Hello everyone. For those of you that do not know me, I’m Freya. I am on the Animal Team at White Post Farm and work with small animals and the big ones too. For many years lambing season has been one of my favourite times of the year and this year I wanted to be better prepared than ever.
I’ve experience lambing first hand but I really wanted to learn the skills to be able to take a more active role this year. So with the help of Farmer Rebecca we found a nearby farm that were happy to let me join their team for a week. So off to Doncaster I went to the brilliant Dock Hills Farm. It was perfectly timed with their lambing season beginning a week before ours. I was so excited!
They gave me such a warm welcome when I arrived. My hosts, Anne and Andrew made me feel like part of the team straight away, advising me on my daily journey, filling me in on the farm events of the previous few days and even giving me coffee and biscuits! I was so well looked after.
Before long it was time to get down to business. They were already lambing so It was a case of straight into the thick of it. Anne helped me to understand exactly what I should be looking for, when helping a ewe in labour, to ensure everything was in the correct position and the birth could go as smoothly as possible. However, I couldn’t feel what Anne had described. In fact not at all. The hooves and legs felt different and I couldn’t feel a nose or head at all. It was breech birth! This is when the lamb is facing in the wrong direction. It was in reverse! I was nervous but the perfect chance to learn. In this situation it is really important we help the mum to make sure she is not too much stress and to make sure the baby has the best chance of survival. We worked together and I was so happy, relieved and proud when the little lamb was born healthily and with a keen attentive mother!
So, after a difficult start, I was looking forward to the next one keeping my fingers crossed for a lovely easy natural birth. But it was not to be! I checked the presentation and this time it was correct. But unfortunately the lamb was quite large and became stuck! All we could see was the swollen head and tongue of the lamb so we knew we had to act quickly. This is where the skill of the farmer really comes into play. It is so important to be gentle and as careful as we can to ensure the ewe was dilated as much as possible. We used lubricant and lots of patience and eventually, once again the outcome was a success. The lamb was very dark due to the extended time it had spent in the birthing canal but it was healthy and that is of course the most important thing! We had a total of 10 lambs born during my stay and happily the rest were lots easier! But the tough times have given me such confidence to cope with whatever lambing season throws my way!
A little crash and a cracking sandwich…
Another big highlight from my week was driving the quad bike. Oh my word it was so much fun! It was a big farm so I got to drive the quad between fields feeding the animals. The best thing was one of the farm dogs (Betty, the oldest of the three) would join me on the journey to save her senior legs! It was all going so well. That is until I crashed. Only a little one, a slight bump on the trailer but Andrew’s son was far from impressed with me but I took my dressing down from a primary school child pretty well. I have so many fond memories but one of the best was the food. Anne and Andrew insisted they’d prepare my lunch and my goodness was it good. I can happily tell you, the tuna sandwich with celery, grated carrot and mayonnaise is the best I’ve ever eaten! Yum!
All in all it was a brilliant week which I really loved. It has also given me new skills and confidence ahead of our own lambing season which is off to a great start. I can’t wait for lots of you to join us here at the farm over Easter, see all the lovely new borns and to learn all about why spring is so important here at White Post Farm.
Farmer Freya
