Busy day yesterday. Salle came over to fetch her meat from Jones, and came to shear the sheep. Got 3 done, Liquorice, Lacey and Buttercup, but did the last 2 with the hand shears as there us something wrong with the clippers. Phoned Premier, and sending them back as they have a 3-year warranty. They are surging, runs OK and then slows down.
Herbie got home early from work, and told us Dolly had a boy-calf. Went to see him after the sheep were done and Salle had gone to fetch her meat, and he has folded over front ankles - he can't stand on his hooves. Felt his belly, which was empty, so took a bucket out to milk her to give him some colostrum. She wouldn't stand still, so came back to the house for some grain and a lead. Picked him up and put him in the back of the buggy, enticed Dolly with some grain and hooked the lead to her collar. Tied her to the buggy, and slowly drove up to the chickrn yard.
Called Herbie to take him off the buggy while I led Dolly inside the sheep yard. Herbie held the leaf while I milked her a little, the milk was just running out her back teat. Tried to tube feed him but he wouldn't have it, so Herbie said I should try a normal bottle with a teat. Worked :). Salle came back and helped position him under Dolly so that he eas in teats' reach and he sucked ! Yippee, now he understood where the food comes from. Luckily her udder is huge so he can reach it from a lying-down position.
Went inside to make "lunch", a mushroom / cheese / chive omelet with curried green beans I canned last year and a tossed salad with fresh basil and Italian parsley fresh picked and avo, while Salle made a gluten-free cornbread. Turned out well and we ate like kings. Went back to the garage and sheared the last sheep. So much easier that they're friendly. When I went to fetch the last one, Lacey, all the sheep wanted to come ! Oh, the power if the grain bucket.
Salle really liked the strawberry jam I made, she had some on the cornbread after she'd showered and changed after the last sheep.
Herbie went to bed, this new shift starting at 4am is hell - he wakes at 2am for coffee and a ciggie, then showers to leave by 3am. So he goes to bed around 7pm when the sun is still shining. He came home really early yesterday and worked on the haybine. Something with a jack as the little tractor doesn't have hydraulics to raise and lower it for cutting or driving.
At about 10 pm I tried to get Dolly to come to the milking parlour, but couldn't get her to budge. She was already lying down, the boy-calf : really need to find a name for him : was sleeping, and she wasn't going anywhere. Will try again this morning. Don't want her to get mastitis.