery. I thought a few years back when I found myself lambing in the Breamish valley that I had landed in heaven, I believe I am a step closer in this area. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

The landscape is also quite diverse. Climbing out to 1400ft on the tops and down to grassland and burns (streams) in the bottoms, this also leads to a great variation in the flora and fauna to be found. I’ve noticed the primroses are beginning to show along the bank sides of the burns, the sparsely populated gorse bushes down on a neighbouring farm have been slow to come out but they are almost in their full glory. The daffodils lining the grass verges have finally given a tremendous show of colour and on a warm day the scent is quite pleasant wafting in the air as I drive past.

The birdlife is astounding. I have seen my first ever whinchat, a beautiful and striking little bird. There are the curlews, skylarks, meadow pipits, and even a pair of snipe ( this is dry ground and not ideally suited for snipe) out on the hill tops. There are also Ravens and Carrion Crows (corbies) nasty little blighters who can easily peck the eyes and tongues out of any living thing that finds itself unable to get out of their way, these birds are however useful for locating problems – bit like vultures I guess, can’t help but home in on something in distress – so I suppose you could say they have their uses, pointing me in the right direction occasionally.

Wheatears are dancing around any rocky spot, be it a rocky outcrop or a stone wall, they are in abundance all over the farm.

There is a woodpecker (greater spotted) at the cottage most mornings when I come in for breakfast, drumming away on a telegraph pole at the gable end, it amuses me due to the fact it likes to drum on the metal sign attached to the post, obviously realises the sound resonates far better off metal than wood.

There is a Luing bull in the field back of the cottage and again it amuses me to see the jackdaws ploating (plucking) his back until their beaks are full of red hairs presumably to be used to line their nests, he doesn’t seem to mind in the least, probably only too pleased to receive help in shedding his winter coat.

Birds of prey are in abundance, the area seems to be overrun with them. I have buzzards and kestrels nesting in the planting next to the enclosure the Crunchylaw sheep are lambing in. I also have buzzards nesting over the back. One extremely windy day my attention was drawn to the top of the Dod Law, the ground rises up like a huge carbuncle and above this there appeared to be a kite flying, I couldn’t help but wonder who on earth was braving these strong winds to launch a kite, binoculars to hand I soon realised I was looking at a Buzzard struggling to get airborne with a cleansing (afterbirth) trailing from its talons. Quite a sight.

This is the only place I’ve been at for a duration where you can look down on these birds and see them from a totally different perspective – quite a treat I can tell you and one which leaves me awestruck every time.

There are birds to be found at the water side, Mallards, Goosanders, Herons, Wagtails and my favourite, the Dipper.

During the spell I was on night shift I often had a Tawny Owl for company, never saw it but we had some grand conversations, cupping my hands together and blowing between the thumbs produced a hoot which invariably raised a reply and often brought the bird in closer.

Over the back where my twins are held in there are pheasants galore. The cock birds are resplendent in their mating plumage; they always fascinate me with their ‘ears’ which stand quite erect whilst in show off mode. There is one bird in particular seems to have a harem of five females and spends most of his time fighting off other suitors, there have been some true cock fights but to date he has always come out victorious.

Animal life is also never far away. I have never been in an area with such a population of hares, they are everywhere and a joy to behold. Almost every morning I have three deer for company on my journey over the back to Little Heugh, I’ve concluded they must be like the sheep and have their own little heft, if the weather is harsh I find them down in the bottom where more shelter is on offer. I rarely don’t see them, as with the hares they are always about.

Mr Fox has been spotted on three occasions, ’he’s’ a dark golden peaty coloured fella of a fair size. One morning he was jogging home at 6am as I headed out onto the Dod Law. I stopped the bike and sitting down wind of him I watched him sauntering along until he dropped into the planting on the edge of the enclosure the Crunchylaw sheep are lambing in, the same planting which is home to a pair of kestrels and buzzards. A couple of nights ago I set him up on the hill ground of the Crunchylaw, he sharp bolted out of sight over the hill top.

There was a stoat one afternoon, I was at the parracks skinning a lamb when a movement caught my eye and there it was, a stoat bouncing around, if I hadn’t had a dead lamb and hadn’t needed to set one on I wouldn’t have been at the parracks and wouldn’t have had the privilege of watching a stoat for a few minutes – there’s always positives to any negative!

There’s also the sheep, I really do admire the Cheviot breed, there is something about the feisty, determined little blighters that strikes a chord in my heart. They can be quite a challenge but a fulfilling one at that. A challenge which both Moss and myself rise to and enjoy.

So? Am I having a wretched time? Not at all, there have been one or two frustrations but then there always will be. To date I have never had to dry my coats, precipitation has been minimal, a rarity and one which I appreciate.

 

I have to share with you the story about the above bird. It is a dipper, it also happens to be my favourite bird which stems back to a miss spent youth; the days when sauntering along the banks of the South Tyne River were more important than attending lessons in school. It was during these days that I became acquainted with the dipper and his cheery bobbing on stones, darting flight along the water and diving for feed into the river. I was fascinated by this little chap, a fascination which remains to this day.

Every morning I head out to the hill at about 6am, my first port of call on my journey is the Dod Law, as already said it rises like a huge carbuncle with one side of it being easier to view from off the road, so my first duty is to drive along the single track road to a turning point where I can view the west slope of this hill. Halfway along the road it runs parallel with the burn (stream) and every morning to date, without fail, on a rock jutting out of the water, is a dipper. Whether it be frosty or mild he is always there or there abouts. Now if that isn’t enough to set cheer into some ones heart what is? Every morning he raises a smile.

Dysentery update

Well, they are still dying but there are live ones too. The twins are getting thinned out without a doubt and I am getting ready to keel the backs of the heads of some lambless sheep if necessary. Red keel on the back of the head is the traditional mark for a geld sheep, makes it easy when looking the hill, you know not to look for a lamb belonging her if she has a red head. That could well be my only option shortly rather than split good twins off the other cuts.

As for the vets? well I spoke to my contact who was going to get back in touch once she'd read her medicine bible to see if there was anything available on the market. To date I've heard nothing. However, I did mention to the shepherd that I was in touch with my vets and wanted some sound facts before I went and knocked on the big house door.

Now whether he took fright at the thought of me knocking on the big house door, especially as I'm not worldly renowned for thinking before opening my mouth, or whether the cogs had been turning anyhow but apparently the big house had contacted their vets to see what was available.

The result? Well, due to the fact it is no longer necessary to have a serum for new born lambs there isn't one available off the shelf. A fresh carcase could be sent to the laboratories and a serum could be produced from it apparently. I presume by that they must need to have the 'bug' in their hands to be able to produce something to innoculate the new born lambs with.

Anyhow, the conclusion is that by the time this happens, I am writing this on Saturday night (24th), Monday would be the earliest a lamb could be taken in and it would have to be fresh, so what if one didn't want to die on Monday? We both believe there wouldn't be a 24 hour turn around in getting the serum made, probably have to wait a week? By which time it is really too late as the vast majority of the lambs will be born by then.

Hugely frustrating scenario.

What will be will be, it is out of my hands, I am powerless to do anything about it. Fortunately not all the lambs are being affected. I don't quite know how lamb dysentry works but there must be an immunity with some of the lambs. There are more live ones than dead ones and lets hope that is how it goes. The other three cuts are showing no signs, due to the fact that they have all suffered from it in the past and are now innoculated..........

I am singing my own rendition of Queen's hit "Another one bites the dust". Nothing quite like a bit of gallows humour to help the situation along!!

Not to worry, next year all will be well !!!

Colonic Irrigation

I’m sure I’ve heard somewhere that some foolish souls take the detox thing quite seriously. Now Shep doesn’t do nowt like that, this abstaining from all the unhealthy things in life would surely kill me; imagine a life with no chocolate, no tobacco, no whisky or even port for that matter? To be sure, as the Irish would say, there’s more to life than drinking water and eating yoghurty things, after all yoghurt is just curdled milk ain’t it?

Anyhow, as sure as I am that some folk’s do this detox carry on I am equally sure that I’ve heard of colonic irrigation. Now that really is taking things a bit far, unless you’re suffering from watery mouth or something why on earth have your back passage flushed out? And to pay for the privilege as well? The world has surely gone nuts.

Anyhow, to anyone out there tempted with all this flushing of orifices I’ve found a far cheaper remedy. Not just cheaper I may add but actually totally free. The first rhubarb of the spring. Oh yes! Lambing time isn’t lambing time without those first few virgin sticks of rhubarb.

I couldn’t help but ask the shepherd if he had any growing in his garden and duly some very short sticks of the red peril arrived on my doorstep, being slightly tart (bitter) sugar was duly added as I stewed it with mouth watering anticipation. I have to say it was lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed feasting on the first rhubarb of the season.

The following morning, out on the hill, setting a gimmer away in front of me which was hanging a lamb I found I suddenly had an urge to ‘go’. My greed the night before had been my downfall. There are times in life when you have to prioritise, I’m not too sure I got my priorities right but the lamb was born alive and in the future I’m going to steer clear of the natural remedy for colonic irrigation!

Rantings of a lambing ‘man’

 

As you can tell by the above picture there are lambs being born, this pair on the first lap of the morning out on the top of the Dodlaw, catching the sun as it rises.

So the lambs are being born – great news! The ewes are kindly and carrying plenty of milk and most of the lambs are very strong. The 20th saw arctic gales with a flightering of snow in the afternoon. It was a dismal day but fortunately dry. I felt as though the wind was peeling the skin off my face as I went around the hill, down at the steading (farmyard) it was far more sheltered and I couldn’t help wonder what the fuss was all about, that is until I ventured out onto the tops again. Since then the weather has settled down. The air is still very cold and frosts down to -7 degrees in the mornings but with brightness and sunshine during the day, which when in shelter feels very pleasant.

All in all life seems to be looking up......... Except.............

Shep has been losing lambs. By losing lambs I mean they are dying. All belong to the Crunchylaw ewes. The first was a twin, a strong lamb, mebbes 4 days old, totally unexpected to find it lying dead in the morning, I had been unaware of there being anything untoward regarding its health, big, fit, well nourished, healthy lamb, lying dead. Not to worry, these things happen and at least she still had a lamb.

The Crunchylaw are the only sheep lambed in an enclosure, which I am thankful for as they are becoming a lot of work.

A day after the twin was dead there was a dead single in the enclosure. About three days old, well thriven, getting plenty of milk – again an unexpected death.

Then a twin disappeared out of the twin field. Gone. Vanished. Must be fox or badger, not to worry, she still has one.

Yesterday morning (21st) I was greeted by a dead lamb on my first lap around the sheep, again a few days old, again totally unexpected and again a well thriven well nourished lamb and again belonging to the Crunchylaw. I also had a ewe frantically looking for a lamb and a twin which was yet to be walked off into the twin field had also lost a lamb.

The lost lambs were never found, the single ewe kept running to one spot and sniffing the ground, a fairly sure sign the lamb had gone. However, I hunted all over, leaving her until well into the afternoon before concluding the lamb was not likely to reappear, it was not in a drain or a rabbit hole and definitely appeared to have vanished. Again fox or badger was held to blame – opportunists, lifting a sleeping lamb whilst mother was away grazing. Highly frustrating but there you go – that’s life!

During the day however yet another lamb ‘dropped dead’, the lap I did after breakfast, mebbes 3 hours since I had first seen them, another lamb had died, again with no reason. I was starting to get concerned. All lambs to date had signs of milky tails, which is good; they are getting a good supply. However, one had shown slight signs of scour ( a paler, waterier yellowness on the tail) but the alarm bells really began to ring when the first of the morning had obviously passed blood prior to dying.

Doubts were starting to creep into my head. The first doubts are that you’re not doing the job right; you’re overlooking the problems, not keeping on top of the job, missing the first signs of something not being right. I’d already chewed over this, given myself a doing for not concentrating sufficiently. However, these were now different alarm bells. I’d seen this sort of thing once before, two years previous and on this farm. Lamb Dysentery.

Surely not. A directive had been passed from the organic organisation and these sheep were now inoculated prior to lambing – weren’t they? The cold wind could have taken its toll, chilling the tummies of the little blighters and possibly causing them to die, that would be a sensible explanation, would it not?

Now I had been lead to believe that these sheep were now inoculated to prevent Dysentery in the sheep, how was I to broach the subject with the shepherd in a way which would not cause offence? It’s not like me to think long and hard about a discreet and diplomatic approach to a problem, but I did. The conclusion? Say nowt, whatever I say will sound like I am accusing someone of something. The problem will pass and all will be well.

As happens daily the shepherd enquired how things were going, my reply was almost non committal, a slight utterance of a dead lamb passing blood, the Bermuda Triangle was mentioned along with the possibility of fox trouble followed with a shrug of the shoulders and an utterance of ‘that’s lambing time for you!’

This morning the proverbial shit hit the fan. I dropped down into the enclosure off the hill at about 8am and came across a lamb in absolute agony and close to death. I knew what the problem was, the same problem I had two years ago which I had finally been told had been Lamb Dysentery. I left the enclosure with a heavy heart. The ewe could wait until the next lap and I’d set a lamb onto her. I was hungry and feeling slightly despondent. I checked the twins and found another one had vanished – there last night, gone this morning – sod it!!

After breakfast off I went to the hill, dropping down into the enclosure just before dinner time knowing I’d have a lamb to set on. I definitely did not expect to find yet another lamb in absolute agony and close to death. My eyes stung with tears, not a thing I’m proud to admit but a mixture of despondency, despair and sheer disbelief struck me, along with anger and a questioning of what on earth I was doing here – anyone could pick up dead lambs.

I didn’t get in for my dinner; I sorted the problems, lifted twin lambs, skinned dead lambs, set on the twins I’d lifted, stomped around muttering under my breath, grumbling at the dog. Poor Moss, he does lick his lips when I’m skinning a lamb! My thoughts were racing all the time, a cloud was gathering. For all I tried desperately to remain rational and logical about the whole affair I was failing dismally.

The shepherd turned up, enquired how things were going................ All thoughts of a diplomatic and discreet approach to the matter went out the window as once again I felt the tears sting my eyes. Trying to hold onto my composure I explained the problems I had been having; multiple sudden deaths and now dying pain stricken lambs, lambs disappearing off the face of the earth - but had they been live lambs lifted whilst slumbering or had they been dead or dying lambs taken as easy fodder?

“Aye, no doubt about it, it’ll be dysentery I’d say” My rantings as to the ewes being inoculated and that it couldn’t possibly be were brought to a sudden halt when I was informed that as the Crunchylaw had never had problems with Lamb Dysentery in the past then it hadn’t been deemed necessary to inoculate them. The wind was momentarily knocked out of my sails, probably a gasp of disbelief followed, I really can’t recall as I turned my back and rubbed my bloodied hands over my eyes.

I was informed that the farmer ( or ought I say owner) of these sheep would be notified immediately, this could not be allowed to go on and without doubt the problem would be rectified by next year – NEXT YEAR?

There are a 130ish sheep on the Crunchylaw, they’ve been lambing for just short of a week, to date I reckon on a loss of 15%, there are still many left to lamb and “we’ll have the problem sorted for next year”.... unfortunately that is how it seems to stand.

A quick reference to my bible – the TV vet sheep book – tells me “this is without doubt the most dangerous of all sheep diseases, it attacks lambs under a week old” seemingly caused by some clostridium germ which multiplies in the small intestine of the lamb and excretes highly lethal toxins and apparently the first signs noticed are sudden death, the book goes on to say that once symptoms have developed then treatment is a waste of money and time. It also goes on to say that “obviously this disease must be controlled, and it can be by vaccinating the ewes”.

I was beginning to feel like a pawn in some sort of evil experiment. A disease which is talked of often by the older generation and never seen by the rest of us due to a revolutionary vaccination which was introduced years ago and here I was seeing it, but for the second time on the same farm – humph!

I eventually got into the cottage for lunch at about tea time, the radio annoyed me; wittering on about politics, the status quo tape was played instead. For someone who enjoys peace and solitude an overwhelming feeling of loneliness overcame me, the four walls of the kitchen seemed almost overpowering and claustrophobic. I felt a desperate desire for human company.

The shepherd walked in and said all was sorted with the owner of the sheep, he was down at heart too, which instantly made me feel so guilty, a lovely guy who’s suffered many hardships since the turn of the millennium and a guy who does seem to get down in the dumps anyhow and here he was looking his age, weary and low in spirits. Chocolate was immediately administered – my answer to everything – good ol’ chocolate!

I have been around the hill tonight and my mind has once again been racing, I’m hired to do a job which I am paid to do to the best of my abilities. It isn’t really my place to tell someone they may as well get rid of the lambing man and let nature take its course – which is exactly what I did say and to be honest with you that is how I felt. I don’t know whether the inoculating issue is due to the organic organisation which this farm is involved with or whether it is down to the idealism of the owner of the sheep, what I do know is I am awaiting a phone call from my vets to see if there is anything these new born lambs can be injected with to give them a fighting chance against being hit by this curse, I am hopeful that there may be as a serum is mentioned in my ‘bible’. Once I have hold of the facts I will attempt to bring them to the attention of the owner of these sheep, after all, I’m here to do the job to the best of my abilities and should that mean catching and injecting every new born lamb then that is what I will do.

You may not have reached the end of this posting, it is undoubtedly long and quite possibly depressing but it has done me the power of good to get it off my chest. I have slowly accepted the worst possible scenario, I have also accepted that it is no reflection upon my abilities; I am also hoping that it is a blip, probably brought on by the stress of the weather. Tomorrow is another day dawning and life may well be looking up.

In the mean time I’ll end on a high. I saw my first swallow today (22nd April), totally unexpected and in an unusual spot I thought, it would be roughly 7am and was sitting on the fence wire of the field that lies at the bottom of Little Heugh, the field that I put my twins into over there, the frost was just beginning to give and I’m sure the little chap was dreaming of Africa at the time.... If you look closely on the photo below, not only will you see a live lamb but also behind the ewe, on the fence wire, is a swallow, summer is coming! I’m told the swallows were in Tarset on the 13th.