Volume 7 Issue 2
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 ’
Winter 2013/2014
Have you heard the raindrops? As I sit writing this newsletter, dawn is approaching, the birds are stirring and the mist is slowly lifting over Fleecehaven. There is a wonderful sense of anticipation as spring finally makes her entrance, and it’s about time too! The winter has felt endless with relentless rain, the like of which we have never known before. Compared to many people in the country we consider ourselves extremely fortunate - we haven’t experienced damaging or life threatening flooding and the high winds left us relatively unscathed. However the physical toll of winter has been immense, especially on Emma. Throughout the winter there has barely been a single day when it hasn’t rained, with the rain being especially heavy and prolonged. The ground has been saturated for most of the time and we have all been wading around in thick, gloopy mud. Unsurprisingly most of the sheep made the sensible decision to stay in for much of the time. It’s been lovely to see
Emma brings another load of hay into the yard (with a little help from Henry)
them snuggled up in the barn and the stables, although this in turn has made us acutely aware of how dreadful it has been for the majority of sheep that haven’t had this luxury. It has also brought with it a great deal of additional hard work during what is always a particularly challenging time of the year. Because the sheep have barely been out they’ve required constant ‘room service’ with their hay racks sometimes being replenished several times a day. Emma seems to have been endlessly bringing hay up from the red barn on the back of her quad bike to reload the racks in the big barn and stables. This has been in addition to the daily feeding of the entire flock on concentrated food, which was started towards the end of December and will continue until the spring grass starts to come good. Continued on Page 2
Just one of the many hay and straw deliveries being unloaded by Emma
Inside this Issue: Have you heard the raindrops? Newsbleat Winter and Early Spring Gallery Sadly Missed Thank Ewe Adoption Renewals Contact Details TerraCycle Winter Fundraising
2 2,3,6 4,5 7 7 7 8 8
Emma wheeling just a few bags of ‘poo pickings’ to the trailer
Off goes the trailer with another load of dung!
The sheep staying in so much has also resulted in an endless round of ‘poo picking’ to ensure that they are not lying in dung. We’ve lost count of the hundreds of feedbags of poo that have been collected and then carried or wheeled to the trailer, where Emma has then had to haul them up and tip them out. The trailer has needed emptying on a fairly regular basis throughout the winter and on one day was even emptied twice! Once the poo picking has been completed it has then been necessary to top up the straw bedding; a task that has been taking several hours a day. All in all, not only has this been a time consuming and heavy job it’s also resulted in considerable additional cost as the quantity of hay and straw that we have used this winter has far exceeded previous years. The work has also had to be done whilst battling the wind and the rain that has just made everything so difficult and exhausting, especially for Emma who undertakes the majority of the heavy work from early in the morning until late at night, seven
days a week. On some days the rain has been so heavy that her waterproof clothing has been completely inadequate and she has required several changes of clothes because she’s been totally saturated. However, despite all of this Emma has gone through the winter in her usual cheery manner; she always has a smile, kind word and tickle for the sheep no matter the personal pressure that she has been under. She really is one in a million and the Fleecehaven Flock are very lucky to have her.
News Bleat
All change again
Page 2
area that hasn’t quite closed up and in order to protect the patch we now keep it permanently covered and continue to change his dressing every couple of days. This is no mean feat as Alfie is such a big boy and finding a way of securely covering this area is quite tricky. However, we seem to have got it down to a fine art now and use a melamine dressing, a wodge of padding, three rolls of vetwrap and half a roll of plaster each time that we change the dressing. Alfie is incredibly good and, with Emma steadying him, stands still whilst Anne reaches underneath him to change the dressing. In the long term we do need to try and find a different solution but so far our attempts at using a ram harness to cover the area or getting Alife to wear sheep boots have all failed. Alfie sporting his dressing
Throughout the winter months dear Alfie has been causing us concern. He has an on-going problem with a sore that developed on his brisket (chest), primarily as a result of him being a little bit of a ‘couch potato’ and lying around too much! He’d been treated on and off with antibiotics for a while which appeared to keep on top of the sore, but towards the end of November he managed to scratch the scabby top off it, breaking a blood vessel which bled badly and showed no apparent sign of stopping. We called our vet immediately and eventually he was able to secure a purse string suture to stem the flow. The wound was then suitably dressed, padded and left to clot. For a number of weeks we had to change the dressing every couple of days and our vet checked him on a regular basis. The majority of the wound has now healed, but there is a small
FL E E C E H A VE N N E W S
Other sheep requiring veterinary treatment in November included John, who had a runny nose and a cough. He was treated with antibiotics and quickly made a full recovery. Harry also required antibiotics for an on-going foot problem. December saw the start of us feeding the entire Fleecehaven flock. Although our older residents are fed throughout the year, the younger, fitter sheep manage well on grass and hay until the winter starts to take its toll on the grass quality. The first tonne of feed (40 bags) was delivered on 16th December and, together with 8 extra energy mineral licks. This has been a regular fortnightly delivery ever since and will continue until the spring grass comes good and we are able to wean the main flock off the concentrated food. Feeding generates great excitement! Each morning the sheep wait in the barn with great anticipation whilst their food is prepared. This year, in order to minimise the risk of them choking, we have soaked the coarse mix in warm water for a short while before putting it into the troughs. This has broken down any large lumps of molasses and made the mix easier for the sheep to chew and digest. The mix is then distributed evenly between the rows of troughs that we set out each VO L U M E 7 , I SS U E 2
Rise and shine - time for breakfast!
day, before the sheep are let out. There is a mini stampede as they all rush to get to their favoured spot and then a frantic ten minutes or so of munching ensues. With the weather being as bad as it has been, most of the sheep have then gone straight back to bed with just the hardened few enduring the mud, wind and rain (who says sheep don’t mind the rain?).
Towards the middle of December we had a bit of a scare with Wizard when he had rather a nasty accident. Something had spooked him and he’d clearly jumped a fence, got his leg caught in the tension wire and partially suspended himself. During this struggle to free himself the wire had embedded above the hoof and our vet was concerned that this could result in an infection finding its way into the bone. To prevent this from happening a drain was inserted, which had to be flushed out with antibiotics daily. He was carefully monitored by our vet and seemed to be doing really well until New Year’s Eve when he suddenly became lame on the leg. Thankfully a further course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory appeared to do the trick and he is now fully recovered. We have subsequently discovered that a pair of neighbouring Jack Russell puppies were probably the cause of Wizard being spooked, as they were seen in our lower fields on a number of occasions after Wizards accident. They are both exceptionally friendly dogs and meant no harm and since speaking with their owner they have maintained a respectful distance! Wizard happily out and about again
Barley now fully recovered
If there’s a seamstress out there who is up for a ‘ewenique’ couture challenge, please do get in touch!! Barley, one of Andrea Brown’s sheep, also managed to get himself into a pickle during November. He got his horn caught, possibly in the hay rack, and pulled most of the horn away from his head. We called our vet immediately who came straight out, removed the horn and cauterised it to minimise it’s regrowth. He also gave Barley pain relief and antibiotics and despite the whole incident being quite shocking due to the amount of blood, Barley quickly made a full recovery and appears to be none the worse for wear.
Page 3
Winter and Early Spring at Fleecehaven Tigger warm and snugly in the barn
A double rainbow passes over Fleecehaven
Here come the boys!
Murphy nibbling on some grass
Jessie comes in for treats
Magic and Co keeping watch
Vashtie patiently waits for a biscuit A little winter grazing
Willoughby Oak sun bathing
Henry looking dishevelled
Maggie and Tony visit Jessie
Page 4
FL E E C E H A VE N N E W S
Waiting to head off out after breakfast
Roma and her babes, Flora and Rose
Taking a stroll over the bridge
Stevie fancies a ride in the car!
Contented sheep in the barn
A rare winter sunrise over Fleecehaven
Peggy taking a short break from munching on the hay
Blackie enjoying some early spring grazing and welcome sunshine
Woody foraging VO L U M E 7 , I SS U E 2
Henry helping to feed the sheep
Nibble nibble, munch munch! Page 5
As February drew to a close, Barney needed to be seen by our vet because he had developed an abscess on his right cheek. It was lanced and thoroughly flushed out to ensure that no bacteria was left behind. He was then given antibiotics and Page 6
pain relief and has, thankfully, now made a full recovery. Tigger also required veterinary treatment because of some unusual tissue growth that had developed on his left front hoof. Our vet cut the tissue back hard and gave him antibiotic cover and pain relief. It was recommended that we kept the hoof covered until the tissue had healed and that a regular application of medical grade mauka honey would aid the process. It certainly appeared to do the trick and his hoof is now fully healed. Finally, Lucy and Tara both required dental treatment. Both had been struggling to eat properly and our vet felt that both would benefit from being lightly sedated and having a thorough dental examination. It transpired that Lucy had a long tooth that needed filing down and Tara needed to have two teeth removed as they had become loose. Both had to be taken to our Veterinary Hospital in the back of our old estate car that doubles up as our ‘animal ambulance’; it’s certainly not ideal, but it does the job and the sheep don’t seem to mind. In the past we have tried to set up an animal ambulance fund but with ever escalating feed, bedding and veterinary bills we just never seem to be in a position to put any money aside. Tara arriving back home after her visit to the dentist!
Percy taking the weight off his feet in the garden
As the winter progressed, the cold wet weather resulted in a growing number of the Fleecehaven flock suffering from chesty coughs. Willow, Primrose, Romeo, Tiptoes, Woody, Breeze, Chutney, Honey, Tinkerbell and Emily were all seen by our vet at one time or another and required antibiotic treatment. Romeo in particular was quite poorly and it took three doses before he was fully fit and well again. We have also found over the winter that one or two of our Tiptoes now fully recovered younger sheep have started to suffer from arthritis, probably due to the prolonged damp weather flaring up sites of old injuries. In particular Sandy and Percy both became quite lame and, because of our concerns, were examined thoroughly by our vet. As we thought, neither showed any evidence of an abscess or strip, so our vet concluded that it was the early onset of arthritis and prescribed antiinflammatories for them both. It was also recommended that they be kept reasonably quiet and, if possible, off the steeper hillside. Both are now much improved, especially Sandy, and hopefully the warmer spring weather will help to make both of them feel more sprightly.
Sandy pottering in the first field
News Bleat Continued
FL E E C E H A VE N N E W S
Sadly Missed In February, after a short illness, we very sadly had to say goodbye to dear Jacqueline, one of our lovely Shetland sheep. Shifnal Jacqueline, to give her proper pedigree name, joined Fleecehaven on 21st September 2011, together with Enfield Vashti. At the age of 10 she had reached the end of her useful lambing life and was destined for slaughter. She was such a wonderful character and certainly enjoyed the last two and half years of her life to the full. We were initially concerned about how Vashti would cope without her, but thankfully she has now teamed up with Kylie, one of our other Shetlands, and appears to be doing well. Jacqueline, Aged 13
Thank Ewes Just after Christmas, we received an incredible email from Jo Paget at Animal Friends Pet Insurance. She told us that Fleecehaven had been nominated by their claims department to receive a donation to support our work after the department had won a Christmas competition held within the Animal Friends office. We were amazed to hear such surprising news especially as, at the time, we were extremely worried about how on earth we were going to meet the unusually high feed and bedding bills that we were incurring due to the terrible winter weather. When speaking to Jo, we were even more flabbergasted to learn that the donation was an incredible £1,000! Just as amazingly, only a couple of weeks later we received another wonderful donation of £400 from a young man, Sufyaan. He had just had his 13th Birthday Party, where he elected to collect donations for Fleecehaven rather than get any presents. Sufyaan’s Father explained that Sufyann believes that 'sheep are loyal, intelligent, underrated and exploited' and that he also believes that 'helping others has far greater value than just things'. What an incredible young man to whom we are greatly indebted. As a small, family run charity we very much lurch from month to month to make ends meet and although our ‘Adopt-a-Sheep’ scheme is becoming
increasingly popular the revenue that this brings in nowhere near meets our annual running costs. These totally unexpected and extremely generous donations were our absolute saving grace this winter, and they certainly went a huge way towards paying for the 6 tonnes of coarse mix, 48 mineral licks, 544 bales of hay and 537 bales of straw that were delivered and consumed between the start of November and the end of February. We have no idea how Animal Friends or Sufyaan heard about Fleecehaven but our gratitude to both of them is immense - they really were our Guardian Angels this winter.
If you’re looking to take out pet insurance please do visit Animal Friends website at www.animalfriends.or.uk. They are an amazing ethical pet insurance company that has, to date, donated £1.5 million from their profits to animal charities worldwide. Please do have a look at their website and, if you’re on Facebook, find their page and like them.
Adoption Renewals Has your sheep adoption expired? If so, you should have received an email asking if you wish to renew your adoption. However, as a small, family run charity all administration is carried out on a voluntary basis by Jayne, who also has a fulltime job and a rather exuberant toddler to look after. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes reminders get over-looked. If this has happened to you, please don’t take it personally! If you would like to renew your adoption, please visit VO L U M E 7 , I SS U E 2
www.fleecehaven.org.uk/readopt.shtml where you will be able to do so. In the past we have been quite flexible about continuing to send out newsletters for some considerable time after adoptions have expired. However, rapidly increasing printing and postage costs mean that we are now forced to be more rigorous when up-dating our mailing list and, regrettably, we are no longer able to send newsletters to those supporters whose adoptions have expired. Page 7
Recycle and raise funds with TeraCycle
‘Promoting humane behaviour towards animals by providing care, protection, treatment and security’ Fleecehaven Howley Park East Buckland North Devon EX32 0TD 01598 760454 admin@fleecehaven.org.uk www.fleecehaven.org.uk Registered Charity No 1111004
Help raise funds for Fleecehaven by signing up to TerraCycle. TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company, that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. It is widely considered the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable, post-consumer waste. TerraCycle is on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. They do this by creating waste collection programs (each one is called a "Brigade") for previously non-recyclable, or difficult-to-recycle waste. The collected waste is then converted into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled lunchboxes. There are currently 12 recycling programmes that range from food packaging (like coffee pouches and biscuit wrappers) to office supplies (like pens and laptops) to personal products (like baby wipes packaging). You can join as many Brigade programs as you like. Waste sent to TerraCycle earns points which can be redeemed for charitable payments of £0.01 per point. Fleecehaven is now one of the charities recognised by TerraCycle. To get started, simply sign up and join a Brigade program for which you want to collect, and nominate Fleecehaven as your chosen charity. Alternatively, if you would like to join in with the recycling, but would prefer not to sign up to TerraCycle, Fleecehaven has already joined the Ella’s Kitchen, Activia Yoghurt, McVities Biscuit Wrapper and Air Care Brigade. You can simply collect the necessary quantity of waste and then email Fleecehaven to request a free postage label so that you can send your recycling direct to TerraCycle. You may also wish to do this if one of these ‘Brigades’ is full and you would prefer not to wait for a slot to become available. If you’re interested in recycling and would like to help raise funds for Fleecehaven whilst helping to reduce landfill waste, please visit www.terracycle.co.uk for further information.
Winter Fundraising New Contact Details? Have you recently moved or changed your email address? If so, could you please let us know via contact@fleecehaven.org.uk. That way we can ensure that our data base is up-to-date and that you receive your Fleecehaven Newsletters, either via the post or electronically, on a regular basis. Many thanks. Jayne
Over the winter months, our fundraising tends to tail off a little. However, we were delighted to once again attend the Animal Aid Christmas Without Cruelty Fair in Exeter. It was a fantastic day and another wonderful opportunity to share the work of Fleecehaven with like-minded people. We really feel that there is a growing sense of momentum behind our work at the moment and very much appreciate all the kind words of support and encouragement that are offered by you all.
Morgan heading home Page 8
Dominie getting ever tamer