:00:11. > :00:22.It is March. We are in a giant shared full of sheep. And we are
:00:23. > :01:00.bound to be upstaged. Lambing Live is back.
:01:01. > :01:11.Welcome to Lambing Live will stop behind me, you're looking at two
:01:12. > :01:15.very new lambs that were born in the last couple of minutes. It is a
:01:16. > :01:19.celebration and we hope an insight to the busiest time in the sheep
:01:20. > :01:27.farming year. All over Britain, right at this moment, 77,000 sheep
:01:28. > :01:33.farmers are sleepless and having frantic days in preparation for the
:01:34. > :01:39.arrival of roughly 16 million lambs. This farm is no exception. I am up
:01:40. > :01:50.in Scotland and this shared is basically a giant maternity ward.
:01:51. > :01:55.All the ewes are expected to give birth over the next few days when we
:01:56. > :02:01.were on air. We will follow the natural drama that entails. I will
:02:02. > :02:05.have a quick look around to see if anything is looking close. We will
:02:06. > :02:09.be keeping an eye on them through this next hour and for the 24 hours
:02:10. > :02:14.until the series ends on Friday night. For we concentrate on the
:02:15. > :02:21.sheep, I would like to show you a little bit around the farm. This is
:02:22. > :02:32.the main lambing shed. If I come outside, you may be able to make
:02:33. > :02:36.out, the fields is where the ewes turned out in the day. It is good
:02:37. > :02:41.for them to have some fresh air and some exercise. Then they come in at
:02:42. > :02:47.night. We will learn a little bit more about why they do that later in
:02:48. > :02:51.the programme. Over here is the farmhouse, looking a little bit
:02:52. > :02:57.abandoned at the moment. A lot of farmhouses are feeling abandoned at
:02:58. > :03:03.the moment as the farmers are have moved into their lambing sheds to
:03:04. > :03:10.keep an eye on their pregnant ewes. Above me, another giant shared. We
:03:11. > :03:15.can get a glimpse of some of the cattle. We will be meeting them
:03:16. > :03:20.later in the series. At the end, another important shared. That is
:03:21. > :03:26.the nursery where the lambs go when they are a little bit older. This
:03:27. > :03:33.farm is owned by a family called the Dykes, the brave people who agree to
:03:34. > :03:41.be our hosts in this series. Let's meet them. I have climbed up the
:03:42. > :03:45.slopes to give us the most fantastic view of this glorious borderland
:03:46. > :03:51.country. And also of the the Dykes family farm just below me down
:03:52. > :04:00.there. Hamish and Susie the third generation to farm here. They work
:04:01. > :04:09.1000 acres of land. Including these steep slopes. Together, they have
:04:10. > :04:18.1000 sheep of several different breeds. 75 cows, eight Highland
:04:19. > :04:25.ponies, for dogs and two very boisterous ferrets. And it is home
:04:26. > :04:36.to the whole family. I am Hamish, this is my wife, Suzy. And my
:04:37. > :04:40.parents, Kate and John. Hamish has worked on the farm all his life but
:04:41. > :04:54.recently Suzy has come to help him full-time. The the Dykes, farming is
:04:55. > :04:59.a way of life will stop it is not something you get up to do in the
:05:00. > :05:06.morning, earn a wage and then come home at night. It is a way of life.
:05:07. > :05:13.I am here for a short term, I have the duty of care to look after it
:05:14. > :05:17.and then pass it on. Suzy grew up on an arable farm but trained as a vet
:05:18. > :05:24.in every nurse and loves her new role as sheep feeding technician. It
:05:25. > :05:30.is not for everyone, or everybody would be doing it. We are lucky
:05:31. > :05:35.where we live in a beautiful community, beautiful countryside and
:05:36. > :05:41.we genuinely love what we do. We would not swap it for anything.
:05:42. > :05:52.Hamish and Suzy live in the old farmhouse at the heart of the farm.
:05:53. > :06:01.With their seven-year-old son. And a nine-year old Rosie. Try taking a
:06:02. > :06:09.smaller bite, Rosie. Hamish's parents live just over the road. I
:06:10. > :06:19.can do my own thing. I am retiring age, but I am not retired. John and
:06:20. > :06:27.Kate take great joy in also breeding pedigree Highland ponies. She is
:06:28. > :06:44.only four years old and this will be her first baby. But Hamish' soft
:06:45. > :06:55.spot is for his dogs. They are sheep dogs that use barking to drive the
:06:56. > :07:04.sheep. Speak up. Being a farmer could be a remote or lonely life.
:07:05. > :07:09.But the Dykes have strong ties to the people around them and Hamish
:07:10. > :07:17.plays in the village pipe band. A real, local favourite. The community
:07:18. > :07:23.spirit is brilliant. The older I get, the more I appreciate it.
:07:24. > :07:32.Joining other farmers, friends and family strengthens on is needed for
:07:33. > :07:43.life back on the farm. You scrub up well. Not looking too bad yourself.
:07:44. > :07:47.I am joined by Hamish. Thanks for letting us be here. It can be a busy
:07:48. > :07:55.and stressful time for sheep farmers? You are very welcome, it is
:07:56. > :08:01.a pleasure having you all here. We are here with very expectant ewes.
:08:02. > :08:09.Could we expect to see lambs born to night? In theory, all these sheep
:08:10. > :08:17.here should give birth in the next six days. We just missed 120 minutes
:08:18. > :08:22.ago. I think there is another one over there just thinking about
:08:23. > :08:26.starting. I am hoping we will get something in the next hour. I would
:08:27. > :08:32.like to get our viewers involved in making sure we don't miss any
:08:33. > :08:39.lambing. We have put together a package of signs of labour. Hamish,
:08:40. > :08:43.if you can talk us through it. Sheep in this shared and she is pacing
:08:44. > :08:49.around and scratching at the straw. Up and down, very restless. Licking
:08:50. > :08:57.of the lips as well. And this position they get into with their
:08:58. > :09:03.back legs spread out. The top lip curling up? Yes, as she goes into
:09:04. > :09:11.contractions. You can see the signs a few hundred yards away. They will
:09:12. > :09:17.quite often take themselves out of the main flock? They find themselves
:09:18. > :09:24.a quiet corner but occasionally you get to sheep at the same time going
:09:25. > :09:29.to the same corner. We have a Camara that can sweep up over the sheep and
:09:30. > :09:36.see if anyone can spot anything that might be looking like it is in
:09:37. > :09:42.labour. We will be keeping an eye on them. What I am interested in, I
:09:43. > :09:47.said the sheep go out during the day, why do you bring them in at
:09:48. > :09:53.night? We bring them in at night so we can monitor them and keep an eye
:09:54. > :09:57.on them. Protecting them against predators, protecting them against
:09:58. > :10:03.the weather. Able to assist with anything that is required. When they
:10:04. > :10:08.have given birth, you put them in these smaller pens. These triplets
:10:09. > :10:15.were born about half an hour ago, why do you separate them into here?
:10:16. > :10:22.If they were outside in the fields and in a quiet corner, they would we
:10:23. > :10:28.find to be left. But in a shed where it is a busy, if we left them
:10:29. > :10:32.running around there would be a lot of model. It gives them a chance to
:10:33. > :10:39.bond with their mother and their mother only. So it is a nice,
:10:40. > :10:47.private corner to get on with bonding. It is a nice maternity
:10:48. > :10:52.suite. Sheep have a habit of giving birth at awkward times of the day
:10:53. > :10:55.and night. You have Alistair who comes in and helps you at night
:10:56. > :11:01.comedy was here last night and at 3am, this sheep did not wait for
:11:02. > :11:08.him. She gave birth incredibly quickly. She was expecting triplets.
:11:09. > :11:13.As you can see, the second one came along. Quite a long time
:11:14. > :11:21.afterwards, there can be quite a big gap? Yes, maybe the older sheep in
:11:22. > :11:27.general tend to spit them out a bit quicker, but it varies. Then we can
:11:28. > :11:33.see the classic labour signs again as she is about to give birth to the
:11:34. > :11:42.third. Alastair reaches into give her a helping hand. He just made
:11:43. > :11:53.sure it was out, and breathing. Here, you can see that ewe with only
:11:54. > :12:03.two lambs. What happened to the third? She was scanned for three.
:12:04. > :12:11.You do scanned them like human mothers? Yes, and ultrasound. It
:12:12. > :12:17.lets us know from back in January to feed them accordingly, so singles
:12:18. > :12:25.get fed less. We don't tend to leave ewes with three lambs because they
:12:26. > :12:36.only have two teats. So we took the third one and left it over here.
:12:37. > :12:44.This ewe was scanned for just a single, and she only had one. She
:12:45. > :12:51.only have the one. I am amazed, I thought adoptions were more
:12:52. > :13:01.complicated? She is an old ewe so she is quite motherly. It is easier
:13:02. > :13:06.with an older ewe. To get it together after she has had her own,
:13:07. > :13:12.is less likely to work, but because she had only just had it, there were
:13:13. > :13:18.two lambs, very young and it was perfect. We will be learning more
:13:19. > :13:31.about adoption later in the series, but let's join Adam with Suzy in the
:13:32. > :13:35.nursery. We have seen the ewes in the shed, this is the second stage
:13:36. > :13:42.of their life? Yes, they know what the mother
:13:43. > :13:50.smells like, and now they can learn to find each other in a bigger
:13:51. > :13:55.group. What age are they now? They were born a day ago. Yesterday and
:13:56. > :13:59.through the previous night. They are still very young so they have got to
:14:00. > :14:05.find their mothers, because she will be the only one to feed them? Yes,
:14:06. > :14:08.if we find them and send them into the field without knowing their
:14:09. > :14:19.mother, they will perish and won't survive. Can we see some good
:14:20. > :14:23.examples? This unit at the back, very comfortable settling down for
:14:24. > :14:29.the night, bedtime stories. If they cannot find their mother, what do
:14:30. > :14:33.you do? We would put them back in the pen again. Don't get anyone
:14:34. > :14:38.stressed out. Take away the other factors and normally at this stage,
:14:39. > :14:45.they are fine and OK. It is incredible, that maternal instinct,
:14:46. > :14:55.how she can call her lambs in a crowd. One of our viewers has asked
:14:56. > :15:00.why they have paint spray numbers on the side. Good question. Each
:15:01. > :15:08.brother and sister combination are family unlings, they have the --
:15:09. > :15:15.siblings, they have the same on the side. At home we put the paint spray
:15:16. > :15:20.number on the side of the ewe, so we have that as well. We used to have a
:15:21. > :15:26.shepherd here and someone said, "Do you want me to write the number of
:15:27. > :15:33.the lambs on the side of the if ewe and he said, "That's so amateurish."
:15:34. > :15:36.Spray cans cost a lot of money, and we're Scottish, so we can't be
:15:37. > :15:39.having that that either. All settled in here, all going well. Let's go
:15:40. > :15:47.back to Kate and see how they're getting on in the main barn.
:15:48. > :15:52.Well, Haim Serb just checking -- Hamish is checking on the ewes here.
:15:53. > :16:00.I'm going to take you to one of my favourite corners of the lambing
:16:01. > :16:04.shed. Hello IDlers. -- tiddlers, here are where the orphan lambs are
:16:05. > :16:08.kept looking sleepy and content. Come on then, you better come and be
:16:09. > :16:15.on the telly if you're shouting. We say orphaned lambs, most of these
:16:16. > :16:20.are not orphaned, they have mums. But they're either triplets that
:16:21. > :16:32.haven't been able to be adopted on or their mums don't have any more
:16:33. > :16:36.milk. You can e-mail us at Lambing Live@bbc.co.uk. To have lambs like
:16:37. > :16:42.these you need rams. Many sheep farmers view the beginning of their
:16:43. > :16:48.year as the ram sales, they take place all over the country. I went
:16:49. > :16:57.to the Kelso ram sale with the Dykes in September.
:16:58. > :17:05.This is the Kelso ram sale, the world's biggest single-day sheep
:17:06. > :17:10.auction. More than 5,000 animals will be sold here today, all done up
:17:11. > :17:16.to look their finest. There are 16 different breeds in 14 auction
:17:17. > :17:20.rings. If you're a Scottish sheep farmer, this is a crucial day in the
:17:21. > :17:28.calendar. The Dykes are here to sell 12 of their blue-face Leicester
:17:29. > :17:31.rams. They look magnificent. Presentation is half the job. Just
:17:32. > :17:38.before they go into the ring they get a face wipe and try to get the
:17:39. > :17:44.straws off. All the wee things girls do in front of the mirror. Oh, you
:17:45. > :17:49.notice! Thank you. Before they're sold, they have to undergo a breed
:17:50. > :17:56.inspection to check they're up to standard. You check teeth, you check
:17:57. > :18:00.testicles. One of my very favourite things on Lambing Live, I'm sorry, I
:18:01. > :18:05.know it's slightly perverted, we're going to have a little check, just
:18:06. > :18:15.for old times sake. Those felt fine to me. Happy? John, you are funny.
:18:16. > :18:20.You're not going to be happy until about 10. 20 when all these are
:18:21. > :18:24.sold, are you? I might not be happy then, either.
:18:25. > :18:31.Inspection passed, I help to give them a final wash and brush up
:18:32. > :18:36.before they head into the ring. Hamish and John are the first into
:18:37. > :18:39.the ring. Traditionally this is the worst slot and they're concerned
:18:40. > :18:41.that buyers might be unwilling to pay good prices this early in the
:18:42. > :18:50.day. Their first ram sells for a solid
:18:51. > :19:13.?720. Good start. Bidding is brisk. Susie is happy with the prices. Not
:19:14. > :19:19.a bad morning's work. That's been the highest one ?950, lowest ?500,
:19:20. > :19:25.so reasonably consistent price. Even John seems satisfied. It was all
:19:26. > :19:31.right. Do you feel able to relax a bit? Oh, yeah, yeah. As muches a
:19:32. > :19:34.ever relax -- much as I ever relax! Are you thinking of shopping
:19:35. > :19:37.yourself? Yes, it's always nice to get your own sheep sold first,
:19:38. > :19:49.because you know what the budget is. He's got a good mouth, good skin,
:19:50. > :19:56.he's quite stretchy. Cheers mate. Hamish is looking for a ram to put
:19:57. > :20:02.with the ewes to breed lambs for meat. You don't go for this type for
:20:03. > :20:08.facial beauty, do you? What are you saying? That's a good long sheep.
:20:09. > :20:11.Not quite the backside you would be hoping for. It's trying to find
:20:12. > :20:16.something that's got everything. Yeah. That one there is catching my
:20:17. > :20:23.eye. It wouldn't surprise me if 80 was John's favourite. Little nod
:20:24. > :20:28.there. I might not be wrong with that.
:20:29. > :20:35.It seems that his method of choosing a ram is a little more discerning
:20:36. > :20:41.than my own. Teeth more than testicles? Well, you don't tend to
:20:42. > :20:47.find many tupps here that don't have a decent pair of testicles. You're
:20:48. > :20:51.more likely to find some that have substandard mouths. To be honest,
:20:52. > :20:56.they look fairly good to me. You don't even need to grab them to know
:20:57. > :21:01.that they're all there. That, for me, definitely would be my pick out
:21:02. > :21:09.of this pen. Shopping is one thing, getting this ram for the price he
:21:10. > :21:14.has in mind is another. You're thinking maybe 7, 8? I think
:21:15. > :21:20.that's what he will make. I'm not sure I will spend that much on him.
:21:21. > :21:29.Sure enough, the price goes higher than Haimish prepared to pay.
:21:30. > :21:37.Yeah, I didn't bother going in there, because I think it would have
:21:38. > :21:40.gone. 680 is maybe enough for the first one. We'll see. The ones that
:21:41. > :21:48.you pick are the ones you can't afford.
:21:49. > :21:58.Another breeder's rams come in and it's clear that Hamish has expensive
:21:59. > :22:03.taste when the price tops ?700. Really to get a good sheep out of
:22:04. > :22:21.this pen, you need to bid a bit harder. Finally, his luck's in.
:22:22. > :22:37.With a bid of ?650, Hamish gets the right ram at the right price.
:22:38. > :22:43.He's a good length. Nice, tight skin and he's got quite a sweet head for
:22:44. > :22:49.the job, he should be good. Be his progeny that we hope to see being
:22:50. > :22:52.born in March? March? Ive hope so. -- I do hope so. I do hope his
:22:53. > :23:04.progeny will be born in March. ( Here's Hamish's dad John. All quiet
:23:05. > :23:08.at the moment? There might be a few thinking about it. In that sale,
:23:09. > :23:14.Hamish bought the ram. How did he get on? He did very well. Some of
:23:15. > :23:19.his offspring have probably been born tonight. He wallings a good
:23:20. > :23:23.buy. -- was a good buy. Blue faced Leicesters sold well. They did. We
:23:24. > :23:26.kept up the same standard at last year roughly. We had quite a few
:23:27. > :23:30.regular customers who came back again. That was very satisfying.
:23:31. > :23:36.You've got the following crop of lambs that will be sold this autumn?
:23:37. > :23:44.Yes. They've been evicted from inside to let the ewes it to lamb --
:23:45. > :23:49.in to lamb. Happy to get good prices? I think they are as good as
:23:50. > :23:54.the other ones were last year. We little in hope. Role has changed and
:23:55. > :23:58.you've moved just across the road. You've got your own farming going on
:23:59. > :24:03.over there, with your blue faced Leicesters. Yeah, it's something
:24:04. > :24:08.that keeps me out of Hamish's hair. Let's see some of ewes. You have the
:24:09. > :24:11.blue-faced Leicester ewe there looking proudly down at her little
:24:12. > :24:17.lamb. They're a very different looking sheep. Yeah, they're tall
:24:18. > :24:22.and elegant, some people would say. They cross very well with all the
:24:23. > :24:26.hillhill breeds. Lambs are going to be quite valuable if they grow up as
:24:27. > :24:31.good rams. The rams should be valuable any way. We live in hope.
:24:32. > :24:36.The prices we get at Kelso keeps us going for the next year. But it can
:24:37. > :24:40.be tricky to look after, can't they? They don't have the benefit of
:24:41. > :24:44.hybrid vigour that the cross-breeds do. They do take a bit more looking
:24:45. > :24:50.after. They have multiple births, which makes it more difficult. You
:24:51. > :24:53.busy? Keeping mes out of mischief any way. Thanks, John. Of course,
:24:54. > :24:58.when it comes to lambing, have you to get the ewes pregnant. The
:24:59. > :25:02.gestation period of a sheep from mating to birth is five months. The
:25:03. > :25:08.rams go in with the ewes five months ago. That time of mating in sheep
:25:09. > :25:13.farming is called tupping. The rams are often known as tups. In October
:25:14. > :25:22.the Dykes were busy getting their ewes ready with help from a rookie
:25:23. > :25:27.shepherd called, Kate Humble. It's early October, and I'm helping
:25:28. > :25:32.Hamish gather his ewes in ready for tupping. It's a chance for me to see
:25:33. > :25:44.the dogs in action. Very different style from a collie
:25:45. > :25:48.or Welsh dog. They do everything by barking. There's no running up and
:25:49. > :25:56.nipping at the he's or anything like that. They stand behind and go,
:25:57. > :26:01.woof, come on, woof. That will do. These ewes need to have their
:26:02. > :26:06.version of an MOT, to make sure they're in peak condition for the
:26:07. > :26:12.rams. My first job is to sort them into breed types so we can compare
:26:13. > :26:20.like with like. Texels here. That one there... That's one, yes. Mules
:26:21. > :26:25.straight on. I would stand here. OK. Let them pass you. That's the way to
:26:26. > :26:37.go. Feels like my kind of initiation test and it could all go very, very
:26:38. > :26:43.wrong. Two texels to start. I think you're a texels and you're a mule.
:26:44. > :26:51.Definitely one mistake there. Oh, dear. Steady. I feel like I'm going
:26:52. > :26:55.to get marked at the end of this. We will count the mistakes, for sure.
:26:56. > :27:03.There's one very obvious mistake over there. That's a mule there,
:27:04. > :27:08.yeah. Three I think. Hamish gives each ewe a health check to see if
:27:09. > :27:11.they might have worms. You run your hands up and down and you can feel
:27:12. > :27:17.the ribs. You can feel the rib on top. Here you run your hands up and
:27:18. > :27:23.down and you can't really, there's less. She's much leaner. That would
:27:24. > :27:28.suggest that she may have a worm burden. Right. We'll give her a
:27:29. > :27:34.drench. Using what's known as a drench to get rid of conditions like
:27:35. > :27:40.worms and parasites means that the ewes are more likely to conceive and
:27:41. > :27:46.give birth to healthy lambs. I'd say she's quite lean. She's not. She is.
:27:47. > :27:55.Every ewe also gets supplementary minerals in the form of two large
:27:56. > :27:59.tablets called boluses. Gillian, the shepherdess, demonstrates how it
:28:00. > :28:03.should be done and then it's my turn. You have the the gun.
:28:04. > :28:10.Basically, you load it in there and put it right down the throat. Just
:28:11. > :28:16.over the top of their tongue. Yeahment There's two boluses. They
:28:17. > :28:19.go in the gun at the same time. Basically these minerals that are
:28:20. > :28:22.deficient in the ground, this is a way to replace them? Yeah. A hell of
:28:23. > :28:40.a mouthful, isn't it! No wonder you don't really like the
:28:41. > :28:46.idea. Go on. Oh, dear. If you drop them on the ground, they might pick
:28:47. > :28:52.them up and eat them themselves. I can't help feeling I'm letting the
:28:53. > :29:01.side down. I think the secret is to hold the head up. If you let the
:29:02. > :29:06.head drop, they can spit them out. Did that work? Brilliant. She was
:29:07. > :29:11.slow to start with, but she's got the hang of it now. In about six
:29:12. > :29:15.hours, we'll have this lot done. Even though I have my own sheep and
:29:16. > :29:19.I'm a lot more experienced now, it's still not instinctive. There's still
:29:20. > :29:26.so much I don't know. You watch Gillian and she just does it, it's
:29:27. > :29:32.like automatic, click, click, click. Go on. The final stage in the sheep
:29:33. > :29:37.MOT is a chemical bath to treat skin conditions. That's a fantastic
:29:38. > :29:42.medieval looking tool there. Hand made by my fair husband. I'm
:29:43. > :29:48.impressed. Quality craftsmanship. Look at that. It shouldn't break.
:29:49. > :29:54.What do I use this for? Well, you want to get the sheep's head in this
:29:55. > :29:58.bit and dunk it to make sure its head goes under. If you need to pull
:29:59. > :30:03.a sheep back, if it hasn't gone under and you want to pull it back,
:30:04. > :30:23.hook this around its neck and pull it back. They come. They are quite
:30:24. > :30:38.enthusiastic about it. It is like an unruly children is swimming party.
:30:39. > :30:47.This smells. It is not a pretty bubble bath. After their dip and
:30:48. > :30:54.drip dry, the girls are ready for the Rams. As soon as Iran goes in,
:30:55. > :31:06.they are ready. Desperate, Suzy says. Such a den of iniquity appear
:31:07. > :31:16.in the Borders. The television is rubbish around here. She is
:31:17. > :31:19.incredibly enthusiastic. This is your first full year on the farm
:31:20. > :31:27.because you had a job before. What has it been like? OK so far, no
:31:28. > :31:31.major fallouts. Hamish does not shout too much because he knows he
:31:32. > :31:37.will only get beans on toast. Living on the farm and working with your
:31:38. > :31:41.husband, is it tricky? No, it is nice to be involved and understand
:31:42. > :31:49.what is going on on a daily basis and be here for the kids. The
:31:50. > :31:53.cameras were with you this morning and we filmed you doing some
:31:54. > :32:06.lambing. What was going on here? Hamish noticed this ewe had stopped
:32:07. > :32:12.pressing and was eating again, so he was concerned there was an issue. So
:32:13. > :32:18.we looked and there was a lamb coming out backwards, but sadly it
:32:19. > :32:26.died. But then he helped the second one and it is alive and well.
:32:27. > :32:33.Wonderful. There she is licking it. So the death of the lambs is part of
:32:34. > :32:42.the life and death of the season? Sadly, it is. She was a triplets and
:32:43. > :32:48.had Hamish not got the first one out, we would have lost all three of
:32:49. > :32:58.them. And here she is. They look content now. I would like to get one
:32:59. > :33:03.up. If you lift them up and they have a nice stretch, it means they
:33:04. > :33:07.are nice and healthy. Yes, big stretch. She is mothering them well
:33:08. > :33:13.and they are full of milk. But I bet it has been busy? It has, but the
:33:14. > :33:21.weather has been good and everything is fine. Susie is busy working on
:33:22. > :33:25.the farm for the first year, on top of that we have been following you
:33:26. > :33:33.around with the cameras. Take a look at the first instalment of her video
:33:34. > :33:39.diary. It is early autumn, beginning of this sheep farming year and my
:33:40. > :33:50.first year as a full-time farmer. We have been busy getting the ewes to
:33:51. > :34:00.be put in with the Rams and I am black and blue. It is my thighs that
:34:01. > :34:12.get it. Hamish is working hard, he has gone to take four of this sheep
:34:13. > :34:17.to market. Meanwhile, 350 miles away in Wales, some special sheep are
:34:18. > :34:27.getting ready to join us. My lovely husband has decided to buy some
:34:28. > :34:37.sheep red by Kate Humble. They are a hardy breed, known for their
:34:38. > :34:54.distinctive markings. I am not sure what they will make of their new
:34:55. > :35:08.home in Scotland. Hello. Hopefully they will do you proud. The children
:35:09. > :35:21.have taken to the Welsh boys. The one with the woolly chest. But
:35:22. > :35:31.Schreck is not so welcoming. These guys are ready for work. Asserting
:35:32. > :35:38.their authority. Trying to distract them with some young ladies, it
:35:39. > :35:47.might help. Either and I went on a blind date with 150 ewes. These are
:35:48. > :35:56.sheep still in their first year that will be first-time mothers. Anything
:35:57. > :36:03.we get from them is a bonus. We use smaller rams to give them smaller
:36:04. > :36:21.lambs. Iva and Owen have a lot to prove. It is their first time in
:36:22. > :36:28.action. We need to see how they are getting on so every six days we
:36:29. > :36:37.round them up. Just the ones with the horns. They have still got lots
:36:38. > :36:40.of fighting spirit in them. Now we have taken them away from the girls,
:36:41. > :37:01.they have started fighting again. Scotland against Wales. This is the
:37:02. > :37:07.Craven. When a ram jumps a female, it leaves a mark. This is well worn,
:37:08. > :37:11.so he has been doing some work. We will now replace it with a different
:37:12. > :37:17.colour, so in the next six days, the sheep will get a red mark on their
:37:18. > :37:22.backside. At lambing time we will have a good idea who will be lambing
:37:23. > :37:28.and when. Now they can paint the town red, so to speak. Hopefully we
:37:29. > :37:39.will be seeing lots of red marks in this field very soon. Your Icelandic
:37:40. > :37:49.sheep was not very welcoming to my boys. Very bad behaviour. Just like
:37:50. > :37:58.the six Nations. Is that what they do, especially that time a beer?
:37:59. > :38:07.Yes, just before mating time. They also display some distinctive
:38:08. > :38:12.behaviour when they do meet the ewes for the first time, it is like
:38:13. > :38:18.foreplay? Yes, they will walk around and sniff them and smell them to see
:38:19. > :38:27.if they are in season. They have a gland in their top lip and they can
:38:28. > :38:36.tell if she is in season and whether she can accept the ram or not. Not
:38:37. > :38:45.very romantic, give her a quick kick to see if she is up for it. The boys
:38:46. > :38:49.did perform, I think. We will see the results of the scanning in
:38:50. > :38:57.tomorrow's programme and hopefully we will see some lambs this week. I
:38:58. > :39:02.have been lambing at home. And a bit of an insight into what you might be
:39:03. > :39:11.expecting, these were born in the last couple of weeks. What do you
:39:12. > :39:20.think, Adam? Absolutely lovely. Very good spraying. 16 was my top figure,
:39:21. > :39:29.but what do you think, if you had a lambs looking like that would it be
:39:30. > :39:32.a disaster? Not a disaster, but it might be the only Welsh mountain
:39:33. > :39:40.sheep in the Borders. Hopefully the boys have done you proud. We will
:39:41. > :39:43.find out later on. There are more sheep in Scotland than people. A
:39:44. > :39:50.couple of months ago I went to see two passionate farmers who keep the
:39:51. > :40:03.breeds that dominate and they are remarkable. It was lovely to see
:40:04. > :40:07.them. In the North of Scotland, over 200 years ago the land would have
:40:08. > :40:13.been farmed by smallholders with a couple of cows and a handful of
:40:14. > :40:17.primitive sheep. Then came the clearances. Estate owners saw an
:40:18. > :40:24.opportunity to make their land more profitable, so moved people off to
:40:25. > :40:28.make way for the sheep. The first to arrive where the Cheviots. Highly
:40:29. > :40:31.prized for their wool, they were brought up from the hills on the
:40:32. > :40:39.English border. This estate on the north coast was one of the first to
:40:40. > :40:48.be settled by the Cheviots. It is nice in the summer. This pedigree
:40:49. > :40:55.flock is raised by Joyce Campbell. Nice and quiet. Getting right on the
:40:56. > :41:01.cliffs? They are quite settled. They walk in the heather and rough
:41:02. > :41:07.ground. Make a living. They are a productive animal? Yes, they will
:41:08. > :41:13.make the most of the Touraine they are in. The Cheviots had to toughen
:41:14. > :41:19.up for their new lives in the Highlands. They adapted and today's
:41:20. > :41:26.Cheviots are ideally suited to the rough ground. Joyce's flock roams
:41:27. > :41:39.over five point 5000 acres. And to get a closer look, I am going to
:41:40. > :41:49.have to catch one. -- 5500 acres. Well done. Have I got a good one?
:41:50. > :41:59.She is not bad, he nose could be more black. It is good skin, it
:42:00. > :42:05.springs back from you. Has a nice fibre in it. You can understand why
:42:06. > :42:17.they wanted them? She is in good condition. That is a lag of land
:42:18. > :42:24.there. The tasty bit. -- leg of lamb. What about the hair on her
:42:25. > :42:32.face? I like them to be nice and smooth and silky. They produce more
:42:33. > :42:40.milk. That is what I find. I love them. They are my way of life. You
:42:41. > :42:45.have to live with them all your days so you like -- happen to like what
:42:46. > :42:53.you are looking at everyday. Like wife! The Cheviot is still valued
:42:54. > :43:01.for its meat and fleece, but in the 19th-century it fell out of
:43:02. > :43:06.popularity when wool prices dropped. It was time for a new sheep to enter
:43:07. > :43:11.the arena. In came the Scottish blackface. This is now the most
:43:12. > :43:17.common pure breed of sheep, not only in Scotland but across the whole of
:43:18. > :43:20.the UK. Robert works a pedigree flock of more than 1000 Scottish
:43:21. > :43:28.blackface is on his family farm in Ayrshire. How do you check your
:43:29. > :43:34.animals? It takes a while. Like the Cheviot, it can fend for itself in
:43:35. > :43:38.harsh conditions, but everyday Robert likes to check on his
:43:39. > :43:48.favourites. Can you recognise individuals? Yes, just like people.
:43:49. > :43:53.You love them as a breed? I grew up with them. The family are
:43:54. > :43:59.award-winning breeders and Robert knows exactly what makes a good
:44:00. > :44:08.blackface. A Scottish blackface needs to have had shape, good
:44:09. > :44:17.thickness. A leg in each corner. Thick muzzle. A good brow on her.
:44:18. > :44:31.Like a forehead. The colour of the face? Can be black, it is
:44:32. > :44:36.preference. Horns need to be wide. Why this colour? Just put a bit of
:44:37. > :44:43.colour on them for the show. Make them stand out a bit. Tonight is the
:44:44. > :44:47.biggest social event in the Scottish blackface calendar and Robert has
:44:48. > :44:52.got to get his girls looking their best. After a wash and brush up,
:44:53. > :44:57.they are ready to go. Stock judging is a bit of fun. Families from far
:44:58. > :45:02.and wide have come to take part. The idea is to range the four sheep in
:45:03. > :45:06.your order of preference and try to match what the official judge
:45:07. > :45:12.thinks, a bit like sheep bingo. I feel nervous actually. Do you? Yeah.
:45:13. > :45:16.There's a bit of pressure. Right. Concentrate, Adam. Here we
:45:17. > :45:23.go. I'm trying to remember all the
:45:24. > :45:31.things he told me - broad muzzle, nice wide, good shape, alert. Yeah.
:45:32. > :45:37.I like the skin of red. But I prefer the look of yellow. The sheep are
:45:38. > :45:42.identified by different coloured tape on their horns. These colours
:45:43. > :45:52.are then abriefiated for the score sheet. Red tape A. Blue B. Blank is
:45:53. > :45:54.X, yellow is Y. This is very difficult. Is it harder than you
:45:55. > :46:06.thought? I got B right. I put the old boy Y
:46:07. > :46:13.last and he put it second. He doesn't know what he's talking
:46:14. > :46:19.about, this man! It's not a great start. But my chances should improve
:46:20. > :46:24.now Robert's girls are in the ring. I'm determined to get one lot right.
:46:25. > :46:29.You'll get it this time. They're looking well. I really like them.
:46:30. > :46:35.That little ewe is lovely. She's a cracking of a ewe. I've put her
:46:36. > :46:41.last. I've got last as well. She could just do with a couple of
:46:42. > :46:47.inches bigger. Just not quite there. It's A, B, Y and X. I got the last
:46:48. > :46:51.one right. I got the first and last one right. Even Robert didn't place
:46:52. > :46:56.his sheep in the same order as the judge. In my books you're not doing
:46:57. > :47:04.too well at the moment. If you could try to step up to the mark? I'm
:47:05. > :47:08.doing really well! With so much variation in the sheep, it all comes
:47:09. > :47:21.down to t judge's personal preference and a bit of luck. Yes!
:47:22. > :47:25.Oh. I got one. You're learning, you're getting better at this, I can
:47:26. > :47:32.tell. You're coming around to my way of thinking.
:47:33. > :47:40.You are shamelessly competitive. I know. Ridiculous. You'll never make
:47:41. > :47:44.a judge, though. Really quite difficult. Clearly. And very
:47:45. > :47:48.subjective in a way. . It's down to the judge's choice, like it is in
:47:49. > :47:54.proper judging out in the show ring. Yeah. Fascinating stuff, though.
:47:55. > :48:00.Now, some of you have already been E mailing in your questions to Lambing
:48:01. > :48:06.Live, including Beatrice Smith and she wanted to know about Humble the
:48:07. > :48:11.lamb and how is she getting on? You may remember in the first series, I
:48:12. > :48:15.certainly could never forget when I delivered my very first lamb.
:48:16. > :48:20.What you're going to feel, if you slide your fingers in very
:48:21. > :48:25.carefully, you can feel a foot. Get hold of those two legs and gently
:48:26. > :48:30.pull slowly down. Do I need to support the head? It will just
:48:31. > :48:33.happen. It will slip out. That's it. Carry on pulling all the way around
:48:34. > :48:43.to the front and show mum. That's it. Turn her the right way round.
:48:44. > :48:47.There I was with my ever patient teacher, the wonderful Kate Bevan.
:48:48. > :48:51.You did a great job. Do you ever get bored TV? I don't. Corny as it may
:48:52. > :48:56.sound, I have seen thousands of lambs born and every one is special.
:48:57. > :49:00.It's an amazing moment. It really is an amazing moment. I will never
:49:01. > :49:05.forget. It as to Humble the lamb, which that lamb was named, thanks to
:49:06. > :49:09.the Bevans, she didn't turn out terribly well. Have to put in a
:49:10. > :49:13.disclaimer. The lamb was a bit wonky and it couldn't keep up with its
:49:14. > :49:16.brother and mother. It became a pet lamb during the series. We bottle
:49:17. > :49:21.fed it and live on television on the last show, Kate said, Adam, little
:49:22. > :49:25.Humble, I'd love to keep her, but I haven't got any sheep at home. Will
:49:26. > :49:29.you look after her until I get my own sheep? She's back on my farm. I
:49:30. > :49:36.still have her. How many years ago was that? About four, I think. This
:49:37. > :49:40.was Humble filmed just last week. I was actually up to see her as well.
:49:41. > :49:45.Looking a little different. Still has a black head and her body has
:49:46. > :49:49.gone silver. She's still quite wonky when she walks. We haven't been
:49:50. > :49:52.brave enough to put her in lamb. She's just a pet. I keep her just
:49:53. > :49:57.for you. Would you like her back? Not particularly, no. But there you
:49:58. > :50:02.are, she's doing very well. We just have time for one more. This is a
:50:03. > :50:06.great question from Josh William in Northern Ireland. He wanted to ask
:50:07. > :50:10.whether it was true that ewes can actually abort their lambs,
:50:11. > :50:13.obviously before they lamb them, if they're threatened Well, in a
:50:14. > :50:17.situation like this, we're not causing any problems working around
:50:18. > :50:21.the sheep, you can work amongst them. If you chase them a lot, when
:50:22. > :50:24.they're heavily pregnant in the fields and particularly if a dog
:50:25. > :50:27.gets up behind them, that can cause serious problems. That's why it's so
:50:28. > :50:31.important at this time of year, if you do have dogs, like me,
:50:32. > :50:35.absolutely obsessed with my dogs, put them on a lead when you're going
:50:36. > :50:41.through fields full of sheep. They may not be ewes in lamb, but the
:50:42. > :50:45.likelihood is that they will. We will keep your questions coming in
:50:46. > :50:48.to Lambing Live@bbc.co.uk. We have three more days to answer them. In
:50:49. > :50:56.the meantime, back in the autumn, the time came for the Texal ram that
:50:57. > :51:01.Hamish bought at Kelso to be put to the test. Would he prove a good
:51:02. > :51:06.investment or would he be all good mouth and no testicles? By late
:51:07. > :51:11.October, it's time for tupping to start in earnest. Before our rams
:51:12. > :51:18.meet the ewes, there's one last job to do - round up what we call the
:51:19. > :51:23.teasers. These tupps are had a vasectomy. They can't make lambs any
:51:24. > :51:29.more. They've had an operation and live a very care-free life now. The
:51:30. > :51:35.teasers' job is to get the ewes ready to breed. It gets them off
:51:36. > :51:39.lating. The idea is that they will fall pregnant more easily when the
:51:40. > :51:43.real rams take over. These guys have a blessed life. No
:51:44. > :51:48.results to prove themselves, no off spring to answer for and they tend
:51:49. > :51:52.to live for quite a long time as well. The teasers job is done for
:51:53. > :51:56.this year. We're taking them out to make way for the rams. With over a
:51:57. > :52:00.thousand ewes and three different types of sheep on the farm, we work
:52:01. > :52:05.hard to make sure we'll have enough lambs come springtime. This is the
:52:06. > :52:10.ram that we bought at Kelso. Quite pleased with him. I just happen to
:52:11. > :52:14.notice that his feet aren't as good as they might be. They're a little
:52:15. > :52:18.bit overgrown. As long as I do everything I can, I can't blame
:52:19. > :52:24.myself for. It hopefully he will go and do a job for three weeks and get
:52:25. > :52:29.everybody in lamb. A lot is riding on these rams, it can be an anxious
:52:30. > :52:32.time. You hope that the tupps are going to go out and do what they're
:52:33. > :52:36.needed to do now, that's just a leap of faith, really and nature. You
:52:37. > :52:40.can't do anything about that. You've just got to hope they know what
:52:41. > :52:47.they're up to. The tupps are a vital part. There is one tup for 50 ewes.
:52:48. > :52:56.One ewe wrong is a couple of lambs missed. One tup wrong is potentially
:52:57. > :53:02.100 lambs missed. Our new ram is going in with the mule ewes. His job
:53:03. > :53:07.is to produce meaty lambs for the table. Well, the boy from Kelso
:53:08. > :53:13.seems to know what he's doing. I'm not sure if that was a direct hit,
:53:14. > :53:21.but close to the target. This is the beginning of the year for a sheep
:53:22. > :53:26.really, the tupps have gone out and basically we're sewing a crop in a
:53:27. > :53:30.manner of speaking. Hopefully we'll get a good crop of lambs. By
:53:31. > :53:33.Hallowe'en, all the work on the farm is geared towards tupping. But
:53:34. > :53:42.sometimes up need a break from sheep.
:53:43. > :53:54.Which animal needs rescuing the most, do you think? A ghost. With
:53:55. > :53:56.jagged teeth? Yes. Yes. Amazing. It's quite easy to tell it's a
:53:57. > :54:02.ghost. -- a wolf.
:54:03. > :54:05.The rams are working hard and as autumn rolls on it's starting to
:54:06. > :54:10.show. The Kelso ram has been getting a lot
:54:11. > :54:17.of exercise. They've lost a little bit of condition. You can see their
:54:18. > :54:23.belts are needing tightened. We will change the crane on it. The
:54:24. > :54:28.harnesses on the rams are used to hold crayons so they leave a mark on
:54:29. > :54:32.every ewe they mate with. Can't see it working here on these ewes, so
:54:33. > :54:37.any green mark you can see is a result of having been mated with the
:54:38. > :54:44.tup. Absolutely no concern was this field whatsoever.
:54:45. > :54:52.Every ram on the farm needs to be checked and the crayon changed every
:54:53. > :54:57.six days. So it's all hands on deck. We're catching a tup each here,
:54:58. > :55:00.because there are three. We will catch one each and there will be one
:55:01. > :55:07.left over. The last person to catch their first tup catches the third
:55:08. > :55:14.one, all right? OK. Hamish started playing rugby, probably at college
:55:15. > :55:16.and he enjoys a good scrap, I think. He's certainly a lot quicker than I
:55:17. > :55:48.am at rugby tackling things. That wasn't very elegant. Are you
:55:49. > :55:54.all right? Hamish was first. I'll catch the second one. This is
:55:55. > :56:00.your typical ram, much smaller than any of the other breeds. Oh,
:56:01. > :56:04.botheration. It is quite remarkable that that ram this size is able to
:56:05. > :56:10.mate ewes that size, because these are big sheep. But the breeders tell
:56:11. > :56:14.me it's amazing what they can do on their tippy toes. There's quite a
:56:15. > :56:18.lot of green on the back ends of these sheep, so something must be
:56:19. > :56:22.working. You chuck me a crayon, please? I don't think they make
:56:23. > :56:29.harnesses small enough for these sheep. Oh, gosh, bad breath too.
:56:30. > :56:34.Two down one to go. Hamish is only too happy to test his rugby skills a
:56:35. > :56:38.second time. We just have to wait until lambing
:56:39. > :56:46.to see if all our weeks of hard work have paid off.
:56:47. > :56:51.I tell you what, I am impressed by your ram wrangling skills. You're
:56:52. > :56:55.both so strong. Those rams, it's like trying to
:56:56. > :57:03.catch a greased pig. There's no hair to hang onto. Brilliant. We are back
:57:04. > :57:09.in the main shed. Frustratingly, there's lots showing little signs.
:57:10. > :57:13.Quite a few look fairly imminent, but it will have to go some in the
:57:14. > :57:16.next three minutes to see any live this evening, I'm afraid. Some
:57:17. > :57:20.little lambs are looking very sleepy, the orphan lambed, that are
:57:21. > :57:26.curled up looking absolutely adorable in a great big pile. We
:57:27. > :57:31.will be here throughout the night, so we won't miss anything. You will
:57:32. > :57:35.see all the action from the lambing shed if you join us again tomorrow
:57:36. > :57:39.night. We've also got some lovely other stories for you, including
:57:40. > :57:45.we're going to meet the Dykes' cattle and finding out whether their
:57:46. > :57:51.bulls made the grade at the cattle sale. I'll be in search for the
:57:52. > :57:57.elusive ancestors of all British sheep. And I have a go at curling.
:57:58. > :58:04.All I can say is that if I had been on the team at Sochi, things would
:58:05. > :58:10.have been very different indeed. I have no dignity left at all.
:58:11. > :58:15.That was hopeless. It was a little hopeless. All I can say is just try
:58:16. > :58:20.it. It was exhausting! We will be back here at 8pm tomorrow night, as
:58:21. > :58:23.I say, we won't be leaving the shed. So you'll be assured of plenty of
:58:24. > :58:26.action. We look forward to seeing you then. A very good night.
:58:27. > :58:30.Bye. Good night. Bye.