Lambing Live

Across the way, in the big shed over at Fir House, lambing is in full swing - lambs are popping out all over. About half the flock have lambed so far - only about 700 more to go.

As the weather was so beautiful, Sam and I decided we would walk rather than drive to go and see Trelystan's own version of 'Lambing Live'*. We strode out with the sun warm on our backs down the lane which leads from Lower House to the farm at Fir House. We trod daintily at first through inches of mud - regretting we had not taken the easy option of a ride in the car. Soon though we left the damp dingle and climbing up higher, found the track firm underfoot. Pausing for breathe gave us the chance to take in the view. Behind us, and in the centre of my photograph is 'home', at the heart of the small mountain kingdom of Trelystan. How different things look when viewed from another angle, a fresh perspective is always refreshing. We're looking in a south-westerly direction here. To my left the land falls away to meet the Rea Valley's gently undulating pasture and arable land before rising again to Stapely Common, Corndon, the Stiperstones, Long Mynd and lands beyond (where there may indeed 'be dragons' - the hic sunt dracones beloved of old map-makers).

It's certainly busy at Fir house; pregnant ewes mill around by the dozen; ewes with newborns are penned tightly together in family units, fresh straw is being scattered and water troughs replenished. Each ewe has been given, alongside her ration of sheep nuts, a beet to gnaw on. This looks like a real treat - I'm reminded in no small way of how, not so long ago, nursing mothers were given a bottle of stout on the maternity ward to 'build their strength'.

It is ever so slightly frantic in this shed - the ewes due to lamb are constantly on the move (and noisy too) though this may be to do with the imminent arrival of food. But what's going on over in the corner? And there? And over there too? Looks like heavy breathing and Things Happening at the Business End. I think if we hang around long enough we may witness the miracle of birth.

A couple of ewes have gone quietly to the edge of the pen and, ignoring the rest of the flock, are about to produce lambs. From the marks painted on their fleeces we know that shortly a set of triplets and some twins will soon enter the world. Indeed, after what seems like a long wait on our part, the first of the triplets is born - here it is above in the first minutes of life. It's steaming wet, coughing and spluttering and determined to stand. Its siblings are a bit mixed up inside the ewe and it needs the shepherd's intervention to untangle and line them up for delivery. Soon they too are lying, wet and sticky beside their mother. Three big healthy lambs. Well done that sheep.

We see the twins born too, slippery little things welcomed to the world by their mother with a sniff and a thorough licking. Pretty soon they'll be penned up and given a squirt of this and a spray of that to guard against infections. Within minutes they'll be standing and in search of milk - that precious first colostrum without which they never seem to thrive.

Sam and I move on past more ewes and lambs, these are ready to leave the shelter of the shed and go out into the world; firstly to a small field and then, when fit and strong in a couple of weeks to rejoin the larger flock. Lastly we come to the 'caid' (or should that be 'cayed'?) lambs - a pen of about 50 waifs and strays. That seems a lot but given the numbers involved overall probably isn't a bad percentage. Here we have the lambs whose mothers have died, the triplet which couldn't be 'adopted' and others which for whatever reason need rearing by hand. Normally this is a a time-consuming task, preparing and giving bottles several times a day to all these hungry souls but this year these lambs have an automatic feeder - which takes milk powder and mixes it with heated water and dispenses it via a teat-ended tube to the lambs which can feed on demand. I'm told it is a great success.

Then it's out into the sunshine again - with thanks to the Thomas family for putting up with us and our stream of questions. We've had a great morning; seeing those new lives begin was the icing on the cake. For me, no matter how many times one sees it, the wonder does not diminish.

*Perhaps I'm going slightly batty in my old age but I enjoyed this BBC programme more than anything I've seen for ages. Sheep in strawy sheds, sheep giving birth, the miracle of life (see above), rare breeds and lots of information about life in a rural community and erm....more about sheep. Perfect - provided one likes sheep of course. Felt quite bereft when the schedule reverted back to the same old-same old University Challenge and Masterchef. Sigh.