Last December we welcomed four sheep and a ram to the Sanctuary. Mickey and his four lady friends Daphne, Clarabelle, Daisy and Tulip joined Coppershell as their owner had become unable to care for them.
We were told Mickey had escaped his paddock to join his lady friends, so we asked a vet to come and confirm our suspicions – all four ewes were pregnant, and two of them were expecting twins!
With no prior experience of lambing, we asked a vet tech to come over and teach the Coppershell team everything we needed to know to make sure the babies arrived safely.
With a rough date in mind, we created a maternity pen allowing the girls a safe haven to relax in before their due dates. The girls had been pretty wild when they arrived so this was a great opportunity to hand feed them and show them that we were here to help.
Clara & Ciara
Clara was the first to give birth. After checking in on her throughout the night, Clara had her baby while we were on a tea break! Clara gave birth to lamb Ciara without the need of extra help, which made us so proud (and slightly relieved).
Tulip & Tegan
It was over a month later that Tulip gave birth to Tegan, again needing no intervention from us. Tulip, bigger than Ciara, was so bright and alert and was nibbling at grass within the first few days!
Daisy, Dilly & Dixie
Easter arrived and I could hear Daisy gently muttering. Now a familiar sound, I rushed to grab some towels and the lambing kit and by the time I had returned Dilly was already out with Dixie not far behind. Within minutes Daisy was licking the girls and they were up investigating the stables.
Daphne, Davey & Darcey
Daphne was the last to have her babies, Davey and Darcey. Darcey was healthy and lively, but we noticed something not quite right with Davey. He came out still and after a big rub to wake him up, we noticed the ligaments in his legs were contracted preventing him from standing.
We used cotton wool and bandages to support his tiny legs and ensure his hooves were facing in the right direction and it wasn’t long before he learnt to walk with his new bandages. After a week of wearing the bandages, we took a look at little Davey’s legs to find all but one leg had set perfectly. His front right leg remained in the wrong direction so back into the bandage it went.
Davey started to look uncomfortable on his leg so we took away his bandage to see it had started to get infected. After giving him pain relief and strong anti-biotics, we reached out to sheep expert, Julia Whilmhurt from Sheeps Ahoy Sanctuary. Julia was more than happy to help so we loaded Davey, Darcy and Daphne and made the 3.5hr journey to meet with Julia and expert vets.
Davey is now in the amazing care of Sheeps Ahoy, still fighting the infection in his foot. It is likely that he might lose his toes, and we are working closely with Julia to carve out a plan for his future. Although uncertain, we know he is in the very best hands and we will make the best decisions for him and his family.
