Lambing is well underway at George Thompson Farms at Holbeach Hurn with at least 15 lambs gambolling in the spring sunshine.
A team made up of Richard and Jane Thompson and their shepherd Steve Congreve look after about 500 Lleyn ewes and beef cattle between them on the family farm.
At the time Jane spoke to Growers, 15 lambs had been born but lambing will continue inside the sheds through the whole of March.
Jane said: “If all goes well they just lamb themselves, but occasionally they need assistance because it’s a breech, but more often than not they get on with it.”
Every ewe is scanned to determine how many lambs they are carrying, from a single lamb to one ewe carrying five lambs.
Jane said: “That is quite unusual but we have known it on the farm. Most years we get a ewe with four or five lambs.”
The ewes carrying three or more lambs are all put together in the yard and given extra feed.
As the ewes can only look after two lambs the “spares” are adopted on to ewes with single lambs.
Jane said: “Normally there are left overs, the cades, and they get bottle fed and we do that and we have young children so they help.”