Lambing of the ewes has finally finished up with over 800 lambs safely delivered over the last few weeks. We are now busy preparing the maternity ward in preparation for the first of the yearling ewes to start lambing. These ewes are first-time mothers and so need extra attention and care than the more mature ewes to ensure the lambs are arrive healthily and safely.

With the wonderful warm weather we’ve experienced the past week it meant we were able to get the remainder of the ewes and lambs out to grass. This has brought with it a lot of empty sheds, which in turn brings about the unfortunate but necessary task of cleaning out all of the pens. I definitely won’t need to worry about a gym membership – there is no shortage of opportunity to work up a sweat!

With all the ewes and lambs out on grass, the daily routine of chores is far more manageable. I spend a huge part of my day in the pet lamb house making sure all the baby lambs are getting enough milk to drink and are trained up to the machine properly. When I first arrived there were 39 lambs in the pet house, now we have 130! It has been wonderful to see them grow and develop over the last few weeks – some of them have almost tripled in size.

Farm walk

One of the highlights of the past week was the opportunity to partake in a Teagasc farm walk on the nearby farm of Wesley Colton. This is a very important aspect of farming as you are able to meet other like-minded sheep farmers and also get an insight into the running of another person’s farm. It was very beneficial to hear different farmers’ perspectives and I learned a lot about topics such as herd health and grassland management. This was my first time ever partaking in a farm walk like this and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Looking back as my placement comes to an end, I have already (and in such a short space of time) learned a huge amount about sheep. I arrived on my first day with absolutely no experience working on a sheep farm and now I leave with a great knowledge of working on a sheep enterprise. From assisting in lambing, to bottle feeding and dosing lambs – all things I never would have got to experience otherwise! The hands on practical experience has been second to none and really helps to deepen my understanding of sheep and the wider ovine discipline.

Next placement

Next week I begin my next phase of work placement as I travel to Cheshire, England, where I will be working for the international AI company ABS Genus. It will be a big change from looking after the pet lambs but I’m looking forward to a new challenge and can’t wait to experience a new agricultural enterprise.

Susan Dudley is a third year student, currently completely a degree in Agricultural Science in University College Dublin. As part of her studies, she must undertake a number of professional work placements over the course of 20 weeks