In the hills, we lamb a little later in the year to take advantage of the (hopefully) better weather.
Some ewes will be lambed inbye and others out on the hills they call home.
Timings
The timing of an outdoor hill lambing coincides with the later spring of the uplands. Spring brings with it grass growth in the old native hill pasture species - and it's this that the new mothers will rely on to support themselves and their new lambs. Many of our sheep are lambed on the hill, the rest in 'inbye' hill paddocks.
From mid-April: Lambing time
With 1400 breeding ewes lambing, it’s a busy time. We check on ewes throughout each day, using hilltops and promontories to spy with binoculars from afar to see that all is well, disturbing a ewe only when we think something is wrong. If a ewe or lamb seems in trouble (lost, hungry, or having a difficult lambing) we'll intervene to help.
In this work we're intrinsically connected to the weather and the changing seasons. Lambing outdoors can be wonderful on a dry warm spring but cold, raw, hard graft for both sheep and shepherd during a late spring snow storm. In the hills we farm Scottish Blackface sheep - born and bred on the heather hills of Scotland, hardy and resilient to the weather. For the most part, our ewes lamb unaided and have healthy lambs up on their feet and drinking their first milk within only a few minutes.
Any newborns that are a bit slower to their feet may need to be bought in from the hill to the farmstead. If hypothermic the lamb will be warmed in the farmhouse kitchen or under infrared warming lamps in the sheep shed and assisted in feeding from its mother every 4 hours until fully recovered and drinking independently. There's a huge amount of job satisfaction in watching the change from poorly lamb to a frolicking one.
Spotted a lost lamb?
We're grateful to the public for alerting us to lamb problems. If you spot an issue please let us know...
- Drop into the farmhouse (there's a bell outside the conservatory)
- or call 01968 677842 (please leave a message if no answer).
Please don't pick up lambs. Often the mother will be close but has briefly wandered off!
If a lamb looks lost, please just tell us. We can usually find the forgetful mum! - Thank you
Lambing diary
2023
A good year with dry weather and fit ewes makes such a difference. Jenny had to be careful as an expectant mother herself, looking and catching the ewes - but not lambing this year. Michael had his first go at lambing, enjoying bringing new life into the world in preparation for the human lambing later in the year.
2022
We had the odd early lamb thanks to an escapee tup earlier in the year, but were not due to start in earnest until mid April. The ewes lambed well with few issues as the weather played nicely and gave us a warm, dry spring with good grass for the ewes. A good guide to how well a lamb has gone is usually an empty pet lamb pen - as was the case this year with all lambs gambolling about the hills with their mothers instead!
A dry summer wasn't bad for the sheep and they've been growing well. The heat did mean that gathering later in summer was an issue; on some days gathering was near impossible, or had to be done very late or early to avoid the heat of the day. We were very glad to see the rain arrive eventually.
It was also a bumper year for wild orchids on the hill and fungi come autumn. We are not sure why, but were very pleased to see them.
2021
We come to spring after a hard winter. 7 weeks of full snow cover coupled with severe disturbance by recreational skiers as lockdown was eased made for an uneasy start. The snow melted but the cold continued long into the year. SRUC recorded a 3 week delay on soil temperature and grass growth.
With late April came the sun which has finally allowed the grass to grow. A bad winter can, ironically, bring about an easier lambing in some regards as small lambs can make easier births. We've made a good start under good weather - long may that continue.
Looking back, we did have a lot more issues than usual as ewes from the more disturbed "covid-snow-sports" hills came into spring far poorer than those from neighbouring hills. Onwards and upwards though - and fingers crossed that the pandemic keeps moving in the right direction.
2020
A wonderful warm dry spring suited the sheep well. The grass grew early with a couple of the old, mossy pastures put under the plough for reseeding with a regenerative mix full of old fescues that suit this altitude better. The hills were eerily quiet with full lockdown in place throughout lambing. We waved to locals and neighbours, the lucky ones able to access the hills, as we did our rounds.
The quiet hills made for an exceptional year for the ground nesting birds. The red grouse and curlew numbers had rocketed by late autumn. It was a good year for the kestrels as well; a 'good vole year' meant that all six kestrel chicks fledged from the nest on the Moss. We were honoured to meet the young birds during tagging where they are weighed and measured. The hills provide a nursery for many a species beyond the sheep we shepherd.
2019
With warm dry spring weather, lambing was wonderful this year. The grass both inbye and out on the hill grew well, easily sustaining the ewes during late pregnancy and lambing. When a flush of grass comes relatively early we can have problems with ewes lambing large lambs (which can become stuck during birth) so we take extra care to check and catch the ewes (but only when absolutely necessary) if they find themselves in difficulty.
Curlews have thrived this year alongside the sheep - there have been three nesting-pairs on the Low End alone. Today, eight goslings followed their mother over the reservoir, the wild hill hyacinths are flowering, and the trees all in leaf. Most came into leaf a good few weeks early with the Ash very slightly before the Oak. If you believe the old folk, 'Ash before Oak, you're in for a soak!'. But there's no sign of rain clouds yet.
One of our pet lambs, a two year old ewe or 'gimmer' called Brenda lambed for the first time this spring. She's instantly recognisable by her stumpy horns and was born healthy but abandoned by her mother in a terrible spring blizzard. She's showing great mothering herself skills, especially given that she was orphaned at birth.
2018
After a blizzard this Easter, we are hoping the weather gets significantly warmer from now onwards. Due to the terrible winter and multiple “Beasts-from-the-East” the ewes were all being given high-energy feed blocks to ensure they were getting sufficient nutrition for themselves and their growing lambs.
Usually the ewes are brought into the inbye hill fields in the valley at Eastside in order to lamb on the new grass. This also makes things easier for us to monitor - all births and tentative first steps are contained within an easy to see area. This year, due to the long cold winter, there simply isn’t enough grass in the fields and so we're lambing on the hill instead. The ewes (for the most part) lamb well on the hill and find good shelter and feed on their home turf. The shepherd though has far more ground to cover over difficult terrain with hilltops, gullies, and other hiding places that must been "looked".
Ali found pet lamb, 'Arthur', this year on the hill. He had been abandoned by his mother, which can sometimes happens with Blackface ewes if they’ve had a hard spring and know they'll be unable to support the lamb. Although poorly to start with, Arthur is now loving life and a regular visitor to the farmhouse kitchen - much to the bemusement of the labradors!
