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The sun is shining, the skies are blue, and the farm is getting ready for the new lambing season...
Posted 28th March 2012 by Dan 
9 comments
The new lambing season is shortly upon us. We are due to start lambing on the 4th April next week! Here is a quick update from LambWatch HQ on events leading up to the new lambing season.
As usual, we have had the customary bad start even before any lambs have arrived. We had to call the vet out last Sunday (double charge of course, being out of surgery hours) as a sheep had a bad prolapse. The vet managed to get the prolapse back inside the sheep and stitched it so it wouldn't happen again but the same evening, she had pushed it out once more, together with the "water bag" which are the waters enclosing the lambs in the uterus. T his is a very bad sign as she wasn't due to lamb for another three weeks or so.
We took the sheep to the vets again on Monday morning to be stitched again. The vet told us it didn't look good with her showing signs of premature lambing but gave us injections for her. She seemed to settle when she got back but yesterday afternoon and evening started pushing again and this morning (Wednesday).
I'm afraid we found her dead in the field this morning. We are now waiting for the "knacker man" to come and take her away which of course means more expense and nothing to show for it.
In other news, we also had a bad scare with Lloyd, one of our pet sheep, yesterday. On one of Howard's two hourly checks around the breeding sheep, he found her "rigged". This means she had got onto her back with all four legs in the air and couldn't right herself. If she had been like this for much longer, it is a killer.
Fortunately Howard righted her in time and although it took her a good five minutes to stop trembling, staggering and swaying, she is now back to normal, thank goodness! Ah the joys of lambing sheep!
On a positive note, as soon as we are happy with new families as they arrive (which starts next Monday) we will be putting them in the LambWatch field so only another week and you will be able to see our new arrivals with their mums... let's hope this beautiful weather continues !!
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Dan 28th March 2012
just goes to show that it all happens "behind the scenes" and that the lambs we see in the fields are the lucky ones... So much more to lambing time than just what we see in the fields.
Margaret 28th March 2012
I was very sorry to hear of the death of one of your sheep and also her lamb. Happy though that Howard found Lloyd just in time and is okay again. I do hope that none of the other sheep have any prolapses and everything goes well from now on. It will be lovely to see the lambs with their mums in the Lambwatch field. All the very best for the coming lambing season...
Helen 28th March 2012
Dear Lynda, Thanks for the update. Prayers coming your way in this tense time. Sorry about the loss of the yow, though. I hope it is the only serious problem to happen.
Cindy 28th March 2012
I am so looking forward to seeing the sheep once again and especially the little lambs. I am sure they will enjoy being back in the Lambwatch field and eating all the new grass. Each lambing season seems to have problem births but hopefully all your bad luck will now be over and lots of healthy lambs will arrive without trouble.
Milly 28th March 2012
Im so sorry to hear the bad news,,,But so looking forward to seeing all the sheep and new lambs,and hoping they are all in good health!!
Chas 28th March 2012
Thanks for the update and sorry to hear of the earlier problems - hope you have a really good season ahead to make up for it and it will be great to see some new inhabitants in the Lambwatch field again
Catherine&Family 2nd April 2012
Soooo sorry hearing what happen to one of the sheep Dan, and Lloyd. Hope things go a little better for your family their on the farm. It will be great to see them out and about in the lambwatch field. Take care all the best you's.
Stephanie 2nd April 2012
Looking forward to the new lambs. Thank you for sharing the good and bad times of raising sheep. I hope that the remainder of the lambing season will go smoothly and inexpensively for you.
Margaret 11th April 2012
Hello, is it possible for an update on the number of lambs which have been born since we heard of the nine please?
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