Volume 8 Issue 1
Fleecehaven News
‘ P R O M O T I N G H U M A N B E H A V I O U R T O W A R D S A N I M A L S B Y P R O V I D I N G C A R E , P R O T E C T I O N , T R E A T M E N T A N D S E C U R I T Y ’
Summer/Autumn 2014
Newsbleat Firstly, my sincere apologies for this newsletter being so late. There is absolutely no excuse other than the fact that all of the Fleecehaven admin is carried out on a voluntary basis by Jayne, who also has a demanding full time job. Jayne obviously ensures that the production of Adoption packs takes priority, whilst the writing of the newsletter gets squeezed into odd available moments in between. The advantage of this is that, unlike many other charities, Fleecehaven still pays absolutely no salaries; the disadvantage is that sometimes the newsletter runs rather late. Increasingly Anne, Emma and Jayne are finding themselves under growing pressure - running a small, family run charity certainly isn’t for the feint hearted. For Anne and Emma it is a 24 hour a day, 365 day of the year commitment - a true labour of love.
Martha and friends grazing in the lower fields
Thankfully the good weather of early summer continued throughout the remainder of the summer and into the autumn. It was lovely to see the sheep in the fields enjoying a sustained pe-
riod of carefree grazing with the sun warming their backs whilst a gentle breeze kept them suitably cool. If only we could guarantee a summer like that every year! It would certainly make the cold, wet, dark winters more bearable.
Precious, Pickle and Dougal shading themselves under the tree
Throughout the summer, monthly crovecting of the sheep continued to ensure that the flock stayed free of flystike; the last dose being administered in September. Each time, Emma had to initially round the flock up into our race area in front of the red barn. She then covered herself up in thick waterproofs and donned the crovect ‘backpack’ before administering a specific dose to each sheep in three blue stripes, one along their back and one along each flank. The monthly round up also provided an excellent opportunity to give the sheep a quick check-over, trim any overgrown claws and attend to any other minor needs. Once completed, the sheep were released back into the fields sporting their rather fetching blue rinses (see gallery). Continued on Page 3
Inside this Issue: Annual Shed Clearing Newsbleat Summer/Autumn Gallery Welcome to Fleecehaven Fund Raising
2 3, 6, 8 4,5 6 8 Crovect time for Hugo and friends
Annual Shed Clearing One of the main jobs of the summer is the annual emptying of the big shed. This is always a mammoth task and starts with an eagerly awaited call from our local agricultural contractor. We never quite know when this is going to be as their availability is dependent upon the weather. Their arrival with tractors, trailers and a digger marked the start of a frantic week. It took a day for the contractors to empty the shed - a skid steer loader was used to empty the contents into a trailer which was then taken off site to be emptied. Numerous trips were made during the course of the day before eventually the shed was empty.
The following day, Anne and Emma started the exhausting task of sweeping out, pressure washing and disinfecting the shed. This is always a very noisy and mucky job but is vital to ensure that all the bacteria, etc, is thoroughly removed before starting to replenish the shed with new bedding. Once the interior of the shed was clean and dry, the next job was to repaint the lower section of the walls. As soon as the paint had dried it was then time to start replenishing the sheds with wood shavings and straw. We had already taken delivery of three pallets of wood shavings and a large trailer of straw in preparation for this task.
Replenishing the sheds was a slow and painstaking task. Initially Emma equally distributed the wood shaving bales around the shed before she and Anne started to put down a thick bed of absorbant wood shavings. Although quite extravagant, experience has taught us that a nice thick bed of wood shavings keeps the sheep dry under foot and smelling fresh from one shed clearance to the next. To have maximum effect, each bale had to be opened up and broken down by hand to ensure that any large lumps were teased out. Once this was done, Emma then distributed straw bales around the shed before she and Anne opened up, teased out and puffed up each of the bales to provide a thick, cosy bed of straw. Thankfully the weather was on our side this year and although the sheep are always anxious to get back into their shed as quickly as possible we were not having to rush as much as we have done in previous years when the rain has been lashing down. However, the sheep were back into the first section of the shed within just 5 days and the entire shed within just over a week - as always, they were clearly very pleased with their clean, cosy and snugly bed and completely oblivious to the work that had gone into preparing it for them!
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F L E E CE H A V E N N E W S
Newsbleat Continued A number of sheep required veterinary treatment during the summer and autumn. Thomas was poorly on and off for a number of weeks; initially he had an upset tummy. He responded well to treatment and blood tests showed nothing out of the ordinary. However a few weeks later he developed a high temperature and showed signs of being Thomas anaemic. He had an intensive course of antibiotics, vitamins and antiinflammatories and, thankfully, now appears to be back to his old self. As one of our old boys he is a little arthritic but an occasional steroid injection helps him greatly and he very much enjoys pottering around the yard and making sure that he doesn’t miss out on any treats. Basset also has arthritis and this appeared to be troubling her a little during the summer months. Following a visit by our vet, she started on a course of steroids which, for the time being, she is responding to well and is once again out and about and Bassett enjoying life. A number of sheep had abscesses that required treatment. Shaun had one in his front left foot, as did Tigger, Ned and Romeo. Poor Star had an abscess on his cheek that needed to be lanced and drained but thankfully this quickly healed. Romeo, Ben, Muffin, Snowdrop, Charlie, Vashti, Kyle and Phillip all suffered from coughs or runny noses during the course of the summer or autumn and required antibiotic treatment. Unfortunately, Romeo has a more sustained chesty cough and is requiring more regular treatment. At the beginning of October, Tasha went into our veterinary hospital to have a small biopsy on a sore that had developed on her brisket area. It is not dissimilar to the one that Alfie has, so our vet thought it prudent to check it out. Fortunately the biopsy showed that the sore was not malignant so we can, hopefully, assume the same for Alfie. Alfie’s sore does continue to require treatment VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1
with occasional antibiotics, however, it does finally appear to be on the mend and in recent weeks we have not needed to keep it covered. We shall obviously keep a close eye on it, but fingers Tasha coming home from crossed that it is finally the vets healing. Finally, as the autumn drew to a close, dear Henry was also poorly. He developed a very upset tummy that didn’t seem to respond to anything. A sample of his dung and blood tests didn’t show up anything remarkable and all of a sudden it just seemed to clear up. Henry had experienced quite a poorly tummy when he was a lamb, so Henry now fully recovour vet has linked this ered episode back to the fact that he had such a bad start in life and has some long lasting gut damage that occasionaly flares up. Let’s hope it’s a while before it happens again. At the end of July the entire flock were vaccinated with Heptivac P+. This is an annual vaccination which protects the flock against pasteurella pneumonia and clostridial diseases - both can be big killers of sheep. Nearly all sheep carry the pasteurella organisms on their tonsils and any form of stress can trigger the onset of the disease. Clostridial diseases can also strike without warning. The organisms responsible for these are widespread in the soil. The diseases are invariably fatal and all sheep are at risk so we always ensure that the Fleecehaven flock is fully vaccinated to minimise the risk. Emma helping our vet Continued on Page 6 with the vaccinations
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Summer and Autumn Gallery Shaun
Hugo striding it out
Jody posing for a photo
Percy snuggled up in the straw
Gloria taking it easy
Pretty Martha
Bassett pottering in the garden Florence hoping for a treat
Handsome Magic and Willaby Oak
Hope in the ‘Golden Field’
Poppy taking the weight off her feet
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F L E E CE H A V E N N E W S
Emma feeding Thomas
Stormy skies
Eby enjoying the sunshine
Joan
Alfie sporting his bandage
Stevie resting in the big shed
Precious in hot pursuit of Emma carrying a bale of hay
Homeward bound
Billy pottering in the yard Dominie grazing in the top fields VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1
Heading off after a ‘blue rinse’ Page 5
Newsbleat Continued In the middle of August our fleeces were finally taken in to the wool board. Although we had shorn back in June we had to wait for nearly two Emma sewing up the wool bags months for an available booking slot to take them in. Before they could be taken in, each wool bag had to sown up. As alwa ys, our neighbour then ver y kindly Derek and Emma loading up the helped Emma trailer load the bags into his trailer and, accompanied by Emma, took them in for us. We really do hope that next year we will be in a position to get at least some of our wool mechanically spun and produce ‘vegan friendly’ wool. Unfortunately circumstances just precluded us from being able to do so this year. Once Anne and Emma had finished the ‘Big Clean’ of the main shed, much of the remainder of August was given over to thoroughly mucking out, pressure washing, disinfecting and repainting all of the stables where our old and more needy sheep are housed. This was yet another huge task; just digging out of each stable was backbreaking work as it had to be done by hand. I don’t know how many trailer loads of dung and bedding were removed what I do know is that Page 6
Emma was extremely relieved to see the last trailer load leave the yard! Unfortunately by this time the weather had broken and repainting each stable took considerably longer than expected as the paint just wouldn’t dry. Thankfully with the stables this is not such a problem as in the big shed as the old ‘boys and girls’ can simply cosy up and share each others quarters for a night or two. However, eventually each stable was completed and by the end of the month all of the stables were fully operational once again. As September drew to a close Fleecehaven took in a poor little soul who was in a terribly emaciated state. She had been found lying by the wayside. When approached she had mustered all the strength that she had to try and run away but she quickly collapsed because she was so weak. The girls who found her brought her straight to us and we immediately called out our vet. She clearly had pneumonia and was treated with antibiotics to try and bring down her extremely high temperature. She was also drenched to try and rid her of the parasites that were riddling her body. We made her comfortable and gave her as much love as we could, but we knew that the likelihood of her surviving was slim. Initially she did give us a little hope; she nibbled some hay, ate one or two lamb nuts and even stood up for a short while, but very sadly, Freeda, as she'd been named by the girls, peacefully slipped away the following day. She was just too weak to fight the battle necessary to survive but at least we, and the girls who found her, were able to ensure that her last few hours were as dignified as possible and that she died knowing just a little of the love that mankind is capable of showing to animals that are otherwise considered to be just a commodity to feed mankind's greed. Thankfully, early October resulted in a considerably happier story as Bell came to join us from Wales. Bell is a dear old lady who was originally part of a tame flock of ten sheep. Gradually the Continued on Page 8 F L E E CE H A V E N N E W S
Welcome to Fleecehaven In October we were deDuring the summer and autumn we have wellighted to welcome Cathy comed an unprecedented number of visitors to and Andy to Fleecehaven. Fleecehaven. It is always lovely to meet our supCathy and Andy are long porters and to share with them the work that we do standing friends of Fleeceat Fleecehaven and enjoy our mutual love and haven who shared our love respect of sheep. of sheep long before FleeIn July we were thrilled to welcome Emma and her cehaven became a reality. family from Canada! They had made a special They used to holiday at the point of visiting Devon during their tour of the UK farm where our original so that Emma could meet Florence. Amy and Christine feeding Percy flock came from and on Jocelyn also visited. one occasion they were coming into the cottage on the day that we left. We were distraught about having to leave Shaun behind and they very kindly agreed to feed him milk and biscuits whilst Emma with Florence, Bungo they stayed on and Lamborghini the farm. Over a number of Jocelyn and Amy with LamAndy and Cathy years they visborghini and Bungo ited the farm and always held Shaun dear to their hearts. Amy and Mark also August saw Jane visited in October; and Tony visitas did Elizabeth and ing Lamborher husband. Our ghini with their last visitors of the Grandchildren. Autumn were AlexJane and Tony andra and Uwe from were the volunGermany who visteer drivers from ited on a couple of Secret World occasions during Wildlife Rescue their holiday in Centre who had Amy feeding Stevie and his Jane and Tony with their family Lynton. brought Lamfriends visiting Lamborghini borghini to us in June. It was Other visitors over the lovely for them to be able see him fully settled into summer and autumn his new life and to see how he had grown. Equally months included Daniel it was lovely for their Grandchildren to see first and Yolande who came hand the little lamb that their Grandparents had to see their ever increasing flock of adopted helped. In September Christine came to spend a day with sheep; Maggie and us during her holiday in Ilfracombe. Zoe and her Tony who came to visit brother also came to visit Chutney, Marmalade, Jessie; and of course Alexandra and Uwe feeding Henry and Leo Honey and Pickle - it’s been a while since Zoe has Andrea who comes to been able to visit but her sheep clearly remem- see Barley and Darley as often as she possibly can. bered her and enjoyed reacquainting themselves. VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1
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Newsbleat Continued
‘Promoting humane behaviour towards animals by providing care, protection, treatment and security’ Fleecehaven Howley Park East Buckland North Devon EX32 0TD
flock has diminished through natural causes and Lynne, her owner felt it was time that she became part of a larger flock whilst she lived out her twilight years. Lynne brought her to us and stayed for a number of days whilst she settled in. Bell really is a sweetheart and very quickly Bell settling into her new settled into life at Fleecehaven living alongside some of our other more elderly life residents. Finally, as October drew to a close it was time to drench the flock with Molemec. This protects the sheep against parasites such as gastro-intestinal nematodes, lungworms and nasal bots. As always, rounding the sheep up also gave us an opportunity to give them all a quick ‘once-over’ and ensure that they are all fit and healthy before the winter starts to take her grip.
Fund Raising at Olympia
At the end of September, Fleecehaven attended the VegFest at Olympia, London. This was a brave move for us as the event is massive and we really did feel as though we were ‘boxing’ somewhat out of our league. However, we decided to give it a go and, whilst there, launched a fundraising campaign for an animal ambuRegistered Charity No 1111004 lance. At the moment we use our somewhat aged family estate car as an ambulance which is far from ideal. However, funds have never allowed us to even consider purchasing such a vehicle and, without fundraising, this will certainly remain the case. We don’t have grand plans, we would simply like to be able to buy a small, second-hand van that can be fitted out to safely transport sheep to and from the veterinary hospital and, when necessary, be used to collect welfare case sheep that are destined for Fleecehaven. Our concerns about exhibiting at Olympia were unfounded as we found ourselves completely over-whelmed by the interest in and support for our work. We met some wonderful people and were certainly able to spread the Fleecehaven word. Our ambulance fund got off to an incredible start, thanks in no small part to another amazingly generous donation from Magpie. Words can not express our extreme gratitude to everyone who supported us at Olympia and everyone who continues to support us on a regular basis. As a small, family run charity your support really does make a huge difference and it means such a great deal to us all, especially the sheep. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts x
01598 760454 admin@fleecehaven.org.uk www.fleecehaven.org.uk
I know that I’ve said this before, but if you are looking to buy any homewares for yourself or as gifts, please do take a look at www.magpieline.com - you will find some beautiful products with a distinctive nostalgic and British edge. Magpie is a fantastic, ethical, vegan friendly company and we will be forever indebted to them. Page 8