Country-Wide December 2020

Page 11

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The ewe was making the same noises I heard Louise make when our children were born (and she recovered) so I took that as a good sign.

How would the PM fare on a lambing beat on Paul Burt’s farm?

Shepherding, when I’m 64 Paul Burt is feeling his age when he gets out on the hills at lambing.

I

’m 64 and my heading dog is 63. We were watching a ewe standing awkwardly on a steep face above a dirty gully. She was trying to lamb but with only one foot showing I doubted she would cope on her own. We needed to catch her. At 64 you can’t just do it, you need a plan. A shepherd's crook is essential but I had temporarily misplaced mine… agility isn’t the only thing that deserts you at 64. There was a whiff on the cool October breeze, at least about me, and I remembered where I had left the crook. Earlier that morning I had lambed a hogget with lambs that had been long dead inside her. That must be one of the most unpleasant jobs of shepherding as the state of decomposition meant the second lamb didn’t come out whole. The extreme thing, apart from the smell is that that hogget will most likely survive. It’s a marvel that a mammal’s physiology can contain that level of infection and not let the body succumb. The crook was left at the holding yard two paddocks away and getting the ewe there was my only chance of catching her without needing reconstructive surgery. At 64 you have to be mindful of your

Country-Wide

December 2020

body and my only PPE consists of a PLB in case the SHTF. I talked to the dog to make sure neither of us did anything stupid. Slowly, I walked the thankfully co-operating ewe around the sidling, through her mates with newborns, down a ridge, along a flat and into the yard. Quite often when animals are in trouble they seem to sense you are trying to help them and their flight response is not as strong as usual. As with this ewe, I’ve more than once walked a cow with a stuck calf a kilometre to a yard with no bother. Once in the yard and with a bit of fancy leg work (from the one leg still capable of fancy work) I had the ewe caught and on her side. Thankfully I saw a little nose and tongue sticking out above the protruding foot. Even if the other front leg was backwards I knew I had a good chance of lambing her successfully. Unsuccessful lambing is always distressing because if the pelvic opening is too small the lamb has to be sacrificed for the life of the ewe. When I first saw the ewe her waters

had just broken which is a good sign she hadn’t been contracting for too long and the lamb would be alive. She was marked as a single bearing ewe and being late in the mating period the lamb was well developed and a tight fit. Its ankles were too slippery to get enough grip but with the help of a short piece of cord and some effort the front legs and head were soon out to the shoulders. The ewe was making the same noises I heard Louise make when our children were born (and she recovered) so I took that as a good sign. A little more downward pressure and a twist and out flopped a large ram lamb, yellow with mucus and membrane. I cleared his mouth and nose and his chest heaved and heaved again. A few blinks and still eyes came to life. I draped him over his mothers’ nose and made my exit, this time with the crook. I returned half an hour later and watched a miracle of natural selection… the suckling instinct. The lamb was wobbly on his feet but at the right end of the ewe and she stood MATATA for him. He nuzzled her belly, her leg and finally under her flank and found a teat. I’ve read that biology is all chemical signals from the brain. However it is explained, I find it incredible that in five months two cells can develop into this infinitely complicated new creature with survival instructions already imprinted. Farming is a fascinating life and as you get older you are more inclined (or forced) to slow down and appreciate it. I’m 64 but all going well I’ll be 65 next year and Jacinda will begin sending me some pocket money. I might drop her a line and say don’t bother paying me over lambing, just come down and help out with the odd sheep that needs attention. Time will tell if she can catch a tricky ewe on a steep sidling above a dirty gully.

11


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The right balance

2min
page 89

Emissions analysis beneficial

2min
page 88

Caring for their mates

6min
pages 65-71

Hemp trial leads to skincare export

1min
pages 88-89

Zoom without the gloom

3min
page 86

A whole new wilderness

4min
pages 84-85

More photos from Country-Wide

1min
pages 90-92

Selling the fine wool story

3min
page 87

Selling stock takes good relationships

4min
pages 82-83

Regional council seeks collaboration

4min
pages 80-81

Wean earlier and heavier

10min
pages 54-57

Concern over stock exclusion rules

7min
pages 78-79

Ram buying - what’s your genetic plan?

3min
pages 58-60

Looking back and forward

4min
pages 62-64

Lows and highs in a year of Covid-19

1min
page 64

Wiltshires get the nod

16min
pages 44-51

Stock Check: Farming’s sustainable gains poorly marketed

3min
page 61

Weaning for a successful tupping

4min
pages 52-53

Wool or meat – A bet each way?

7min
pages 40-43

Focusing on forages

9min
pages 34-37

Tips from top performers

5min
pages 38-39

Contracts give certainty for buyers, sellers

2min
pages 31-32

Opportunity knocks for strong wool

8min
pages 28-30

Produce products consumers want

3min
page 33

My challenge to you...

3min
pages 25-27

Going online for work and workers

1min
page 24

The meaning of being a ‘co-operative

6min
pages 22-23

Tragedy on the farm

3min
page 21

Great expectations

3min
pages 14-15

Shepherding, when I’m 64

3min
page 11

Snow hits tailing figures

3min
page 12

Chris Biddles has a few words of thanks for Winston

3min
page 10

Our time to give thanks

3min
page 13

Half-hearted on water

1min
page 8
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