The birth rites of spring

[ina]

Quite a good article on lambing - for all of you out there who've never experienced it!


http://www.sundayherald.com/life/people ... 91.0.0.php

[red]

i feel better about my triplet lambs now...

[ina]

Yes, losses can't be helped - whatever we try! I'm off now to the shed, to feed a few little weaklings, who can't quite get enough off their mums...

[johnhcrf]

Ina, How do you protect your lambs? Foxes, ravens are said to predate on them. Can you deal with both?

John

[ina]

It's not so much a problem when the lambs are strong enough, and have a good mother - they do the protecting for you! Bad mothers aren't allowed to breed again; you can't really afford that in outdoor lambing. Most of our ewes lamb indoors, though; and by the time they get out, they are big and strong enough. Yesterday we lost one to a fox; mind you, it probably was born dead; it was quite premature - the ewes hadn't been brought in yet, as they aren't supposed to start until Monday. (They came in last night.) The other one (it was twins) was probably just lucky - he's still with us, now inside and well looked after!

[johnhcrf]

Good to see you are a caring farmer. What about ravens? Should they be shot? I saw some dead eyeless lambs on tv and thought it was horrendous.

John

[ina]

Good to see you are a caring farmer. What about ravens? Should they be shot? I saw some dead eyeless lambs on tv and thought it was horrendous.

John

I've not seen any attack a live lamb! They do go for dead, or almost dead animals, though. The other day I heard some strange noises out my kitchen window - two crows, practising their courting behaviour... It was quite sweet, really. I don't mind them, even if they try and get into the bird table - heads and tails sticking out either end! There's plenty for them all.

Btw, I'm not a farmer in my own right - I work on a farm. The only livestock I can call my own are two goats, and two cats! (Oh, and you might want to count that resident rabbit that lives under my shed. )

[johnhcrf]

Are you ambivalent towards the fate of lambs? I love double loin chops (on the bone), but if I worked with lambs I doubt if I could eat them. Is farming life a cruel game?

John.

[red]

its interesting that we can really enjoy the lamb we have .. bouncing around the place.. coming up to us .. and yet also look forward to the chops.

[johnhcrf]

Thanks, Red. But can you eat that particular lamb the same as any other? I will never be a vegetarian but I could not farm.

John

[ina]

Are you ambivalent towards the fate of lambs? I love double loin chops (on the bone), but if I worked with lambs I doubt if I could eat them. Is farming life a cruel game?

John.

Well, I'm a veggie anyway - have been for ages, even before I went into farming. But that doesn't mean I'm against the killing of livestock for meat; I couldn't be, working on a farm!

I think if we do our best to give them a "normal" life, i.e. as natural (hills, not overstocked etc) and healthy (disease prevention) as possible, I can live with that.

[johnhcrf]

I eat fish/meat and I think it keeps me thin. No ready meals (full of fat,sugar ,salt) but I eat well. I think protein takes a while to digest and so appetite is suppressed. Look at lions. They eat their meat rare and you don't see them hungry for ages.

John

[ina]

They eat their meat rare and you don't see them hungry for ages.

No, but I think they eat huge quantities in one go! I just don't like meat (and fish) any more - gave up because of the dubious quality you could get back then, and lost the liking for it. So now I eat more eggs and cheese when I need to stock up on protein. You are right - I think it keeps me satisfied for longer.

[johnhcrf]

Ina, you are spot on about lions, but aren't they such great eaters and their table manners are excellent. Back to lambs. What do they smell of, my old aunt has an old dog and she, the dog, smells of age but a lamb must be something different?

John.

[ina]

Oh, that's difficult to describe... And I think even each breed of sheep smells a bit different! The all pervading smell during lambing is iodine, anyway. Since I always manage to spill some on my clothes, I smell of it, too.