THE YOUNG SHEPHERD
It is important to look out for the signs that a ewe is soon going to give birth . These can be that she wants to be away from the other ewes and she paws at the ground .
In a year where once again everything keeps changing ( at the time of writing this I am back to home schooling due to lockdown ) it is so nice to have the normality of lambing .
Our lambing season started in the middle of February and should end around the end of April and during this time as a family we will lamb around 550 ewes 6 of which will be my Greyface Dartmoors .
My first ewe lambed on 9th February and had a double consisting of a ram lamb and a little ewe lamb . Although she was small she was very alert and noisy and was able to feed as well as the ram lamb . Two days later another ewe gave birth once again to a ram lamb and a ewe lamb .
Not long after this you will usually notice that she has pushed out a water bag and is bleating . My Dad always says you should try and let them lamb on their own and only intervene when you can see there is a problem such as the lamb is not coming the right way with a leg caught back . Hopefully by leaving her do it herself she finds it easier to take to the lamb .
Once my Dartmoors have lambed ( as with all our other sheep ) they are moved into a single pen so the lambs can get their first milk and colostrum from the ewe . The colostrum is vital as it contains antibodies to help with their immunity . My lambs normally need a bit of guidance in finding the milk to begin with as the ewes are rather woolly ! I usually trim the area a bit to make it easier for them . I also spray the lambs navels with iodine spray and this is to help prevent any infection getting in them .
Depending on how the lambs are feeding and also what the weather is like , they spend a few days in the lambing shed before being turned out into the fields .
14 | Rural Life