Getting ready for farrowing!

ewes and lambs scampering down the hill
for their feed!

Emma (the vet) and
Alan drenching the ewe

We have had a busy week ....we moved the 13 ewes and 18 lambs down to the bank field, as they didn't have enough grass up here.  It was a tricky manouvre; we put the lambs into the small open top trailer, and normally the ewes run along behind - but this time they were more interested in eating ....and some ran off down the road instead of across the field!  a few of the them even got into the cricket pitch...(not actually ON the pitch i hasten to add!) We eventually got them all down into the field, and then let out all the lambs...they were thrilled to get some decent grass.  The lambs look fantastic in the main - we are still feeding them once a day on hard feed to keep up the milk supply for a while longer.  We brought Alice and Annabel back to the farm, so that we can continue halter training them.  Sadly one of the last two ewes to lamb; has gone rapidly down hill.  She was due to have twins, and suddenly stopped eating on Thursday - we've had the vet out twice, and been drenching her with a glucose/mineral fluid, and serious antibiotics, but she is still not eating any hard food.  She is out in the Care Farm Garden today and at least eating a bit of grass, but i am not hopeful about her chances / or the lambs....we rather fear she could be carrying dead lambs, or has 'absorbed' them...the trials of sheep farming.

Sandy is looking 'imminent'....i reckon she will farrow within the next 48 hours - i'm really hoping she doesn't start till Monday, when Gerry is back!  We have her in the nursery all ready, and the heat lamp is rigged up just in case....

We have another bantam sitting on eggs in the poly tunnel - the other one is out with the hens in the main run - unfortunately 3 of her 5 chicks are cockerels...!

We have had 4 chicks hatch over the last 24 hours in the incubator - let's hope they aren't all cockerels!

We have loads of seeds coming up in the poly tunnel, and have been planting out broad beans, and onions and getting the pots ready for sweet peas.  We have planted carrot, beetroot, and pea seeds out, and sown more salads inside the poly tunnel.

we were really lucky to be given funding for two new pig arcs that arrived from Devon on Thursday....our others were inherited second hand, and very delapidated, and definitely wouldn't do another winter, so we are really thankful to The Cotswold Primrose Trust for their help, and to 'Traditional Pig Arks'.

preparing woodland for the new
pig arks

all the buckets cleaned out after lambing!