This year we had seven of the 2022 gimmers in the lambing flock, bringing the total to 29 ewes. The higher numbers, and the fact that our tup, Viking, was the father of the gimmers, meant we needed an additional tup. So, during the summer of 2023 we had been on the look out for a suitable male. Our biggest priority is hardiness meaning we always look to buy from flocks that live out in similarly tough conditions - at altitude and exposed to the weather. A visit to the North Sea coast in early October saw us secure An Sgiobal Deisheetaan, or Deish for short, a proven shearling tup.

In the run up to tupping Viking decided he had done enough waiting and managed to follow a group of our neighbour's sheep back over the wall into a 100-acre parcel of steep, rough ground. Rounding him up was no mean feat but seemed nothing compared to the task of getting him back home. With no way to access the ground by vehicle we had to drag and carry him all the way - he was very unwilling to leave! We both arrived back soaked in rain and sweat, covered in mud and gasping for breath! Viking was then confined to a pen alongside the wether goats for a fortnight to prevent him going AWOL again! 

We split our ewes into two groups, giving Deish and Viking 14 and 15 respectively to cover and once again used CIDRs to synchronise everything, to hopefully give us a nice compact lambing window in spring. The two boys seemed to get on with everything well and the 147 day countdown to lambing began.

In over 150 lambings to date we've only ever had a single case before, such is the resilience of our breed, but Isabelle was really struggling. Within a few minutes we had provided a high energy drench directly into her stomach and injected calcium under her skin. She started to burp - a good sign that the calcium was working - and could lift her head, but things were still critical. Twin lamb disease does not generally have good outcomes. We moved her to a pen in the polytunnel and continued to treat with the energy drench and calcium over the next few days. She was back on her feet within a few hours and drinking well, but seemed off her food. 

Because she still seemed really bloated later that morning we had her checked by the vet who felt we had done everything we should have and just had to monitor things. Over the coming days things stayed about the same - she was up and about but not eating well - until we suddenly found her dead 3 days later. Losing a ewe is a big thing for us - we'd only lost a single ewe prior to this - but it goes to show how dangerous twin lamb disease can be, how well sheep hide any illness until the last minute, and how even the best treatment doesn't always work out.

Although we also had another ewe, Ariadne, display similar, although less severe, symptoms later the same evening, she recovered fully and delivered her lamb 6 days later.

As we'd worked out, Artemis had her lamb on the second cycle dates and after waiting a couple more days and with no signs of any udders developing on the last two we concluded that they had not carried a pregnancy this year. One was our oldest ewe and may be a sign that she has reached the end of her ability to have lambs and the other was our heaviest ewe - which means they can struggle to get in lamb. She didn't take in her first year either, suggesting that she isn't the most fertile ewe in the flock.

The only other issue we faced was with Hildegard's gimmer lamb, Gaia, who clearly wasn't getting enough milk as we found her hunched in the field and failing to gain weight. Her sister, Griffon, seemed to be doing fine, so we took her off and have been bottle feeding her since. After a few days of hard work she got the hang of it and is now progressively gaining weight.

Reflecting on lambing it showed how hard the long, wet winter had been on the flock. Although the temperatures were generally mild the issue for sheep generally isn't the cold, it's the wet. Having to continually use body heat to get dry, day after day, looks to have taken its toll on the ewes. The two cases of twin lamb and the lower proportion of twins than 2023 are evidence of that.

We ended up with 34 lambs out to the field from 29 ewes, so only around 117%. This is a big reduction from the 182% last year, but with seven first-timers in the group this time (versus none last year) it was always going to be lower (as they tend to have singles). If we exclude the two empty ewes and the one that died, it equates to a more reasonable 131%, which isn't that different to a number of previous years.

Although we adapted the feeding plan to respond to changes in weight profiles this wasn't enough on its own to offset the challenges from the weather. The wetter than hoped for haylage also probably didn't have optimal feed value due to the conditions when it was baled - something we can foctor in to our plans for the crop in 2024.

On a positive note, the experience we've gained in previous years was evident - recognising problems quickly, managing malpresentations alone, and that we managed to get so much else done during the week alongside lambing!