Our first lambing
Before finally finding the farm and moving here in autumn 2017 we had spent several years searching and using evenings and weekends to acquire knowledge and gain skills that we would need. This included several evenings spent lambing at the local agricultural college and a whole 24 hour lambing shift at Kate Humble's farm in Wales as well as general sheep handling and management courses at both places.
We initially bought six sheep (three ewes that had lambed once before and three shearlings that would be lambing for the first time) from a prize-winning flock in Scotland. The arrangement was that they would be run with a tup (ram) so that when we collected them in mid-December they should all be in-lamb.
After a period of quarantine in the lambing shed which allowed us to get the fencing finished they went out in the field in early January, just in time for some snow! But despite heavier snowfalls during the "Beast from the East" and having to dig out snow drifts to get to the field our little flock was doing well. As the 9th of April (our anticipated date for the start of lambing) approached, reality started to hit that we would soon be lambing by ourselves for the very first time.
Following an Easter shearing course away from the farm, the ewes were brought in to the lambing shed so that we would be able to keep a close eye on them in the final weeks of pregnancy. Although the sheep and their lambs are hardy enough to get on with things outside in all weathers, lambing in the shed meant that we would be sheltered from wind and rain, have good lighting and all our equipment easily to hand, and be able to get across to the house for sleep and sustenance when needed.