Archived News

11th April 2013

Hugo the Hampshire Down ram has sired seven very good sized lambs which were all born close together last week.  Unfortunately two ewes gave birth to one live and one dead lamb each and from the size of the aborted lamb it seems they died in the last month or so of pregnancy.

The aborted lambs were sent off for testing and the results came back yesterday as negative for Schmallenberg Virus and Toxoplasmosis which is at least some relief but none the less disappointing for Christopher as he builds up his small flock.

Since early March we’ve increased the numbers of visits to check seven in-calf Belted Galloway heifers, but it seems that Darcey with a due date around 7^th March, didn’t want to go first!  

Ear tags on and ready to go back to mum.

Jenny had a lovely heifer calf early yesterday morning before anyone was about; Jenny was very calm as we gently ushered her to one side of a field gate whilst I tagged the calf.

Jenny moving her calf away from us after tagging.

I included this rear end photo (no, not by accident!) as the colour of excreta is a good sign that the calf is getting colostrum.

I was away from the farm this morning when I received a text from Amanda saying that Darcey was calving, but I was an hour away and couldn’t get back in time. 

Hanging onto to her calf during the cold weather had clearly given the calf longer to grow and Darcey was struggling to push out a large heifer calf.

Amanda called Donald to help pull the calf out, she eased out the head of the calf first and then with a final pull the calf was born.

I was sorry to have missed all the excitement but glad to find a healthy calf which I tagged this afternoon, as by tomorrow she'll be racing around the fields!