Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sheep, sheep and more sheep!

The school market has come and gone, made $9500 this year, $1500 up on last year, which was $1500 up on the year before. Very satisfying result for the organizer...Now I don't have to think about the madness again until about next February!
The lambs basically started arriving about the day after the market. Dh puts the crop in while I handle the sheep, so here's a little explanation to where I have been of late...

A VERY rare photo of me...and holding my first 5 babies. Feeding them about 5 times a day at present...I actually did paid work teaching school today, so had to take the two youngest with.....the others could now last but 1 day olds can't! Kept them in the sports store in a plastic tub and got them out at recess and lunch to play with the kids and have a feed.....I felt like the olden days when I taught a few days while DD was a baby and I had to express to feed her at lunch! Well....okay, it wasn't quite the same!! These get formula!!


I go around the sheep on the motorbike, I have been blessed with great weather but still, with cold, frosty nights and clear days you get some orphans/neglected babies. I've been bringing lambs home for about 30 years, but I have never had a result like the one coming up...



I saw this fellow in the grass, dead supposedly. I hopped off the bike to see if he was missing a tongue...a sure sign of fox....and felt a slight sign of life. He was stiff but I jammed him down my vest and bought him home

warmed him all day in my kitchen window on a hot water bottle and under a light..

Still not a lot of movement..used a funnel to pour my home made colostrum down his throat and here he was the next night....

Out in the barn with the others, up and happy and drinking. I was a happy lamb rearer. (In the photo with me it is the one facing you second from the right.)
If I bring them home fit and well I try to foster them onto another mother, but if they are struggling that's tricky. I've fostered about 10.
I've now got you up to speed on where I've been...there's some quilty stuff next post...thanks for staying tuned! Cheers, tracey

13 comments:

QuiltingFitzy said...

The newest baby is ADORABLE! And what? The foxes eat their tongue?

Thanks for the update, know you're busy, but love hearing from you.

Amanda said...

AWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saska said...

The orphan babies just melt my heart! They are so precious--glad there are mamas like you that can bring them back to life!

Andrea said...

What a lovely post - bet the kids loved the lambs at school. Reminds me of the nursery rhyme Mary had a little lamb - lol. How on earth do you find time to sew ? xx

Anonymous said...

Such sweet little things. YOur a good step mother!

Teresa said...

What a gorgeous post. I bet the kids loved the lambs at school! So glad the little orphan is doing well. I can see why you've been so busy!

Ozjane said...

new version of
she brought the lamb to school one day it was against the rule........
I brought a few things over my teaching years....at least one of the Moggies came but no sheep.
This is why I grew up on the land determined never to marry a farmer and now I would like to be stealing the land for a garden....but I know how hard it is to steal garden land from farmers also.

Julie said...

What a good Mum you are. The kids at school must love you bringing them to school. My Mum and Grandma tell stories of bringing the nearly dead ones in and putting them in the old wood fired oven!

Sweet P said...

How adorable! You're a great lamb mommy!

shirley said...

Isn't this little fellow cute...how wonderful you were able to save him.

Sassenach said...

Congrats on the save! We ended up with five bottle babies this winter; I've only successfully grafted one back onto it's own mother.

We don't have a fox problem, but we've got raccoons and the odd possum. They go after the chickens though (fingers-crossed). I think it's the possum that will remove the head before eating.

There are so many things you don't want to know about farm life.....

YankeeQuilter said...

So glad that one has a happy ending! I miss seeing all the sheep we had around the village in England. I helped my neighbor one day by feeding the orphans so she could attend a family event...fun but a lot of work!

prashant said...

Thanks for the update,
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