Well, I'm back from my third year of lambing. Every year I'm so excited to get started and by the third week I wonder why in the world I volunteered to do it again! Its hard physical work with all ~60 pens of ewes needing their buckets of water and silage racks filled at least twice a day and the pens bedded down with fresh straw once a day. The big barns of ewes also needed bedded every day to keep a clean lambing area. Arms ache from carrying water and silage, legs ache from climbing into pens, hands ache from assisting difficult lambings, and 6-7hrs of sleep a night just doesn't cut it.

Why is it so much fun? There is nothing like the feeling you get after working till your hand is going numb from the pressure in the ewe when a lamb is coming out wrong and managing to get out a living lamb. Watching the new mother lick up her newborn lamb never gets old. This was a great year for me to increase my lambing skill as about 10% of the ewes were first time lambers of a breed known for difficult lambing. Fun times!

This year I started my shift at half five in the morning with a first year American vet student named Chelsey and we had worked a full eight hours before lunch. After the basics of food and water for the ewes were taken care of we would start marking up lambs who were old enough and strong enough to go out to pasture. Each ewe and her lambs got a unique number spray painted on their sides so they could be identified and paired up again if separated.

Chelsey and I usually finished up about 8pm when we went in for dinner and then crawled into bed for a few short hours of wonderful sleep. Another first year student, Rachel, worked the night shift and went to bed when I got up.

Now I'll wait another year and do it all over again! Am I crazy or what?

Here is a video I made of the lambs. Its about 2.5mb and includes a ewe with her newborn lambs, twin lambs playing in pens, a few seconds of a nursery group, and finishes with a ewe and lambs outside - Download

Story and photos from my first time lambing (In Ireland)

Story and photos from my second year lambing (Same location as this year)