1 – Reluctantly got out of bed to take over the early morning shift at 6a.m. from Alec, who kindly helped out as relief night lambing man in place of Ross. Diary note reads “a day to forget, so busy, so tired”

Lambing time is a continual round of work and jobs with no two days ever quite the same. The weather plays a very influential part and, of course, it’s the one thing we can’t control.

I chose One Day this Lambing Time and kept a note of what happened. Here it is.

Another freezing cold day.

5.45a.m. Down the yard. Ross now back to work. His message on the blackboard read – “17 ewes lambed overnight. All penned. Shed quiet. Off to bed. 4.30a.m.”

Looked the ewes and saw a sight no-one likes at lambing time, one ‘hanging’ a lamb. (The head was visible but the lamb was stuck. If no assistance is given the lamb will die.) Got Jim out to help. Difficult birth, both front legs back. Between us got one leg forward, then the other and pulled. A big lamb but alive. 

7a.m. Fed horses and mixed milk for the 6 pet lambs. They have a bucket feeder which makes life easier.  Fed orphan calf (her mother died) and two cows in the back shed.  

7.30a.m. Took quad and snacker (it dispenses feed from three compartments) to feed the ewes and lambs outside, and the ewes on the Haugh due to lamb in the third week. Discovered new born twins almost frozen to death. The ewe was standing over them, I would get her later. Put them in box on front of the quad bike and hurried back to the farm.

Took their temperature but neither registered on the thermometer = severe hypothermia. Tubed both with warm colostrum (via a tube straight into the stomach) and placed both in the warm box, a thermostatically controlled unit similar to an oven.

From the hill lambing field Jim brought in three perished lambs that would not survive if left in the cold. One = very weak. Tubed and put on hearth at farmhouse. Later died.

9a.m. – lunchtime. Overnight arrivals, penned by Ross, moved to the nursery by Jim and the Moreland family. (They are back again at Shepherd’s Cotttage for Easter and to help with the lambing) Kept there for 24 hours to ensure lambs are feeding and full before moving outside. Pens bedded, water buckets filled, sheep fed and turnips dished out in the troughs.

Ewes and lambs loaded into the quadbike trailer, lambs all sporting macs put on by Katrina, then driven out to the fields by her dad, Terry.

11.30a.m. With the help of Sky, my trusty collie and right-hand man, I walked the ewe from the Haugh to the farm. Checked the warm box. Very disappointed to find one lamb had not made it, however, its twin was showing signs of life but needed more warming.   Bottle fed hill lambs that came in this morning.

Lunchtime/Afternoon – Quick visit to Wooler for shopping. Can’t be too long because of lamb in the box.

Catch up with farm paperwork. Check warm box. The lamb now has its head up and looks much better. Temperature is up to 99 (normal =101) so remove it to cardboard box in conservatory for observation. Everyone amazed that it has survived.

5p.m. – Lamb reunited with mother. Ross will keep an eye on them tonight and make sure it is suckled. It would not withstand another chilling. He will also bottle feed the two hill lambs during the night. Tomorrow they will learn how to use the Shepherdess bucket feeder.

Day team prepare to hand over to Ross. The 18 ewes lambed today got an early shift to the nursery to free up pens for tonight.

A fairly typical lambing day at Ingram.

Interesting sightings were of a hen harrier on Wether Hill. Ross was very privileged to see this quite rare bird of prey; a kingfisher with its striking sapphire plumage streaking down the river near Peggy Bell’s Bridge; a peewit with two chicks on the Haugh and siskins on the bird nuts.

Postscript: The April walk was held higher up the valley. Those that went sat down for lunch on grass and got up from snow!