Yellingham - Doctor, Doctor... Help!

The diary of lady farmer, Janet East

Doctor, Doctor... help !

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The diary of lady farmer, Janet East Lambing keeps Gus busy

Jacob sheep - a very old breed mentioned in the Bible

Doctor, Doctor... help !

Lambing is well underway, my sleep is well under 5 hours per night and consequently my body is well under par. Nothing has changed and nothing will in the month of March when all the year’s efforts come to fruition – hopefully a wonderful crop of healthy lambs. Everyone at home knows that the month of lambing is demanding on the “head” of the household and funnily enough, jobs get done when requested, more from fear of a rigid bollocking or worse still, total silence.

Even though it’s a tough month, the creation of our lambing weekends, when guests come to the farm specifically to help with lambing and experience farming at the sharp end, is still a time I look forward to.

We share the highs and lows of lambing with families, couples, singles, whose day to day life is so completely different to ours. Sometimes I do wonder

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if my guests go back to work and honestly talk about their experiences at Yellingham Farm – perfect lambs, perfect birthing, huge lambs, nowhere near perfect lambing for ewe or shepherd, cleaning and disinfecting pens, nurturing lambs beside the Aga, bottle feeding lambs whose mum for what ever reason couldn’t feed them... the inevitable lamb who

just didn’t make it. I will never know thank goodness.

It was Friday night, and a fabulous family from Buckinghamshire were due any moment for their 5th year at Yellingham for lambing. Two lovely girls, fabulous parents who certainly loved the farm as it is such a real contrast to their day to day life. We all get on so well and I knew that whatever happened over the weekend, they would take everything in their stride and

Todd bringing Janet's welly

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most importantly understand that things do not always go to plan. The girls mum is an Oncologist and if ever I needed one, I would trust her with my life – a simply stunning, down to earth, very capable woman.

The farm gates flew open and no sooner had the car stopped than Hannah and Rachel were out of the car, welly boots already on – in fact they probably had their boots on before they left home. The kids waved, shouted “Hi Janet”, called all the dogs by their names and flew off down the barn – talk about home from home! Wonderful children – exactly what I wanted when we started our lambing weekends.

On the Saturday evening, we always invite our guests for a kitchen supper in recognition of all the s**t they have shovelled over the weekend, cleaning out pens, disinfecting and carrying bales of straw to bed up the pens. If they were looking for a quiet weekend, then it soon became apparent that Yellingham Farm is not a

quiet weekend retreat during March. Edward was busy in the kitchen preparing a wonderful casserole for dinner, the log fire was lit and the red wine warming. Suddenly Catherine, the mum, appeared at the kitchen door and asked me if there would be a spare place for dinner as her medical friend, who practises near Taunton, would love to pop over to see lambing first hand. My mind was working overtime and I thought, two doctors, should know what they’re talking about, maybe I could have a quiet evening without having to pull those blinking sweaty rubber trousers and boots on and off all evening to check the yard. I very quickly said... “Of course, she is very welcome.”

12 of us were sat around our lovely large oak table, the laughter was amazing, the chat, the friendship and the food wasn’t bad either. Just before supper, a ewe was showing the first signs of lambing, star gazing, looking towards her rear end thinking what the devil is going on and of course a bit of bed making as she pawed the ground. I excused myself from the table just to check progress and on

returning was bombarded with offers to check next time so that I could enjoy my supper.

Feeling happy that nothing was untoward, I settled down to apple crumble and custard, just delicious. My two resident Doctors raised themselves from their comfy chairs, donned their operating clothes (same as me, rubber trousers and wellies!) and they disappeared into the night air to do their duty and monitor my dear ewe.

enjoying a quiet evening and an uninterrupted supper. I started to feel slightly uneasy as a half an hour passed and no positive report from the medical team. Instinct told me to get up and wake up - the dream of another glass of wine disappeared. I walked down to the lambing yard which was lit, but a bit dimpsey as the strip lights weren’t the best in the world and 2 weren’t working (that was fixed early the next morning – after a quiet word to the boys, quiet being the operative word, action immediate!).

I approached the medical team quietly as quiet is the name of the game in my yard. There were smiles all round as I asked them what was occurring.

“No problems Janet, a foot showing”

Lambing aparatus!

The 'Burco' is for boiling water.

The kids were in hot pursuit as well and soon ran back in and told me that all was well and a foot was in evidence. Not disturbed, I was

I looked at the ewe and to be fair, the light was not brilliant, but I recognised immediately that my trusty medical team had mistaken a foot for a tail. As quick as lightening, I issued instructions, one to hold the ewe, which I had already calmly caught and got into the corner of the pen, one to fetch the antiseptic lube (lovely blue

Janet East is the proprietor at Yellingham Farm, also running a Farmhouse B&B establishment www.yellinghamfarm.co.uk 01404 850272

jelly stuff) and the rest to just watch. The lamb was coming backwards. To deliver a breech lamb, the first thing I had to do was to bring the rear legs forward. Once the rear legs were forward, time was against me as I had to deliver the lamb quickly because once the umbilical cord breaks, the lamb will begin breathing and could risk drowning in its own fluids.

Every one was quiet as I did my best to deliver a live lamb.

In no time at time we were all smiling as a wonderful strong Jacob ram lamb came into the world. No problems at all. At the time, faces were quite serious, but once back in the comfort of the lounge, finishing

FARM CALENDAR APRIL • Build large pens in the field for catching up ewes and lambs.

• Continue to take out ewes and lambs to the field.

• Turn out the Bullocks – tails in the air and off they go.

• Decide which fields to let up for hay.

• Clean out lambing sheds and disinfect when lambing finishes.

• Start, yet again, mending fences as lambs find holes that didn’t exist.

MAY • Chain harrow fields which are dry enough.

• Roll fields.

• Worm lambs.

• Vaccinate lambs – 2 injections 2 to 4 weeks apart.

• Trim ewes feet after housing.

• Book a back massage following above task!

Janet feeding lambs. Triplets are a problem as sheep only cater for 2 lambs at a time (having only 2 teats!)

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YELLINGHAM FARM - lambing

The first of the season - they'll be jumping about in the fields by the time you read this

our lovely meal, I took every opportunity to pull the legs (what a pun) of my medical team. I did comment earlier that I would trust Catherine with my life if I needed treatment... Bless her I still trust her but told her to remember that I am not a ewe!

PS - Life is not always so kind and this week we lost our dear faithful Jack Russell, Rosie, after a quick illness. She is happy though, resting with Jo, Jack, Jill and Tinker, her dog friends, down in the orchard with millions of daffodils looking over them all.

Janet East Clearing the bank - the river Tale

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There's nowt better than sheep watching - Ralph and sheep

Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE magazine.co.uk

YELLINGHAM FARM - lambing

Gus busy observing the new lambs and mother

You can rely on mum to keep your rears clean - sadly, mum Rosie passed away very recently

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