orphan lambs – Small Plot, Big Ideas

Possibly the most expensive lamb ever

Sadly there has been very little time in recent months to update the blog as much as I’d like but I didn’t want to miss the chance to write an update about the lambs we raised this year.

Since they arrived back in April we have learned the hard way just how expensive it can be to raise cade or orphan lambs. However we’ve also really enjoyed the experience of keeping sheep if only in a small way and now have some limited appreciation of the differences in comparison to our Tamworth pigs and Dexter cattle.

We were only raising these orphan lambs to get a rough idea of what it’s like to keep sheep so we were never too worried about the experiment being a financial success. Of course, with milk powder at £50 per bag and the 9 lambs getting through at least one bag every week at the peak, there was no danger of us making any kind of profit.

Luckily they get weaned from the milk within a fairly short period but even after that they still had some supplementary feed as well as the grass just to make sure they got a good, solid start. By comparison our Dexter cattle are completely grass-fed with no supplementary hard feed so this was a bit of a shock to the system for us.

All 9 of them went off to the butchers a couple of weeks ago and despite them being a little undersized we were very happy with the results. Our main worry this year was to make sure that we spread out the meat production a little as we had two batches of pigs to send off as well as these 9 lambs. This meant that we decided to stick to our planned dates rather than reschedule the bookings so that we could avoid overloading the freezers

Despite their smaller size, the fact that there were 9 of them meant that we still got quite a large amount of meat back in one go. Luckily we had an advance order for specific cuts from a well-regarded chef in Whitley Bay but eventually we still decided it was better to get yet another freezer rather than risk running out of space.

Perhaps you can’t call yourself a real smallholder until you have at least 3 chest freezers?

I’m not sure we’d repeat this experiment with lambs every year and I’ve definitely not got the time to take on a flock of sheep all year round. I’d like to think that we could something similar again in the future but perhaps we can try to make it a little more cost-effective if possible

And what would you expect to be on the menu at a time like this, obviously it had to be roast leg of lamb for Sunday lunch…

Lamb update – 2 weeks in

Just over 2 weeks into our first attempts with keeping sheep and so far they’ve lived up to my perception that this is a fairly high-maintenance animal. I’ve tried to keep an open mind on the subject but with 2 lambs suffering from health problems in just 2 weeks it’s not been easy.

There has been slow progress with No. 9 (aka Limpy) and he still doesn’t put much weight on his left front leg. After a check from the vet last week then some further care and attention over the last few days he seems to be improving – just very slowly.

He’s always pleased to see me though but that might be because he knows that I’ll protect him from the chaos of the other 8 lambs while he feeds from the semi-automatic feeder. Life can be tough when you’re the smallest of the bunch and there’s a rush on at the food.

On a brighter note, Limpy was the first one to show any interest in our Dexter cattle and even went over to see them for a chat through the gate. I’m not sure who was more surprised by the meeting but they seemed to get on okay despite the size difference.

The most recent medical issue for the lambs was a swollen eye on No. 3 (aka Pus-Eye) who was also checked by the vet just to be on the safe side. As this is our first time keeping lambs it seems wise to get good advice when we’re not sure of something even though it’s not the most cost-effective way to raise livestock.

As you might expect this turned out to be a fairly simple infection with lots of pus (hence the name) and now that it has been treated everything is starting heal very nicely.

We’ve now become fairly well practised in administering injections on the lambs which at first was a little like trying to nail jelly to the ceiling. We soon got to grips with the best ways that worked for us and I realised that this is the first time we have ever needed to use antibiotics on any of our livestock – our pigs and cattle are apparently much more hardy and healthy animals

Now that the lambs are around 3 weeks old and we’re a little more used to keeping them, I can see some of the endearing qualities and the playful character traits. They are quite happy just running and jumping around like a 4-year-old at the playground and the way they tug at your trousers like a toddler seeking attention is quite funny … but only for the first few times!

However all of this cute lamb behaviour is not so entertaining when it starts to threaten my raised vegetable beds which are just next door to their temporary outdoor run. Some emergency repairs were needed to the small low section of fencing after a number of the lambs decided to lean on and found that it collapsed.

Despite all the various troubles and uncertainty in just the first 2 weeks, I’m already aware that there’s a certain attachment developing and it’s already quite likely we’d try this again next year. At least that would give us more experience of the work involved and who knows, the next batch might not have any health issues at all – although I certainly doubt that

New arrivals and a new species

In recent months we have spent many hours telling ourselves that we had more than enough to keep us busy here. The pigs, cattle, chickens and our 2 bedroom self catering holiday let (plus my day job) are keeping us busy enough, not to mention the 3 cats making a mess of the house!

We had even developed the mantra “no more species” as a reminder in case we wavered at any point.

Somehow this careful thought all fell by the wayside and we have now taken on some orphan lambs from a neighbouring sheep farmer. This is despite my belief that sheep are too much like hard work and generally seem to be looking for a new way to die.

The idea was to raise a few orphan lambs through the spring and summer months so that we can find out what it’s like keeping sheep without much of the hard work like shearing or lambing – and hopefully none of the various ailments that sheep seem to get on a regular basis.

Only getting 8 so why is there a number 9?

It was originally supposed to be just 8 lambs but when we went to collect them my better half had already picked out 10 as being suitable – presumably this was payback for my “mistake” when allowed out to buy pigs on my own a few years ago.

The deciding factor for me was that everyone else in this area keeps sheep so I should really try it myself to see what’s involved. Of course, it’ll be nice to have some home-grown lamb at the end of it as well!

We currently have 9 lambs penned in a barn with a semi-automatic feeder setup which will mean that we don’t need to bottle feed them at regular intervals. Number 10 was not quite strong enough yet so he’ll turn up later on. I’m just hoping that he doesn’t bring a couple more friends with him.

So far so good and they’ve managed to survive over 24 hours in the hands of two completely inexperienced beginners. Luckily the neighbour is fairly close by and will be able to help with some advice or assistance if that becomes necessary.