Twins On Mother's Day ..... At Last More Lambs!

The Mother's Day Twins

Well it's 00.38 according to this phone I'm typing tonight's blog on and I'm in the stable once again keeping an eye on the sheep that I am convinced are about to lamb. I wouldnt expect any activity just yet though as I've been convinced one girl has been about to lamb for the past 8 days! I have religiously sat with them in the dark with my torch waiting patiently expecting a new arrival but have returned to bed freezing cold in the early hours with nothing to tell apart from frostbite! And tonight seems to be no different. I think Its becoming an obsession! I have now upped my game and have decided that the floor is no place for lamb  watching and have pulled Kyle's old buggy out of storage and as I type sat in it I feel it was quite a good idea! I just hope noone catches me huddled in said pushchair as it may look more than strange to the normal eye! I sit for 3 hours but decide nothing is going to happen tonight!

So it's another night back in the stable, maybe more lambs tonight! It's 11.30 and I've just come in to see if any of the girls have taken themselves away from the flock to find a bit of peace and quiet which is a sign they are about to lamb and I've found 2 in here. The one I've been watching for over a week now and another girl who I sensed was not too far off lambing. I have given them some hay which they have both eaten and now they have found corners in the shed and are lying down panting - I've begun to learn this doesn't mean anything is about to happen straight away!!

I'm sitting comfortably in the buggy again and am waiting patiently. I'll stay till about 3am and then make a decision as to whether my bed is the best option! I think both of the sheep in here with me tonight are having twins because of pure size but not opting to scan for pregnancy means I can never be 100% sure. The twins born 2 weeks ago will need their tails docked tomorrow and I will need to castrate the boy which is a sad realisation that he will not live out his days here at Nunnery Farm but will instead be for meat. Anywau, enough for tonight - once again I see no signs of any lambs so I am off to bed!

It's Mother's Day today and I've decided to check how things are with the sheep. I need and to dock the tails of the twins. I decided I wouldn't castrate the boy on the same day as I docked his tail due to limiting the stress so once his tail has settld down I will castrate him. I set off down the field to do my job and check all was well when I found Ivy in labour at the bottom of the field. The front hooves of a lamb were already visible. She did extremely well and after a short time gave birth to a beautifully marked boy! She cleaned him up and then walked away so I was pretty sure another was on its way. I was right because she then gave birth to another boy. He is pure white.

Ivy is doing well, she has cleaned both boys and they are currently down at the bottom of the field having a rest in the sunshine. They are both feeding and so as far as I am concerned there shouldn't be any problems with them!

Dave The Lamb Meets The New Twins!

2 down 4 to go!!

It's Nearly Time

Sadly it is almost time to say goodbye to the two Saddleback pigs I have on the farm at the moment. I have to organise a trailer and get my paperwork in order for tomorrow.

I have just brought the next set of weaners on to the farm which makes taking the older two a little bit easier to deal with because while I am looking after the little ones I am not thinking about the two that have gone. It works for me anyway but it is never something that I look forward to, enjoy or find easy to deal with.

I have never really been comfortable with the killing of animals for any reason and drifted in and out of vegetarian phases in my younger days. I think the first attempt at becoming a vegetarian was after buying The Smiths album and listening to Meat is Murder. Upon hearing Morrisey confirm the killing of an animal was death for no reason and death for no reason was murder my life as a vegetarian had begun to take shape .... unfortunately after many months struggling to find vegetable curry and breakfast without bacon tasty I decided that a vegetarian life was not really for me and so I started to think about how I could eat meat without the guilt trip it carried with it for me personally. This came about by me thinking of raising my own meat as strange as it sounds because that way I could ensure that the life any animal I raised for meat would be controlled by me and I could thereby ensure their life would be the best it could possibly be. In knowing that my pigs are raised the way nature intended without any growth hormones or cruel practices that routinely take place with indoor intensively farmed pigs I reached a place where I was happy to eat that meat.

This aside, the weeks leading up to the date that I take the animals to slaughter I still find terribly upsetting and I find it hard to think about anything else. I consle myself with the fact that they have had a great life that is not offered to many animals destined for the food chain. The first time I took animals to slaughter I realised just how much respect is required for the animal that in the end gives you everything.

So here I am at the saddest point in the journey that is home grown meat. I now need to get the papers and pigs ready so they can be transported.

I need to complete the BPEX forms (these are avilable online at the BPEX site) and email these to the Abattoir. The pigs will need to arrive no later than 10am in the morning. I will load the pigs on the trailer then ear tag them. I have always got someone else to do this for me just because I am a softy but I am going to try and do this myself this time ... lets see!! I will set off at 6.00am to get there before 7am which is the earliest I can unload them and then get them settled into their pen.

So it is a sad day but it is also makes me happy because I am standing for what I believe in and by doing what I do I am making a difference.