Sunday 4 May 2008

A respite from lambing, but a couple of poorly lambs

With Beatrix giving birth last Saturday we now have a lull until next week when the last 4 ewes give birth on the 10th, 13th, 17th & 19th respectively. Brazil's son has been in the barn again , for the last week with joint ill, but he's now recovered and yesterday he and his mum were back out in the fields, also Cicely has finally accepted her other lamb and so this new family is now out in the fields and she is doing a good job of keeping them both close. Eden has been unwell, not sure what's been wrong with her, but a quick injection of antibiotics and a top up with milk on Friday and she's back to being the little pocket rocket that she normally is. We think she'd got a bit of a cold with all the wet weather we've had over the past week and because of that didn't feel like suckling, so was very quickly going down hill. One of Missy's daughters has a limp and it turns out that she's cracked her hoof, so she's on a course of antibiotics until her hoof recovers.
This year is the first year we have docked tails and it's really weired to find a tail that has fallen off in the field, but not castrated the rams, which means that they are trying to "mount" any lamb that stands still. Watching a Shetland ram trying to "mount" one of the Wiltshire Horn Cross lambs is very funny, as the ewe lamb is twice the size of the ram lamb!!!!
So far the Bank Holiday has not lived up to what was predicted, rain. So far we've had a fine weekend, which has meant that we've been able to get on with some "outside jobs". Tim is working on the planting area near the front of the house, that will cover the drains to carry the rain water from the barns, and I've cut the grass in the woodland, for the second week, and got some more of the veg garden dug over. The onions, beetroot and parsnips I sowed some weeks ago are starting to show through and thanks to our cat Lady, the rabbits are not eating them.
The ash tree seeds that I planted last year are finally sprouting so they need potting on, so hopefully tomorrow I will get that done and sow some sweetcorn and french beans. Beats doing the accounts and the VAT, which have to be done by the end of the month, but I have done the single farm payment!!!!!!!!

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