- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Lambing is pretty much over. Was going strong still around 20 a day up to Thursday, then it pretty abruptly stopped - there's 15-20 left to lamb (plus the ewe hoggs)
I would need to count up properly but even with the god awful rain I think it's actually been a very good lambing. The inbye ewes with Texel lambs have been exceptional with very few losses. The singles have been about as trouble free as I've seen them, only 2 found with hung lambs, only 1 with a swollen head... a handful stuck needed a wee pull though.
Hill twins have done well but as usual it tends to be the maiden Gimmers which have lost the most lambs - some a touch softer, inexperienced mothers, some frustratingly found 1 live 1 dead... just the usual really.
Early lambers have done really well - despite being very drawn out.
Pure Texels have done fine - there's 2 still to lamb, 1 from Longtown and 1 of my own which should be inlamb, but if she lambs won't be until late April when the Beltex finally raddled her
Entropion has ruined what was going well with the Longtown ewes. I've a single ewe lamb which is totally blind and another on a twin gone in 1 eye. They lambed outside in all that rain, totally fine and got hunkered up under bushes and trees for a good few days. I could see they were looking fine and healthy but couldn't get close to them so left them to it. Wasn't until the rains cleared away and the ewes and lambs all came out into the open I could see the eyes weren't right. Pretty sickening really, I've seen Entropion before but usually very mild and clears up even if I've seen it late - I've never had a lamb lose an eye/go blind before so I'm pretty shocked by it all.
Have gone soft in my old(er) age, grass is growing but I've decided to feed the ewes again so back out with the snacker this morning chucking money on the ground
Singles up on the highest ground, just waiting on the last ones lambing so I can spray them for ticks and put them back to the hill
Inbye Texel lambs
I would need to count up properly but even with the god awful rain I think it's actually been a very good lambing. The inbye ewes with Texel lambs have been exceptional with very few losses. The singles have been about as trouble free as I've seen them, only 2 found with hung lambs, only 1 with a swollen head... a handful stuck needed a wee pull though.
Hill twins have done well but as usual it tends to be the maiden Gimmers which have lost the most lambs - some a touch softer, inexperienced mothers, some frustratingly found 1 live 1 dead... just the usual really.
Early lambers have done really well - despite being very drawn out.
Pure Texels have done fine - there's 2 still to lamb, 1 from Longtown and 1 of my own which should be inlamb, but if she lambs won't be until late April when the Beltex finally raddled her
Entropion has ruined what was going well with the Longtown ewes. I've a single ewe lamb which is totally blind and another on a twin gone in 1 eye. They lambed outside in all that rain, totally fine and got hunkered up under bushes and trees for a good few days. I could see they were looking fine and healthy but couldn't get close to them so left them to it. Wasn't until the rains cleared away and the ewes and lambs all came out into the open I could see the eyes weren't right. Pretty sickening really, I've seen Entropion before but usually very mild and clears up even if I've seen it late - I've never had a lamb lose an eye/go blind before so I'm pretty shocked by it all.
Have gone soft in my old(er) age, grass is growing but I've decided to feed the ewes again so back out with the snacker this morning chucking money on the ground
Singles up on the highest ground, just waiting on the last ones lambing so I can spray them for ticks and put them back to the hill
Inbye Texel lambs
