…thinking you'd climb for three, then turn around and enjoy the trip back down…

but actually done the 2 miles back downhill…

singlehanded…

with an orphaned lamb under the other arm!

That was my 'quick hour' tonight.

Little lamb by the side of the trail, so lost it ran to me as I stopped, baa'd it's head off for minutes with no sign or sound of mum, not looking well nourished, and certainly not looking like a cold night on the moors would do it good, I picked it up and headed down hill.. slowly.
Long story short, stopped a couple of folk to see if they knew who farms that area (area around us is largely open moorland, open grazing..) and they gave me a number for one of the local farmers, rang them, happy to adopt Fred (for that what what I had called him as we chatted on the way down hill – you know the sort of conversation
'baa' – 'yes, i know it's odd'
'bleat' – 'yes, i know but i think I'm helping you out and all you can do is moan, wriggle, and sh*t down my arm'….
Anyways, MrsMM met me with the car and Fred is now 'at home' with 14 other orphans, getting bottle fed and enjoying his share of the heat lamp in their little stable… until he graduates to the farm garden lawn, thence the fields then, in 7 months time…. one last ride out…

Gratuitous picture of Fred, and some bloke who really should just have rode the 3rd mile, repeatedly…

awwww

… are you planning a stw BBQ for the summer ?

the farmer has probably realised it isn't worth the effort bottle feeding it and hit it over the head with a hammer. thats what they do with ill ones.

That's a lovely tale. 8)

Well done you for being so kind-hearted!

And how cute is that lamb?

Mint Sauce lives!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

This is the little lamby that could. Well done that man.

(b)ahhh. Good on you – lovely little thing (Fred, not you; obviously)
🙂

Best excuse for bailing on a climb yet! 😉

100 years ago you got a free trip to Australia for doing that – now you get people on the internet going aaaawww!

Well done – but 15 orphaned lambs does seem an awfull lot to find?

You're a hero! Aww…

Cheers all – felt like the right thing to do
We spent a very nice 15 mins with farmers wife and kids in the 'orphanage' (including one little un with a back leg set with a splint of 'random piece of wood and bandage' and, I kid you not, they were about to intubate a poorly one to feed it – they're worth more alive, and grown, than dead so, it seems they are worth some effort.. (that said, i'm not naive enough to think the farmer won't know when it's best to put one out of it's misery..)
Anyhow – Fred took the bottle like I take a pint… I think he'll see his 7 months or so out in style…

BTW – farmers wife says we have visiting rights if we want to pop back and see him and his new mates – LOL 😀

Did you get dibs on the loin chops?

Best excuse for bailing on a climb yet!

Busted…..! NOT…. 😉

Wilts – the other 13 are from the farm, they are half way through lambing 400+ ewes..
Some mums turn out to have no milk, when triplets are born one is out on the bottle as mum can only feed 2 etc etc

Spit roast. This reminds me of when I was working in the hills. I found a Ewe that had died during labour and a gang of crows were having a go at her wee lamb and had pecked out one of it's eyes. I put it in my rucksack with it's head poking out and took it down to the farm and to this day they have a one eyed sheep living in their barn called 'Matt'. The only problem is is that it's a she but they wanted to name it after me.

nice , great storey with a happy ending,so much shit going around these days, well done.all warm and fuzzy btw.

great story ! we had a lamb called larry he was going to be killed by a farmer but my dad stopped him and we raised him by hand, we had a free hold at the time so kept him there once he was to big for the garden , I'm affraid he was eaten after that !

Good work there fella…(awwww etc)

I'd have thought about keeping it I reckon (although I would have quickly realised that a) it would grow into a big sheep, and b) I have 3 greyhounds)

🙂

*licks lips*

we'll go back in a few months, eh ? 😉

That reminds me – our route this Saturday is near Segovia followed by lunch of roast lamb (a local speciality!)

Well done you though (cute little thing)

Erm. So you took the lamb from the field/moor then took it to another farmer and he happily adopted it?

Was it the farmers lamb? What we usually do is lamb near the farm then take the sheep out to the hill or fields further away. Then every night we go round the hill with the dogs to pair all the lambs and ewes up. From reading your story I see 3 holes. One there may just be a ewe with no lamb now, Two you seem to have stole someone else's property, Three wasted the shepherd an awful lot of time as they walked round and round looking for the stupid lamb that has gone missing. Just speaking from experience like.

Haha, nice one!

Consider yourself officially excused for bailing on the climb 😉

*licks lips*

we'll go back in a few months, eh ?

Yep – lamb bhuna all-round please!

Erm. So you took the lamb from the field/moor then took it to another farmer and he happily adopted it?

Was it the farmers lamb? What we usually do is lamb near the farm then take the sheep out to the hill or fields further away. Then every night we go round the hill with the dogs to pair all the lambs and ewes up. From reading your story I see 3 holes. One there may just be a ewe with no lamb now, Two you seem to have stole someone else's property, Three wasted the shepherd an awful lot of time as they walked round and round looking for the stupid lamb that has gone missing. Just speaking from experience like.

Geda, apologies if, as a farmer, my actions bother you – I can see why but, I can assure you though, i've lived around farming communities for most of my life – I know the lamb had an owner, and a value – I thought hard before I took him off the hill..
Chris

Ahh, happy memories of pairing lambs on beautiful spring evenings… when it is wet cold, windy maybe even a bit of snow looking for that last lamb that is missing. Now I know where it went! That lamb on the picture looks very bright and well to me.

My heart is well and truly warmed.

Well done that man.
Can I as one of you friends come on the 'visiting rights' visit please ?

I put up a post a few weeks ago asking could I help out with lambing, so it would be a real treat for me.

Is Fred a herdswick? (sp?)

Hello Marsdenman, Any chance you give me a location where you found that lamb?

scraprider – Member

nice , great storey with a happy ending,so much shit going around these days, well done.all warm and fuzzy btw.

Yeah, guess it's gonna be a lovely ending.

Nice story MM, well done. Along the similar lines of GiantJaunt's story, my rellies in Ystemtuen in Mid Wales are lambing at the moment. One ewe had a pair and after what only seemed like a few mins to them but her lambs had disappeared. They found them both in a water trough. God knows what possessed them both to jump in. Anyways one of them was already brown bread but the other had lost one eye and half its tongue to the seagulls. Apparently it is recovering well being hand fed in the barn.

OK subtlety did not work but just in case anybody is in any doubt what marsdenman did is not a very good idea.

A shepherd will look their sheep every night when they are lambing and pair up all the sheep and lambs. If people pick them up off the hill and take them home, or to another farm this can't happen. Please read the story "Little Baa" for a very good description of what happens Little Baa

One spring day, Little Baa runs in the field. Soon he leaves his friends far behind – and his Ma too. But Little Baa's Ma misses him and searches for him. Will she ever find her Little Baa?

I love the illustrations in the little baa book.

this thread is making me hungry
chops, mash and peas for dinner I think

Chris – You were mine and Mrs petesgaff's hero before this….

But now you've got superstar status!

How's the missus? Fancy a pootle at some point?

ok.

MT let me know where you or your connections are short on head count – if it's the same area I will confirm.

Bunnyhop – nothing so <cough> attractive… – seems he's a crossbreed, bread for toughness on the hills and a good supply of meat on the bone (and easy lambing, were he a girl…)

Littlegirlbunny – yep, 7 months or so until he makes his last trip – I trust the abbatoir here is a touch more humane… oh, and he'll have, I expect, several quality months rather than, imo, a cold, lonely death on the moor…

GEDA – as above, for the most part I agree with you – to repeat though, it was not a decision I took lightly – am I a sheep expert – no, never claimed to be, did I weigh up what was in front of me, and the potential ramifications, before I acted, yes I did…
I learned a lot last night in spending time with the farmer.
Equally I have learned from you as well, should this ever happen again it will all help shape any decision I make…

Right, I'm off to fettle with the bike…

potential 'ram'ifications

if you meant it, very good.