Easter Tidings
Easter Sunday feels like the right time to be writing about Spring and new beginnings. Living on the farm we sense this acutely with the birth of our lambs and calves. The hedgerows are bursting with May, the first bluebell has been spotted and the tips of the trees are a pale green and are about to burst into full leaf.
This year we already have quite a number of lambs born as the ewes started lambing three weeks ago. Michael has started putting the rams with the ewes in the middle of October instead of the middle of November. His reasoning is that the weather patterns are changing and becoming more erratic. The weather is now warmer earlier in the year with hot spells sometimes experienced even as early as February. (I make a point of saying this because I want the reader to be aware how changing weather patterns are causing farmers to have to rethink their usual habits.)
The breed of sheep that we have chosen here at Godmans Farm is Romney, a breed that has been roaming the Sussex land for centuries. Romney was chosen by us because it is a breed that lambs easily due to their diamond shaped heads and the fact that, on average, they only have a single lamb. The beauty of this breed for us is that we intervene as little as possible with their lambing. We were taught this by Martin Hole who has farmed with Romneys for generations. His fine-looking flock roam the most beautiful land stretching across the Pevensey Levels towards the sea. (Montague Farm that he is steward of has never been farmed with the use of artificial chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers, nor has it been ploughed. His unspoilt land is now an area of Special Scientific Importance because of all the wildlife, wildflowers, varieties of grasses and herbs that the land supports.)
Over the past few weeks Michael and I have been regularly walking quietly through the flock checking for newborn lambs. They tend to lamb either at dawn or dusk and coming across a lamb that has just been born is sheer delight for us. It is one of the highlights in the farming year - to experience birth. Before the lamb gets too lively we quietly turn it on its back and spray the naval with iodine to prevent a potential infection. Then we swiftly depart so that the mother can connect with her offspring.
At dusk we walk through the sheep and check that every lamb has connected with their mother before nightfall. Very often at this time the lambs are having their “mad half hour” where they form groups and chase each other across the field, jump off banks, play hide and seek around the trunks of trees and spring into the air seemingly with joy as they play. We stop and spend many a good half an hour watching the young have their fun. As the light falls we watch the ewes call their offspring to foot as the light fades. Very often the flock is tightly knitted together throughout the evening to protect each other from predators such as foxes, crows and even stray dogs.
Moving from the flock to the herd we were also pleasantly surprised yesterday with the first of our calves born at dawn. “Buttercup” produced a very sturdy looking heifer (female) calf, now named “Daffodilly”. Buttercup is a young cow and a little nervous so we watched from afar as Daffodilly quickly nuzzled her way to finding her mothers teat and taking her first drink. We are always relieved when this act is complete as it is the first milk “colostrum” that is so important as it is full of concentrated nutrients that helps to build the immunity of the calf.
On checking the animals this morning all seems to be well with all mothers and their offspring. We are now waiting with eager anticipation for the birth of the rest of lambs and the calves that are soon to follow.