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Lambling season: Surprise for ewe down on the farm
New lambs at Pigeons Farm, Thorney. Photo supplied
DESPITE forecasts of a big freeze ahead, spring seems to have arrived already at a Peterborough farm where a pair of elderly ewes have just given birth.
The sudden appearance of the gamboling lambs has surprised staff at Pigeon Farm, in Wisbech Road, Thorney.
But it is not just the unseasonal arrival but also that the mums are two eight-year-olds who had been “retired” from the farm’s breeding programme and that dad had been considered too young and too weak to father any offspring.
But unbeknown to Pigeon Farm staff the “tiny” lamb grew up over winter, beating a ram called Bruno, who is usually responsible for breeding with the farm’s ewes, to the punch – to breed with females on the farm.
Linda Moore, who runs the rural family attraction, said she had no idea the lambs were on their way because a ewe’s coat can disguise its pregnancy.
She said: “We didn’t realise until we went out into the field to check and one had a lamb, and then another one.
“The first two came a week ago and this week the two older ewes had their lambs.
“Bruno, who is a Suffolk ram, is the normal one who would do the job first.”
Two eight-year-old ewes, the oldest of the surprise new mums at the farm, had been retired from this year’s breeding programme because of their age.
Linda said: “When a sheep gets old they tend to lose their teeth and this is how they end their days really because they can’t eat enough grass and they get thin.
“But these two are old favourites and we’ve had them a long time so they were sponsored, by one of our visitors, to buy food pellets for them over the winter to build them up.
“In normal circumstances, a commercial farmer would send them to market but we are not like that and some of our animals become pets.
“With a bit of extra hard feed they would do ok, so we put them with last years lambs and there’s now eight lambs for the children to see!”
Black and spotty piglets have also arrived at the farmyard, belonging to a proud kunekune breed of pig.
Because lambing season has begun early, Linda announced yesterday that free entry to the farm for children has been extended until February 10, so that even more families can meet the new lambs and their accidental parents.
She said: “Lambing has come early this year which is quite nice because we’ve had a lot of children coming in.
“There are farms that have lambs at Christmas time but normally we wait until there is spring grass so that they have something nice to eat.
“We get them inside for a week or two to make sure everything is alright and then we turn them back out in the fields.”
For more details call 01733 271 020 or visit www.pigeonsfarm.co.uk
Spring lambing
SHEEP will usually wait until the arrival of warmer spring weather to breed and give birth, unlike most other farm animals.
Shepherds planning for newborn lambs traditionally bring their flocks of ewes into fields close the farmyard where grass is plentiful and they can be on hand to help will deliveries.
Giving birth to nine lambs is common for some breeds of sheep, although most ewes will carry just one or two.
Ewes generally leave their flock when labour is due, giving birth for around an hour, at which point shepheads can help them clear a membrane around their lamb’s head to help them with breathing and suckling.
Within 20 minutes the lamb will be looking for milk.
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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Lazy Daisy
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 03:12 PMWhat is a "shephead"? Answer- another typo!
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