The lambs

One of the best things we did this year, was finally starting our own flock of sheep.
After collecting a chest freezer full of milk from the shop across the road (they saved it from the bin when it reached the sell by date and would keep it in the freezer until we picked it up in the wheelbarrow!) we advertised on the noticeboard 'Wanted: Orphan Lambs'.
We'd been told that sometimes lambs get rejected by their mothers, and the process of finding them another Mum, or rearing them by hand can be too time consuming when you have a big flock. We on the other hand have 2 little boy 'lambs' of our own who would be very willing to put in the time and the cuddles necessary for the job.

A few weeks into lambing time, we had a call from our neighbour in the next village, Dolly.  We had a large old water tank filled with straw already installed in the kitchen by the radiator and so, Dolly the lamb arrived. (Named in honour of our benefactor, but also a double joke referring to the cloning station in Roselin.)

When Murdo, husband to Dolly (human) brought Dolly (lamb) up the drive dangling by the 2 front legs, I couldn't help but scoop her up in a blanket and treat her like a delicate thing.  But I didn't actually know what else to do.  Her Mum had died shortly after giving birth, so she had had a little colostrum, but not much else. Murdo had given her some milk via a tube into the stomache, so, as I had my bottle, my tube and my instructions on the packet I made up another sachet of colostrum and gave it a go.
Murdo had told me that unless you have 3 hands, it makes it easier to take a sip of the milk yourself, and put the tube in your mouth. I knew to sit the lamb accross my knees while sitting in a chair, but even with all the instructions and diagrams in my sheep keeprs book, it still took a while to get the hang of it.  But I managed to get Dolly to chew on my finger, then I slipped the tube into her mouth and down her throat, being careful not to get it down her windpipe. Then I let the milk out of my mouth and down the tube straight into her tummy.

Probably the best lucky dip ever!

I gave her a little at first and then put her back in her tub by the heater.  She was shaking after having the tube down her throat, so once she'd had a rest I tried with a bottle to get her sucking reflex going.
It took a while over the next couple of days to build her strength up because I didn't really know what signs to look for.  But once I saw some colostrum had gone in, I moved onto the milk.  Then one evening she was making some strange noises and when I looked in her bucket I could see she'd had a poo. My baby rearing experience suddenly clicked and I knew everything would be alright now!
Next she just needed some cuddles, so I passed her onto the correct department.

 

 

What more could one little boy need.

 It was just a few days before Dolly (human) rang to find out how we were getting on. By this time Dolly (lamb) was skipping about the sitting room, as lambs do, and investigating the great outdoors.

So did we want another she asked?
And so we nipped off that morning to pick up Murdo (lamb Murdo, not her husband)
When we got to their barn he was standing up in a cardboard box bleating at anyone he could see. Obviously stronger, he had been one of twins, but his mother had rejected him and concentrated all her efforts on the other lamb. He is a cheviot x, as opposed to Dolly who is a blackface, so he was already a bit bigger, but still in need of some care. He already had the sucking reflex as he'd had a few tummy fulls of milk, so it was easy to feed him straight from the bottle.
Before long the 2 of them were spending the sunny days outside in a makeshift pen and the nights in the wood shed together.

 
Then along came 'Shouty' - again from our generous neighbours Dolly and Murdo (humans) and so called by Morris because this one wouldn't shuttup! Shouty was another who had been given the energy of mothers milk, but had fallen on hard times shortly after.  We thought at this point we should probably take down the notice in the shop, but when Dolly (human) rang for the 4th time and I explained that Shouty was getting left out in the wood shed at night, she was relieved to say they had a sister for her.
So finally we gained 'Quiet', another Cheviot x who was very docile and needed some extra cuddles when she started to hit a low.  By this 4th one I realised there seemed to be a period where it wasn't just the milk they needed. Sometimes they would go a bit stiff and generally look depressed - of course, not surprising when they were obviously mourning the loss of their natural mother. So at this point I would sit them on my knee while I was at the laptop and the warm body contact was well received, just to let them know they're not alone.  Quiet pulled through and she is the prettiest of them all.

Look at those pink ears

 Our 4 lovely lambs.  We had used a range of 'care' styles from a tube into the stomache, to a cuddle of the sofa and our initial flock is established.

There were other things mentioned in the sheep rearing book that weren't so easy to negotiate. For starters, Murdo is a boy.... and we did not at this point in the flock, want to keep a Ram.  Also, sheep generally need to have their tails docked so that they don't get too long and pick up mud and dirt.  Mark did a quick ebay search and found a nifty tool - for £15.59 a solution appeared.  £14 for a pair of 'pliers' and £1.59 for 100 elastic bands and the sheep don't seem to feel anything at all. Our friends asked, while considering Murdo 'What are you going to do with them when they fall off...?'

 ...take a picture of course!

We have pampered this first 4 - they have had a hut to sleep in for the first 6 months of their lives, but now we have moved them into a second paddock with long fresh grass, we've used this as an excuse to remind them they are actually sheep and equipped to sleep outside.  One day they will be roaming around the fields further away and turning the brown grass into green by mowing and fertilising it for us.  Then when they move on next spring, we can start to advertise again for some more orphan lambs....

Happy workers in the best job ever