It has been a week packed full of animal adventure. In between working on some exciting papercut commissions I have had to rise to the challenge of various animal rescues and treating ailments.
Terry is in the middle of lambing (last count 40 sheep lambed, 100 and something to go!) These lambs are some of the first born who are now gambolling out and about in the fields. Lambing is an exciting and nerve wracking time in the village. Everyone is hopeful that Terry's flock will remain unaffected by the dreadful Schmallenberger virus that has been affecting lambs this year. (So far so good).
Whilst there isn't much we can do to help Terry and Paul whilst they lamb, as dog owners we are acutely aware of keeping our dogs on a very tight leash. Imagine our horror when we were up at the allotment this week (right next to these lambs) and met a young husky. No owner, no collar, no control. After about an hour and with the help of five other families we managed to catch her. A beautiful and very friendly dog but completely unknown to any of us. Several hours later our neighbours had managed to track down her owners. Thankfully Terry's sheep seem ok even though the dog must have come through their field.
Another rescue was of a beautiful male greenfinch trapped in one of the fruit cages at the allotment.
And the ailment? Well our poor girls seem to have got all sorts of bugs and parasites troubling them at the minute. Terry has very kindly provided some medicine for them and we've been to buy some treatment for their legs. So spare a thought for me this weekend as I throroughly disinfect two chicken coops, feed and drink containers and catch and spray 15 chickens!
Have a great weekend (and if you do have a dog - keep it away from the sheep!)
What a beautiful hound.
ReplyDeleteI know the nightmare a dog in your flock can do, I grew up on a sheep farm, and they can be disastrous, and some owners just can't see the problem!!
I'm pleased to say that thanks to the help of Terry the farmer our poorly chicken seems to be recovering. I have learnt so much about livestock this week and am deeply indebted to Terry. Especially as I now know that chickens and lambs can get some of the same diseases and if not treated these can be fatal to either the animal or the bird!
ReplyDeleteThe hens have had a good spring clean and we've learnt a lot about bio security!