...you get a call at 7pm on Saturday night from a neighbour saying 'Our ewe is having difficulty lambing. She's in the middle of the paddock. Can we borrow J to help hold her down?'
Our neighbours Chris and Colette have about 10 ewes and this is the first to lamb this year. Colette called at lunchtime to let us know that this was the day and we had gone over just after 4pm as her waters had broken and the birth was imminent. At 5.30pm we returned home as it was now dark and we were cold from hanging around in the paddock for so long (you have to be quiet and still!)
We set off excited with torches. When we arrived you could see the lambs nose and one foot and still the ewe was walking around and then running around as we tried to catch her! About 30 minutes later the four of us managed to corner her in the sheep enclosure. Colette and J held her down, I held the torch and Chris pulled the lamb out. It's tongue was sticking out which was a really bad sign, but still it was breathing and within 30 minutes was bleeting and trying to feet. The resilience of animals is amazing! You will be pleased to hear that mother and baby are both doing well. If we hadn't caught her both the ewe and lamb would have been dead by morning.
