Sheltering Sheep

After the extraordinary and somewhat unseasonal weather over the last week, we had a forecast for snow and with the last two Shetland sheep delivering a single lamb and triplets early this morning, we had to turn our attention to their shelter.

The natural lie of our land wasn’t functioning for us today as the wind was driving directly into the sheltered hollow. The wind chill factor drove the temperature down to around -6˚ and it was important that the new born lambs didn’t get too cold.

So the horse trailer was pressed into service. We took out the partitions and filled it with a lovely, clean straw bed. We put a bucket of fresh water, feed and hay in the trailer and towed it down to the bottom of the paddock. We popped the triplets in the trailer and the ewe followed.

The Shetland breed is known for its lively lambs with a strong will to live. They get up quickly and feed, so we can be hopeful of their survival even in this April blizzard!

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