Lambing seems light years away and the lambs are growing on strongly and look wonderful. After a few weeks of calm, the sheep now become fairly labour intensive. Sheep do love to die for no reason whatsoever, so we do everything we can to avoid it happening.
Today we have vaccinated all the lambs with their first dose of ‘Heptavac-P Plus’ which is a vaccine against 
clostridial diseases and pasteurellosis. I liken it to vaccinating our children when they are young. The sheep get a second dose 4-6 weeks later. Poor things being jabbed!
The other thing we are now planning for is shearling the ewes. More on 
that next month. But the danger for the ewes and lambs now is every shepherds’ nightmare – fly strike. Hot damp weather and the bluebottles love a damp fleece and will lay their eggs by the hundreds, which of course then develop into maggots which are potentially so dangerous to sheep. Good shepherding, clean sheep and a spot of good luck and we pray for the best.
The bullocks are now looking stunning and for those of you who walk past the farm, have a look – their coats look like they are wearing a mink coat! Janet
