Ryecroft Xantha, our very first homebred ewe born back in 2017 was the first to lamb this year. She has given us 7 lambs now and she is a fantastic mum!
She lambed completely unaided after a day of being incredibly grumpy and restless. To be honest I think the rest of the ewes in her group are glad to see the back of her!
She is now tucked up in a mothering up pen with her two ewe lambs, she has been given a warm molasses drink and a bit of provin, plus a full haybag. Her two lambs are up and about on the hunt for the teat and a belly full of golden colostrum.
My job now is to make sure the lambs get that colostrum and that mum is as healthy as possible. So over the next 6 hours the ewe will be given a mineral drench, and she will be body condition scored; the lambs will be weighed, checked for a full belly, and another spray of iodine on their navels.
And then tomorrow tea time, as long as they are all ok, they will be marked up as a family unit and turned out into the nursery. By then I’m hoping another ewe will be labouring and the next lambs will be on their way!
Oh I almost forgot!!! What on earth do I call two ewe lambs born on Valentine’s day?? Clover and Cupid of course!!!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜
