:00:00. > :00:10.Welcome to the Dykes' farm here in the Scottish Borders south of
:00:11. > :00:15.Edinburgh. We are here at the busiest and the most exciting time
:00:16. > :00:55.in the sheep farming calendar. This is Lambing Live.
:00:56. > :01:02.Isn't that just the most glorious sight? Lots of content,
:01:03. > :01:08.heavily-pregnant ewes altogether in the shed, all looking very relaxed,
:01:09. > :01:19.some munching, lots lying down. But come with me because there is some
:01:20. > :01:24.action going on in this corner. Hamish Dykes runs this farm with his
:01:25. > :01:29.wife Susie. And his Dad, John. We will be meeting Susie and John
:01:30. > :01:34.later. Good evening. Hi. I was saying it is a real scene of
:01:35. > :01:39.tranquillity? Yes. It is blissful when they are all lying down
:01:40. > :01:43.sleeping. But you have got your eye on a ewe just in the back here. If
:01:44. > :01:48.you were watching yesterday, we did give you some hints to what to look
:01:49. > :01:53.for when a ewe is in labour. What's telling you that this ewe is close
:01:54. > :01:58.to giving birth? Well, that one lying down there, you can see her
:01:59. > :02:04.tail wagging. She is almost going into contractions. She is quite well
:02:05. > :02:08.on. In fact, the water bag has popped out so the lamb must be
:02:09. > :02:12.close. She's scanned for three. She'll have to be lambed one way or
:02:13. > :02:17.another within the next hour. Just in the last few minutes, this one
:02:18. > :02:20.here is starting to show signs. The one closest to us with the white
:02:21. > :02:26.face and the speckles around her eye? Yes. This one here is also
:02:27. > :02:34.thinking about it. I have another one in the corner. We have four
:02:35. > :02:38.sheep in this corner all look like they could lamb. You mentioned
:02:39. > :02:44.scanning. We will be finding out more about that process later. Now,
:02:45. > :02:49.you have a mixture of experienced mums and newer mums in this shed?
:02:50. > :02:55.Yes, that's right. And I suppose in an ideal world, you want them to
:02:56. > :02:59.lamb without any intervention? Well, that's right. You don't want to
:03:00. > :03:06.interfere unless it is necessary. Yeah. Well, we have somebody called
:03:07. > :03:11.Alastair who comes in during the night and he takes over from you,
:03:12. > :03:14.doesn't he, to check the lambs? You do need to check on the ewes
:03:15. > :03:18.throughout the night as well? If you bring them into the shed like this,
:03:19. > :03:24.yes, you do have to be monitoring them. Alastair witnessed this, which
:03:25. > :03:28.is a textbook natural birth? Yes, perfect. She spat that out all by
:03:29. > :03:33.herself. Shortly, she will come round and look after it. So, he knew
:03:34. > :03:38.that that was all going well, there was nothing that he needed to do to
:03:39. > :03:43.go in and interfere? Experience tells you, if you are looking at the
:03:44. > :03:47.sheep in the shed, you know when they are going into labour and you
:03:48. > :03:53.know how long they need and you see the feet and the nose appear. I
:03:54. > :03:59.think the most remarkable thing of all is so quickly - immediately
:04:00. > :04:04.after the birth, this happens, this amazing - it is bonding behaviour,
:04:05. > :04:08.is it? Yes, it's just the natural mothering instincts of the ewe. She
:04:09. > :04:13.immediately turns round and starts licking the lamb. Is the licking,
:04:14. > :04:18.does it serve more of a purpose than cleaning the lamb up? Absolutely.
:04:19. > :04:24.The licking is a very important stimulus for the newborn lamb. As
:04:25. > :04:27.soon as it feels the rough tongue, that promotes the lamb to start
:04:28. > :04:33.moving itself and coughing and clearing its lungs. I don't think I
:04:34. > :04:37.will ever be - I will stop being amazed at how quick they get to
:04:38. > :04:42.their feet? They get to their feet within minutes and they are looking
:04:43. > :04:49.for the teat. Now, there was another birth last night that Alastair did
:04:50. > :04:53.need to intervene in. Do we know why this one he felt that he needed to
:04:54. > :04:59.help? Well, I have no idea. I wasn't there. I was in The Land of Nod! He
:05:00. > :05:03.must have felt she was lambing for too long. It is a big lamb. It looks
:05:04. > :05:08.completely lifeless. Is he trying to get the heart going? Yeah,
:05:09. > :05:12.basically. It is a bit more stimulation than maybe a tongue
:05:13. > :05:17.would give. Not much success. So he is giving it a wee swing. That looks
:05:18. > :05:21.brutal? It gets the fluid moving out of the lungs and it helps to get the
:05:22. > :05:30.lamb to cough. Now, what is he doing? A bit of straw up the nose.
:05:31. > :05:39.There you go, the lamb sneezes and we have life. That is incredible.
:05:40. > :05:47.So, that looked pretty rough. But is that sometimes what is required,
:05:48. > :05:54.just to get them going? Yeah, absolutely. Well, did that little
:05:55. > :05:57.lamb survive that rough treatment? Adam and Susie can reveal all.
:05:58. > :06:11.Here it is. Still alive. Doing well. And its twin sister is over there.
:06:12. > :06:16.Let's give it back to its mum. Good old, Alastair. Now, Susie, it seems
:06:17. > :06:24.to be going quite smoothly. They seem content. Lots of our viewers
:06:25. > :06:28.have been e-mailing in, lambinglive@bbc.co.uk - remember
:06:29. > :06:33.that one - and lots of people have been asking do sheep have umbilical
:06:34. > :06:39.cords. Of course they do. Yes, they need an umbilical cord like a human
:06:40. > :06:43.baby does. It carries oxygen and blood supply, everything the foetus
:06:44. > :06:48.needs to grow. We have a bit of footage of a ewe giving birth. We
:06:49. > :06:52.can see the umbilical cord breaking. You can understand why people were
:06:53. > :06:58.confused. There it is, hanging from the ewe. As she walks away, it
:06:59. > :07:02.stretches and severs? Yes. We can slow that right down and there it
:07:03. > :07:09.is. You can see the umbilical cord. Yes. Of course, once they are a few
:07:10. > :07:18.days old - do you want to grab a lamb - here we are. Now, there is
:07:19. > :07:25.the little umbilical cord. We put iodine on it - mainly, it is quite
:07:26. > :07:32.fleshy and it is an open route for infection to get in. There we are,
:07:33. > :07:36.it dries up into a tiny twig. That breaks off and leaves its
:07:37. > :07:40.bellybutton. Yes. That is where we were attached to our mothers when we
:07:41. > :07:49.were inside her! We have been very busy following the Dykes family for
:07:50. > :07:52.the last six months. And as well as sheep, the Dykes also breed and sell
:07:53. > :08:00.pedigree cattle. October was a particularly important month for
:08:01. > :08:04.them. Soon it will be time to bring our
:08:05. > :08:08.cattle in for the winter but, for now, our pedigree Simmental herd
:08:09. > :08:12.graze alongside our sheep. In just a few days, John and Hamish will be
:08:13. > :08:18.taking three of our bulls to the sales at Stirling. This is Dazzler
:08:19. > :08:21.and Del Boy in the middle and Dandy is the dark-coloured bull who's the
:08:22. > :08:28.youngest one. John takes great pride in getting the bulls to look their
:08:29. > :08:36.best. I'm giving him a good comb, trying to make them as wide and as
:08:37. > :08:43.level as possible. The boys have set up a bull barber shop. If you take
:08:44. > :08:55.too much off, you can't put it back on again. Everybody tries to make
:08:56. > :08:59.their animals look as well as they possibly can. If you took these in
:09:00. > :09:09.their working clothes, they wouldn't look as well as the rest. It is like
:09:10. > :09:13.selling cars. You know what it's like when you've had a haircut you
:09:14. > :09:24.can't wait to get home and wash all the wee cut bits out. Attaboy, good
:09:25. > :09:30.lad. He'll never admit it, but John has high hopes for his next customer
:09:31. > :09:34.- Del Boy. This is the best one, but it really boils down to the price
:09:35. > :09:38.you can get for him at the end of the day. So until the money's in the
:09:39. > :09:46.bank you never know. But looks aren't everything. The bulls also
:09:47. > :09:51.need to be well behaved. This one's just a wee bit more nervous than the
:09:52. > :09:57.other two, so we've got to lasso him so we can get closer to him. That
:09:58. > :10:01.makes it a bit safer now to get the halter on him now and just remind
:10:02. > :10:05.him who the boss is. Getting ready for the sales is a family affair -
:10:06. > :10:11.it's always Kate's job to polish the show harnesses. What I can never
:10:12. > :10:15.understand is how one bull can make 30,000, another bull can just make
:10:16. > :10:22.3,000 and to me they all just look a lot the same.
:10:23. > :10:33.Stirling Bull Sale - one of the biggest days in our year. Well done
:10:34. > :10:37.Brian, g'day. For John, the sales are the moment of truth. Cattle are
:10:38. > :10:43.a big part of our income and, no matter how good you think they are,
:10:44. > :10:46.you never know how well they'll do. Sometimes I wonder why they put
:10:47. > :10:50.themselves through it because it's the same every time. Believe you me
:10:51. > :10:56.I've lived with him for 45 years. The bulls are shown before they are
:10:57. > :11:01.sold. Hamish is tasked with parading John's favourite - Del Boy. We've
:11:02. > :11:04.higher hopes for this one than we have for some of our previous bulls
:11:05. > :11:14.so there's probably more anxiety in that situation than there would be
:11:15. > :11:18.with a straightforward average bull. There's a lot of good bulls in this
:11:19. > :11:27.class so we'll see how it finishes up. It's a nervous wait but Del Boy
:11:28. > :11:39.wins his class. Wooh, first prize, fantastic, couldn't ask for better.
:11:40. > :11:44.He was first. He was very good. When you win it gives you that wee boost,
:11:45. > :11:47.gives you a bit of enthusiasm to keep going a bit longer. But John's
:11:48. > :11:54.years of experience have taught him that a rosette will mean nothing if
:11:55. > :11:58.the bulls don't sell at auction. There is always something you can
:11:59. > :12:03.make better. It helps to calm the nerves if you are doing something.
:12:04. > :12:12.First in the ring is Dazzler, who achieves a good price of 3,000
:12:13. > :12:18.guineas. Dykes sale, 3,000, 3,000... But there is disappointment as young
:12:19. > :12:23.Dandy fails to meet his reserve. 28, 28, we'll leave it unsold at 28...
:12:24. > :12:30.All hopes rest on prize-winning Del Boy. Now from the Dykes family, Del
:12:31. > :12:38.Boy. Mother is the best cow in the herd, a real meat machine there. The
:12:39. > :12:43.auctioneer is working the crowd. 44, 45... Scoring a record result for
:12:44. > :12:52.John of 10,500 guineas - just over ?11,000. At 10,500, 10,500... I was
:12:53. > :12:59.very pleased. I was waiting for John to smile actually but it didn't
:13:00. > :13:03.come. Quite happy with the prices we got for the two bulls we sold. It
:13:04. > :13:07.would have been nice to have sold all three of them but that's the
:13:08. > :13:11.luck of the draw. We are better off than a lot of people. Highest priced
:13:12. > :13:16.bull to date so we are happy. You must have been very proud that
:13:17. > :13:20.day at the cattle sale? It was fantastic to get a good price like
:13:21. > :13:27.that. It was very nice. Magnificent animals. Now, what Hamish and I have
:13:28. > :13:34.been watching is really - it is like a school demonstration of lambing
:13:35. > :13:38.signs, isn't it, really? Do you think she is close? I think they are
:13:39. > :13:44.both close, in fact. There's three that are quite close - and four -
:13:45. > :13:49.this one here. If you are ready to take bets on who shall drop first?
:13:50. > :13:56.Will you shout if I need to... I will shout. I will have a quick scan
:13:57. > :14:02.of the shed. I want to catch up with John Dykes, Hamish's father. Again,
:14:03. > :14:07.I mean, Hamish said it was a proud day at the bull sale. You looked
:14:08. > :14:12.delighted and rightly so? I was very pleased, yes, the best price we have
:14:13. > :14:19.had to date. That's always a step in the right direction. Did Del Boy, he
:14:20. > :14:22.was born here, did he always show promise, did he always - did you
:14:23. > :14:28.always think he might be a champion? He was always a good calf and he
:14:29. > :14:32.kept thriving all his life. What is it about - when you look at a calf,
:14:33. > :14:40.what is it that tells you it is going to be a good one? Just the
:14:41. > :14:46.size and the width, just the general shape of them. It's something you
:14:47. > :14:50.pick up if you breed livestock. The day they are born, you can often see
:14:51. > :14:55.when a good one is going to turn out the right way. I mean, you obviously
:14:56. > :14:59.love your blue-faced Leicesters that we met on the programme yesterday.
:15:00. > :15:05.Just seeing you with the cattle, I don't know, are you a sheep man or a
:15:06. > :15:09.cattle man? Well, I think I was - I have probably always been both.
:15:10. > :15:12.Hamish is keener on the sheep than the cattle. So I take more
:15:13. > :15:18.responsibility for the cattle in the last wee while. Right. You certainly
:15:19. > :15:41.do a fantastic job. It's not just the sheep that are
:15:42. > :15:48.bred here on the farm as John said. Adam joined Gillian this morning to
:15:49. > :15:54.see if the heifers are in calf. We are scanning these cows to see
:15:55. > :15:56.whether they are in calf or not. For John and the Dykes family, this is
:15:57. > :16:02.very important. You don't want to feed a cow all through the spring
:16:03. > :16:04.and summer months if she is not pregnant. These will go for beef if
:16:05. > :16:13.they are empty. When you are scanning sheep, you use
:16:14. > :16:18.a scanner outside the body on the belly of the animal. Cattle, being
:16:19. > :16:27.so huge, the easiest way to scan them is through the rectal passage.
:16:28. > :16:32.17 weeks. 17 weeks in calf. What Gillian is doing here is putting her
:16:33. > :16:38.arm into the rectum of the cow with a scanner in her hand and she is
:16:39. > :16:44.putting it right over so she can see into the uterus of the cow and an
:16:45. > :16:50.image comes up on her goggles. What Gillian is looking at is coming on
:16:51. > :16:54.to this screen here. There is a mixture of greys and blacks and
:16:55. > :16:59.stripes and lumps and bumps. Gillian is skilful at determining what that
:17:00. > :17:05.is and occasionally I can make out a skull or a few ribs. It's a skilled
:17:06. > :17:17.job and she can tell exactly how many weeks in calf this cow is. 16
:17:18. > :17:20.weeks. To me, it is all a bit gobbledegook, really.
:17:21. > :17:24.They had some great results this morning. All the heifers, apart from
:17:25. > :17:31.one, proved to be in calf. So there will be lots of young bulls and
:17:32. > :17:37.calves running around the farm hopefully in the autumn. Let's go
:17:38. > :17:46.back and check on how our lambing is going. What news, Hamish? Well,
:17:47. > :17:51.there's nothing popped out just yet. They are certainly giving it a lot
:17:52. > :18:02.of action. Yeah, I still wouldn't like to put money as to which one
:18:03. > :18:08.will go first! Let's cast our minds back to one of the toughest winters
:18:09. > :18:13.in living memory. A winter is always a difficult time for farmers and
:18:14. > :18:15.this winter has been one of extremes for farmers up-and-down the country
:18:16. > :18:32.including the Dykes. The familiar call of geese overhead
:18:33. > :18:37.heralds the start of winter. They have come to roost on the reservoir
:18:38. > :18:42.above the farm. Like the geese, Hamish is up before dawn, but it is
:18:43. > :18:46.not always easy when the days get shorter. There is a big part of you
:18:47. > :18:51.that does want to stay in bed. When you have the cattle in the sheds,
:18:52. > :18:55.you get up, turn the lights on and get the work done. We have brought
:18:56. > :18:59.the cattle in for the winter. It is quite nice coming into the warm
:19:00. > :19:10.cattle sheds and you can get on with your work and you are protected from
:19:11. > :19:19.the elements. The cattle need to be fed twice a day. This is what the
:19:20. > :19:20.cows eat. It is dried grass and it smells quite nice when you get used
:19:21. > :19:36.to it! Most of our flock stays outside in
:19:37. > :19:40.all weathers. Our blue-faced Leicesters aren't built for a long,
:19:41. > :19:44.Scottish winter. They are not as hardy as the hill breeds. They do
:19:45. > :19:47.need a bit more attention. You would winter them outside. You have to be
:19:48. > :19:52.very good to them. They would eat just as much outside. If they are
:19:53. > :19:56.not inside, they are not subject to the vagaries of the weather. It is
:19:57. > :20:04.time for John to bring them into the shed. Get on. These will stay in
:20:05. > :20:11.from now until probably late February. The winter has been mild
:20:12. > :20:17.so far, but it carries a sting in its tail. Like the rest of the
:20:18. > :20:27.country, we are battered by the December storms. Tonight on
:20:28. > :20:34.Reporting Scotland... We wake up to find the gales have left a trail of
:20:35. > :20:38.destruction. When I went to let the dog out the house this morning, the
:20:39. > :20:42.first thing I saw was a ferret bouncing around. The lid lifted off
:20:43. > :20:47.the ferret hut and it smashed through the fence. I think the
:20:48. > :20:52.ferrets have paid a visit to the hens as well, so we are not going to
:20:53. > :21:00.get anymore eggs from them now. The damage doesn't stop there. I heard
:21:01. > :21:05.this mighty crack and this tree had come down. One of our older trees
:21:06. > :21:10.has come down near the house, smashing through Jess' kennel. She
:21:11. > :21:15.was inside at the time. If she had been sat outside, she would have got
:21:16. > :21:19.squashed. Just sort of missed the diesel tank a bit as well. So we are
:21:20. > :21:29.probably quite fortunate that it has not done more damage. It could have
:21:30. > :21:33.been a different story. If Hamish had been letting the dogs out, or
:21:34. > :21:38.the children had gone to let the dogs out, it doesn't bear thinking
:21:39. > :21:40.about. It happens, you hear of these horrible things that do happen and
:21:41. > :21:58.how lucky we were. Good boy! This tree is going to keep us warm
:21:59. > :22:04.for a winter or so I would hope. The clean-up is one more job to add to
:22:05. > :22:07.the list of chores and it doesn't help when the power goes out -
:22:08. > :22:10.something we have to deal with quite often in winter. We can use the
:22:11. > :22:14.shed, but we can't see what we are doing because there is no power. The
:22:15. > :22:19.next job is to go through these lambs, but it is getting a bit dark
:22:20. > :22:27.now. It's gone 4.00pm. So I could do with power back on so I can get on
:22:28. > :22:36.with the job. Hamish is sorting the lambs for market in total darkness.
:22:37. > :22:44.She brings light! I have to get on with it. This isn't the end of the
:22:45. > :22:48.world working by torch light. It is not a lot of fun sitting in a cold
:22:49. > :22:51.house in the dark. If we can light the fire and boil a kettle or
:22:52. > :23:00.something, it makes it more bearable. Get these to the children
:23:01. > :23:07.and make my housewarm! -- my house warm! OK? Thank you, Sir. You are
:23:08. > :23:18.welcome! LAUGHTER
:23:19. > :23:23.That will keep you warmer. A tough winter? It was a tough
:23:24. > :23:30.winter, yeah. It was wet. It was wet. Wet was the word. Spring is now
:23:31. > :23:36.here. And as if to reiterate that, look what happened just moments ago.
:23:37. > :23:40.So, as you predicted, Hamish, our first lamb of the night. You
:23:41. > :23:45.wouldn't put any money on when it would happen. There it is. This ewe
:23:46. > :23:50.- how many is she expecting? She has no mark on her back, so she's
:23:51. > :23:55.scanned for two. So, she will be giving birth to another one? I would
:23:56. > :23:59.think so. Going by the speed of the first, I think the second one will
:24:00. > :24:05.come out quite quickly. Now, we have got a situation developing here. The
:24:06. > :24:10.other ewe that was also displaying signs of labour seems to be coming
:24:11. > :24:14.up and licking at the water bag? Yes, I think if she was at the other
:24:15. > :24:18.end of the ewe, she would be licking the lamb. So, this is a classic
:24:19. > :24:22.situation whereby you would want to try and keep things from getting
:24:23. > :24:28.muddled up by monitoring it. We will be talking a bit about that
:24:29. > :24:36.situation, that pinching a bit later. We will be keeping an eye on
:24:37. > :24:38.her. That is our first Lambing Live lamb.
:24:39. > :24:47.It is all kicking off. We have four over there. They are altogether in
:24:48. > :24:52.the corner! We have had lots of people writing in asking about these
:24:53. > :24:58.pink cards. What are they? These are BBC pink cards. They are nothing to
:24:59. > :25:02.do with us at all. The researchers need to know where the lambs that
:25:03. > :25:07.have been born through the night are, where they are destined to go,
:25:08. > :25:11.what their names are and how they were born, if there were any issues,
:25:12. > :25:15.so they write it down. Like notes at the end of a hospital bed. Is this
:25:16. > :25:22.something you might adopt when we have gone? No. They move through the
:25:23. > :25:27.pens so quickly. We have what is looking like a bit of mismothering
:25:28. > :25:31.over there? Yes. Last night, we had some of the same problems, so let's
:25:32. > :25:35.take a look at what went on. When the ewes are lambing altogether in
:25:36. > :25:41.the corner of a pen, this ewe is licking the lamb, her own lamb, and
:25:42. > :25:48.then the mule has gone in to lick it as well. So, she doesn't want to get
:25:49. > :25:52.on with it? She's - the mule is - she is probably going to come into
:25:53. > :25:58.labour herself fairly soon. The hormones are kicking in. She's got
:25:59. > :26:03.to get down and push? Yes, she has to get on with it. Too posh to push!
:26:04. > :26:08.In this situation, when you have lots of ewes all in the corner,
:26:09. > :26:11.that's when you need to step in? Definitely. That is why we have
:26:12. > :26:16.somebody up through the night with them. There's so many in there, that
:26:17. > :26:22.is bound to happen. Hamish is over there now and he's trying to sort
:26:23. > :26:26.out those ewes with Kate. They are moving the ewe into the pen so that
:26:27. > :26:32.she is safe to lie down. She's scanned for trip lets? Twins. There
:26:33. > :26:37.she is. She's gone into the pen now. Now she can lie down in the peace
:26:38. > :26:49.and comfort without being troubled by the other sheep. The Dykes also
:26:50. > :26:53.ultrasound their sheep so they know how many lambs to expect from each
:26:54. > :27:01.ewe. Early in the New Year, Kate joined Susie and Hamish to see how
:27:02. > :27:05.many lambs were on their way. A cold, dark January morning and the
:27:06. > :27:09.shed has been transformed into a waiting room for what Hamish hopes
:27:10. > :27:14.are some very expectant mothers. Some of them look like they're about
:27:15. > :27:18.to pop now. Today the Dykes are scanning 619 of
:27:19. > :27:22.their 1,000 ewes and everyone has to muck in. Blue for one lamb, twins
:27:23. > :27:25.get no mark, triplets have a red mark and god forbid there's four,
:27:26. > :27:32.they'll get two red dots on the shoulders.
:27:33. > :27:37.Scanner Stuart Wright uses ultrasound to find out exactly how
:27:38. > :27:46.many lambs each ewe is carrying. Three. So that's the red mark, isn't
:27:47. > :27:51.it? Yes. One. Every sheep is then marked with a thick oily paint so
:27:52. > :27:55.everyone knows what to expect. One. It's a big day because this is when
:27:56. > :28:00.the Dykes find out if their rams have been up to the job. These ewes
:28:01. > :28:05.have been out with the tup that was bought at Kelso tup sales. Oh right,
:28:06. > :28:10.OK. Three. Well, he's done quite a good job by the looks of things.
:28:11. > :28:17.Yes, he has. Almost too good a job. Three. For most farmers, two is the
:28:18. > :28:20.magic number. They'd like every ewe to be carrying twins because that's
:28:21. > :28:26.all they can suckle. We're having a few triplets here just now. Three. I
:28:27. > :28:36.can see a lot of bottle-feeding. No, no, no, we have a machine, we don't
:28:37. > :28:39.do bottle-feeding. Being a professional scanner is about speed
:28:40. > :28:42.and accuracy and it takes Stuart just five seconds to scan each ewe.
:28:43. > :28:48.He's foolishly offered me a go. Where do you actually put it?
:28:49. > :28:53.There's a bit of skin just to the side of the teats on the yow. Right.
:28:54. > :28:57.You need to get a good contact on the skin and then the picture should
:28:58. > :29:01.come up. Ah, it's not easy, is it? I don't even know if I'm in the right
:29:02. > :29:05.place. I might be up a leg or something. Well you know where the
:29:06. > :29:09.udder is, if you go to the far side... Roll away to your right. Oh
:29:10. > :29:14.we've lost picture. See the lambs are down here... Have you done this,
:29:15. > :29:18.Susie? No. I don't recommend it. Hang on. I think I've found
:29:19. > :29:24.something. Goodness knows whether they're a lamb or not. I'd say is
:29:25. > :29:29.that one there? No. No? There's one to the right and there's one to the
:29:30. > :29:33.left. That's the head. Oh there! And then as we go to the right you can
:29:34. > :29:37.see another body and head to the right. Right, now the lambs are no
:29:38. > :29:41.bigger than plums - it's no wonder that I'm struggling to make head or
:29:42. > :29:46.tail of what I'm seeing. It could be anything at all? It really could be.
:29:47. > :29:52.Impossible. Absolutely impossible. That's the thanks I get. You've been
:29:53. > :29:58.pooed on. That's why I have the glove on. Yeah, I know. Thanks for
:29:59. > :30:02.lending me that glove. My skills as a scanner may be
:30:03. > :30:08.dubious but I'm more worried about my badger-face rams. It's time to
:30:09. > :30:11.scan the 150 "hogs" or young first-time mums that they've been
:30:12. > :30:17.mating with. So we'll fire them up and see how they go. Eek. I feel
:30:18. > :30:21.very, very, responsible for the outcome of these. I may have to slip
:30:22. > :30:27.Stuart a tenner just to up the percentage a little bit. With these
:30:28. > :30:31.younger sheep, Hamish wants just one lamb each, something to give them a
:30:32. > :30:41.gentle introduction to motherhood. Empty. Empty. Empty. Oh, this isn't
:30:42. > :30:49.good, we've have three empties in a row. But much to my relief the
:30:50. > :30:55.numbers start to pick up. Two. Twins? Yes. He shoots, he scores!
:30:56. > :30:58.What would you like to see? We probably want just over 100%. We
:30:59. > :31:02.want one lamb per hog. So somewhere just over the 100% would be lovely.
:31:03. > :31:13.Stuart, can you reveal the percentage? 116%. Yes! Oh, I'm
:31:14. > :31:19.really relieved. Are you proud? I am. I want to go out and have a
:31:20. > :31:22.little word with them. Pat them on the back. All together we've scanned
:31:23. > :31:28.619 of the Dykes' sheep. There are 134 with one lamb. 332 sets of
:31:29. > :31:38.twins. 112 expecting triplets. And four ewes with quads inside. That's
:31:39. > :31:40.1,150 lambs total. So, come end of March, we'll hopefully have some
:31:41. > :31:46.nice lambs as well. Nature's done her bit - it's down to us now. We
:31:47. > :31:50.get lots with lovely black eyebrows and I know my boys have done their
:31:51. > :31:58.job well. We'll go round painting mascara on them when no-one's
:31:59. > :32:06.looking. Exactly. It is oftenly lovely to know that
:32:07. > :32:09.your ewes are in lamb, but is scanning more useful than that? How
:32:10. > :32:13.do you use that information? The scan is very important. Right from
:32:14. > :32:17.the point that you know what's in them, if they are empty, you can get
:32:18. > :32:20.rid of them. If they have got one, you don't feed them too hard. If
:32:21. > :32:24.they have got three, you need to look after them a lot better. Let's
:32:25. > :32:31.give our viewers a bit of a test now. We are going to go to our
:32:32. > :32:35.sheep-cam. There you are. You are seeing a lovely shot there. Let's
:32:36. > :32:46.remind everybody, red spot was for? Red spot for three. And blue spot?
:32:47. > :32:52.One. If they have no spot? Two lambs. That is a fantastic shot. So,
:32:53. > :32:59.when they go into labour, as this - we have got a plethora of births
:33:00. > :33:04.happening around us this evening. And, again, that helps you know what
:33:05. > :33:09.to expect so our first Lambing Live lamb, she is expecting another lamb,
:33:10. > :33:16.she has no other dots on her back? I think she is going to squeeze it out
:33:17. > :33:23.pretty shortly. OK. It is imminent. We have a camera on her. Hopefully,
:33:24. > :33:28.we will catch the moment. We have been having some questions from our
:33:29. > :33:32.audience. They have been e-mailing in to lambinglive@bbc.co.uk - you
:33:33. > :33:37.can do the same thing. Lots of people are fascinated by the idea of
:33:38. > :33:43.adoption. Scanning really helps with the idea of adopting. Can you
:33:44. > :33:48.explain that? Yes, ideally, we get two lambs on to every ewe. If we see
:33:49. > :33:52.one with a blue dot, which is a single having a lamb, we take a
:33:53. > :33:55.spare lamb which would be a triplet and rub it into the fluids, the
:33:56. > :34:02.lambing fluids and make that ewe think she's got two lambs. We can
:34:03. > :34:06.show you that process. Gillian did exactly that with Susie this
:34:07. > :34:11.morning, so we can see that there is a lamb emerging now and this is the
:34:12. > :34:16.lamb that Gillian's brought in, that was a triplet that was born earlier?
:34:17. > :34:23.That's right. It oo es a big single. It's a big lamb. So, she is making
:34:24. > :34:27.the lamb all wet -- it's a big single. It's a big lamb. So, she is
:34:28. > :34:32.making the lamb all wet. Does that mean it will smell the same as the
:34:33. > :34:35.ewe's own lamb? The smell is very important. The fact that it is wet
:34:36. > :34:39.is important as well. If it was a dry lamb, she wouldn't believe it.
:34:40. > :34:47.If you walk this way, we can do two things at once. We can see how our
:34:48. > :34:52.ewe is doing. But in here, this is the adopted lamb and the natural
:34:53. > :34:56.lamb. That's correct. So, that giant one I'm assuming is the natural
:34:57. > :35:02.lamb? You would be right there. The big single is the big one. The
:35:03. > :35:06.little triplet would be the twin... Looking completely comfortable?
:35:07. > :35:10.Absolutely. No problem at all. That helps you out because you are not
:35:11. > :35:14.having to feed that triplet, a mum is doing it for you? Exactly. That
:35:15. > :35:19.triplet would be sold to somebody else who is needing it if we didn't
:35:20. > :35:25.do that. James has e-mailed us to see if there was any other way of
:35:26. > :35:29.adopting. We can show you - I think this is a fascinating way of doing
:35:30. > :35:33.it. Can you explain what Gillian is doing here? We had a hog, which is a
:35:34. > :35:38.first-time lamber and she didn't manage to have the lamb safely and
:35:39. > :35:45.the lamb was hung and dead. So one hog with a dead lamb, you skin the
:35:46. > :35:49.dead lamb and put the skin like a jacket over the spare lamb and the
:35:50. > :35:54.skin is on there for 12 hours, 24 hours and she thinks it is her lamb.
:35:55. > :35:59.Again, it is the skin, the scent of her lamb that allows her to think
:36:00. > :36:06.that a lamb that isn't hers, allows her to accept a lamb that isn't
:36:07. > :36:10.hers? Exactly. We can go down to this next pen and that's the adopted
:36:11. > :36:17.lamb there? That's the adopted lamb there. This is one-year-old sheep.
:36:18. > :36:22.She's very happy and calm. No skin on it now? No, the skin doesn't have
:36:23. > :36:27.to stay on for much more than 12 hours, 24 hours maximum. That is
:36:28. > :36:32.brilliant. Well, as you can see, if we look at our ewe here, what do you
:36:33. > :36:38.think, do you think she needs a bit of help? I don't think so. There is
:36:39. > :36:45.a water bag there. The lamb will pop out fairly soon. OK. We will leave
:36:46. > :36:50.her in peace for the time being. Tim Webster e-mailed us and asked why
:36:51. > :37:02.farmers ha different breeds of sheep on their farms. Adam explains. This
:37:03. > :37:07.is what sheep farming is all about. This one, although it looks lovely
:37:08. > :37:12.and cute, is destined for the table, for eating. In 14 to 16 weeks, it
:37:13. > :37:16.will be known as a prime lamb, it will be about 40 kilos and it will
:37:17. > :37:21.get there partly because of the wonderful milk that it gets from its
:37:22. > :37:24.mother and the grass that it eats so the nurture, but mainly it is down
:37:25. > :37:32.to nature. It is down to the genetics, the parentage. Its mum and
:37:33. > :37:36.dad. Come on, little one! To get this prime lamb, farmers carefully
:37:37. > :37:41.select the different traits they want from different breeds of sheep.
:37:42. > :37:47.That means a complicated family tree. Granddad is the blue-faced
:37:48. > :37:52.Leicester. This breed produces lots of twins and triplets each year.
:37:53. > :37:56.Both attributes that farmers are keen on because more lambs equal
:37:57. > :38:01.more profit. The blue-faced Leicester is delicate and usually
:38:02. > :38:05.has to lamb indoors, so to get that ideal combination of lots of lambs,
:38:06. > :38:08.but with a bit more hardiness, farmers breed the blue-faced
:38:09. > :38:14.Leicester with something else. Here on the Dykes' farm, they use the
:38:15. > :38:18.Scottish black-face. So this is grandma, she is the grandmother of
:38:19. > :38:22.that prime lamb that is going to go for eating. She is tough, she is a
:38:23. > :38:26.survivor. She can live in the Scottish mountains all year-round.
:38:27. > :38:31.She's a wonderful mother, so when the lambs are born, they are up on
:38:32. > :38:38.their feet and they get up like a gazelle, she is at the top of the
:38:39. > :38:47.tree. Very important. The genes combine to create the perfect sheep
:38:48. > :38:51.mum. The mum is so important and here she is. She's known as a mule,
:38:52. > :38:57.she is the most popular lowland ewe there is. With amazing attributes.
:38:58. > :39:01.You can hear her calling to her lambs, wonderful maternal instincts.
:39:02. > :39:06.And her physique is great. Just perfect for carrying two really
:39:07. > :39:11.good-sized lambs in her womb. She can give birth to them with ease and
:39:12. > :39:17.then mother them well. Underneath is important, too. I will sit her down.
:39:18. > :39:22.Look at that. A good-size udder. Brilliant with rich, good quality
:39:23. > :39:31.milk. A wonderful girl. The ultimate mum. She needs a good dad for her
:39:32. > :39:35.lambs. Farmers use big meaty breeds to ensure their offspring are
:39:36. > :39:41.chunky. This complex system of breeding has proven results. Perfect
:39:42. > :39:45.prime lambs. Some sheep farmers only produce lambs for eating. Others
:39:46. > :39:50.specialise in pedigree animals for breeding and some do a mix of
:39:51. > :39:55.everything. What is great here on the Dykes' farm is they have the
:39:56. > :39:59.whole system. The hill breeds, the Scottish black-face on the top, then
:40:00. > :40:02.you come down on to the lowlands, you have the blue-faced Leicester
:40:03. > :40:05.that they cross with the Scottish black-face to produce the mule and
:40:06. > :40:08.they keep the mule as well, that ultimate ewe, that they then cross
:40:09. > :40:11.with a meat ram to produce the perfect lamb for the table. They
:40:12. > :40:21.have the lot! There we have it. That is the
:40:22. > :40:26.stratification of the sheep industry. With over 60 breeds in the
:40:27. > :40:30.country, there's lots to choose from. Those sheep in the hills are
:40:31. > :40:35.the beginning and it keeps the men up there farming them and it works
:40:36. > :40:41.all the way down. It is fascinating and it works for
:40:42. > :40:45.all parts of the country. It is good business for everyone?
:40:46. > :40:49.That's right. The black-face at the top of the hill, they are the key to
:40:50. > :40:56.the flock. If we don't get them right, everything else suffers.
:40:57. > :41:02.As we stand, surrounded by ewes, on the cusp of giving birth, we have a
:41:03. > :41:08.couple of questions.ly ask both of you. Johnny -- I will ask both of
:41:09. > :41:14.you. Johnny wants to know how many lambs can a ewe have at any one
:41:15. > :41:21.time? You scanned four for quads this year. Is that normal? It is not
:41:22. > :41:26.normal. It depends on the breed. The blue-faced Leicester breed have
:41:27. > :41:32.more. We had one with five, which is a lot. But, generally, you are
:41:33. > :41:38.looking for two or three. There is a breed which will have a lot of
:41:39. > :41:44.lambs. The record is nine live lambs. Ridiculous! We are getting a
:41:45. > :41:49.few quads. We had one with six this year, which is far more than you
:41:50. > :41:57.need! Absolutely. There is an adoption challenge for you. Are we
:41:58. > :42:07.alright? All quiet? Yes, nothing just yet. We have a whole load of
:42:08. > :42:11.breeds in this country. They have an ancient ancestor and I went off in
:42:12. > :42:23.search of that sheep a few months ago. I've come to Cyprus in the hope
:42:24. > :42:27.of tracking down the elusive Mouflon. This ancient mountain sheep
:42:28. > :42:31.is one of the ancestors of all domestic breeds today. It's found
:42:32. > :42:36.only in the north west of the island - and the Mouflon is one rare breed
:42:37. > :42:39.I've never seen before. So I'm hoping that Nikos Kassinis, from the
:42:40. > :42:43.Cyprus Game and Wildlife Service, will help me track one down.
:42:44. > :42:47.Goodness me, I mean to me it just looks like a big empty landscape.
:42:48. > :42:53.Yes, it's a prime habitat for them, hilly, open, good pastures, not many
:42:54. > :42:59.trees. But there are sheep out there somewhere is there? Yes, yes. You
:43:00. > :43:03.assure me? I've got to see one, I've come a long way!
:43:04. > :43:07.Unlike the sheep I'm used to, the Mouflon are completely wild. They
:43:08. > :43:16.roam free, high up in the hills, hidden from view. Crikey, it's steep
:43:17. > :43:20.isn't it - you need to be a mountain sheep to be able to get about out
:43:21. > :43:24.here. These little tracks here look like sheep tracks, are they made by
:43:25. > :43:27.the Mouflon? Yeah, they usually have the same path that they follow. You
:43:28. > :43:35.can see their pellets. Mouflon droppings. Ah, well we've found the
:43:36. > :43:43.poo, we've just got to find the sheep! There's something moving down
:43:44. > :43:53.there, what's that? Is that them? Yes, definitely. Yes that's a big
:43:54. > :44:01.herd. Wow, amazing. We've spotted them! They're so camouflaged aren't
:44:02. > :44:07.they? Yeah, yeah. Taller than I imagined they would be. Incredible
:44:08. > :44:14.looking creatures. Very primitive. Like a cross between a goat and an
:44:15. > :44:21.antelope and a sheep. I'm a bit of a sheep geek really - getting excited!
:44:22. > :44:25.Mouflon were the first sheep to be domesticated over 10,000 years ago.
:44:26. > :44:30.As they spread from Asia, they were bred with other primitive sheep to
:44:31. > :44:33.create new breeds the world over. But when they were brought to Cyprus
:44:34. > :44:45.8,000 years ago, they quickly ran feral. So it's a primitive Mouflon
:44:46. > :44:48.that still roams here to this day. These animals have been around for
:44:49. > :44:51.thousands of years and domestication and selective breeding has created
:44:52. > :44:54.the big white woolly lumps that we now farm today that are, you know,
:44:55. > :45:01.way removed from these ancient creatures. The Mouflon are like no
:45:02. > :45:07.sheep I've seen before. They're wild and extremely nervy. Even from our
:45:08. > :45:12.position 800m away, they are easily spooked. Where have they gone now?
:45:13. > :45:18.I've lost them again- they're so difficult to see, aren't they, they
:45:19. > :45:24.just blend into the environment. There's a big male next to the red
:45:25. > :45:27.bush. Oh yeah, their horns are huge. Yes, they're massive compared to
:45:28. > :45:33.their bodies. Really big sweeping back horns. Yes, it's like a heart
:45:34. > :45:37.shape. Only the boys have the sickle-shaped horns. And each year
:45:38. > :45:43.these grow bigger and more spectacular. And the males, that
:45:44. > :45:48.amazing saddle they've got on their back it's really distinctive. Yeah,
:45:49. > :45:51.during the breeding season its really obvious there's a really
:45:52. > :45:55.white patch there, now as the season moves on this will fade away, yeah,
:45:56. > :46:01.it won't be visible in the next couple of months. I'm here at the
:46:02. > :46:04.end of the breeding season, so the Mouflon are still gathered on the
:46:05. > :46:11.lower, more open ground. The pregnant ewes usually carry a single
:46:12. > :46:14.lamb. And once they're born around April, the flocks will spread out
:46:15. > :46:19.and head higher into the forests. And where will the Mouflon go to
:46:20. > :46:24.give birth? In steep areas like this and even steeper actually, like
:46:25. > :46:27.little cliffs. And are they quick up the cliff faces, up the mountain?
:46:28. > :46:31.Very, very quick yeah, because that's how they get away from danger
:46:32. > :46:34.really fast. It's interesting in domesticated, sort of modern breeds
:46:35. > :46:39.of sheep, when you're building a pen to work with them, you always build
:46:40. > :46:43.it on a bit of a slope because sheep like to run up hill, so even our big
:46:44. > :46:49.fat bodily things still think, "I need to run uphill".
:46:50. > :46:53.The ewes will hide their newborns on steep slopes, out of danger from
:46:54. > :46:57.predators. Only when they are old enough will they bring their lambs
:46:58. > :47:03.down to join other females in small flocks. For the males, life is a
:47:04. > :47:06.little more solitary. So you've got those few rams together, do they
:47:07. > :47:09.stay separate from the females at this time of year? Yeah, they're not
:47:10. > :47:13.interested anymore in the females, they will create their own bachelor
:47:14. > :47:19.groups, they might feed on the same pasture but then they will move on
:47:20. > :47:24.and create the little groups. The Mouflon once roamed wild all over
:47:25. > :47:29.Cyprus. But after centuries of hunting they were almost extinct by
:47:30. > :47:32.the 1930s. Today they are confined to the Paphos Forest Reserve where
:47:33. > :47:38.3,000 Mouflon are now legally protected. And how long will a
:47:39. > :47:46.Mouflon live for? 12-15 years old maximum. That's pretty old isn't it
:47:47. > :47:49.for a sheep, really. Yes. It's incredible to think that we've got
:47:50. > :47:58.over 60 British breeds of sheep and here I am looking at the granddaddy
:47:59. > :48:08.- the ancestor of the whole lot. Ah, it's just, what a great moment.
:48:09. > :48:14.I am jealous of Adam. We are having our own little sheep miracle
:48:15. > :48:17.happening in front of our eyes. This is the twin lamb of our first
:48:18. > :48:24.Lambing Live lamb and, as you can see, a lovely natural birth. It's
:48:25. > :48:29.just happening now. These are live pictures and Adam is going in so you
:48:30. > :48:34.can get a better view of it. Well done. This ewe is slipping this lamb
:48:35. > :48:40.out. Two front feet and nose. She's having a further contraction as it
:48:41. > :48:46.slides out the umbilical cord breaking naturally. There is the
:48:47. > :48:53.umbilical cord. And there's another lovely little lamb. So I will bring
:48:54. > :48:59.it round to her head and there's her other twin lamb. Two good twins
:49:00. > :49:03.there. Aren't you a lovely lady? Often when a ewe has given birth, it
:49:04. > :49:09.is nice to get them on their feet so they don't get pins and needles.
:49:10. > :49:15.Thanks, Hamish. Lovely. Ah. Two good lambs. That is fantastic news.
:49:16. > :49:20.Absolutely fantastic news. Well done, Adam. Now, I wanted to show
:49:21. > :49:27.you something because not all lambings go entirely according to
:49:28. > :49:36.plan. This box can perform miracles as Gillian demonstrated just
:49:37. > :49:41.yesterday. She came in with a lamb that looks dead. It had hypothermia,
:49:42. > :49:47.it was incredibly cold, it was stiff and she put it into this box and you
:49:48. > :49:54.can see it lying there, looking basically lifeless. Now, this is
:49:55. > :49:59.what's called a hot box. Some farmers will put hypothermic lambs
:50:00. > :50:05.into the bottom of their range ovens. This blows heat through and
:50:06. > :50:10.sometimes that warmth can really perform miracles. Have a look at
:50:11. > :50:16.what happened to that little lamb when Gillian checked on it a few
:50:17. > :50:22.hours later. This is the lamb that came in this morning and now look at
:50:23. > :50:26.it, standing up, not out of the woods yet. It is a lot better, it is
:50:27. > :50:32.warm, it is going back with its mother. So, a fantastic result and I
:50:33. > :50:37.can tell you that that little lamb is now in the nursery and doing
:50:38. > :50:42.really well. It is out with all the other ewes and lambs and yes, isn't
:50:43. > :50:46.it fantastic that a simple contraption like this can make such
:50:47. > :50:51.a difference? And if we open it up - have we got another lamb? We are
:50:52. > :50:59.going to go to Adam. We have another lamb being born as we speak. She
:51:00. > :51:04.slipped that out naturally. And you can see instantly the way this young
:51:05. > :51:11.ewe has just turned round and is now licking that lamb dry. They are born
:51:12. > :51:15.wet and sloppy and that instinct is to talk to it, lick it dry,
:51:16. > :51:19.encourage it to its feet. It is seconds old and it's got its head up
:51:20. > :51:27.and breathing. That lamb is desperately wanting to get to the
:51:28. > :51:35.first milk. I will let them settle. Surrounded by lambs. Now, there are
:51:36. > :51:41.times, hard though it may be, that farmers do like to relax a little
:51:42. > :51:46.bit. You may remember that curling became the sport of the moment when
:51:47. > :51:52.the British Olympic team won the gold medal in 2002. In this part of
:51:53. > :52:06.the world, curling has always been really popular. The Dykes' family
:52:07. > :52:09.are demon players, as I discovered. With the ewes safely tucked up at
:52:10. > :52:17.home, it's time to take a well earned break from farming. And for
:52:18. > :52:21.the Dykes, this means curling. In this part of the world the ancient
:52:22. > :52:24.winter sport of curling is a tradition amongst Scottish farmers.
:52:25. > :52:27.I'm joining the Dykes, and a few of their neighbours, for a friendly
:52:28. > :52:31.game of four against four. Good game, good game. Good luck! Once
:52:32. > :52:37.I've found my ice legs that is! You'll get the feel of it. So
:52:38. > :52:41.elegant, Mrs Humble. You can stand up, but just move that with you
:52:42. > :52:50.brush. I don't think I can stand up, Hamish, it's terribly slippery, I am
:52:51. > :52:54.just going to fall over. The aim of the game is to launch the
:52:55. > :52:59.solid granite stones down the ice and into the target known as the
:53:00. > :53:03."house". To win you need to get your stones closest to the centre. What
:53:04. > :53:07.could possibly be simpler? Keep it straight, and the closer you can get
:53:08. > :53:20.your middle to the ice the more balanced you'll be. Stone out, bum
:53:21. > :53:34.up. Yay! It wasn't going very straight either. It's quite fun down
:53:35. > :53:38.there. A bit chilly. They take pity on me. And I'm given curling's
:53:39. > :53:43.equivalent of stabilisers, called "kippers". Stone out. Very good,
:53:44. > :53:47.well done. A rather undignified start, and sadly not enough power.
:53:48. > :53:54.It's not gone anywhere at all. Go on, brush! It got halfway down the
:53:55. > :53:59.rink. Maybe I'll be better at sweeping. If we're going to beat
:54:00. > :54:02.Susie and John, I need some advice from my skipper, Kate. Is there a
:54:03. > :54:07.proper technique, or do you just sweep like mad? No, you wait until
:54:08. > :54:11.the skip calls and then you sweep back and forward, as hard as you
:54:12. > :54:15.can. Like that, in front of the stone. Stay with the stone. Sweeping
:54:16. > :54:23.melts the ice slightly - encouraging the stone to travel further and
:54:24. > :54:27.straighter. You're doing it a totally different technique that I
:54:28. > :54:33.was told. I'm not doing it at all right. Am I doing it right, Colin?
:54:34. > :54:39.No, I think that's not going to make it. Yes, yes, yes, come on.
:54:40. > :54:51.Fortunately, curling is a team sport. So I enlist a bit more help.
:54:52. > :54:54.Well swept, Well swept! See the difference. It's amazing, isn't it,
:54:55. > :55:02.the difference sweeping makes? Oh, yeah. Especially your contribution.
:55:03. > :55:12.Very good, that's it. I start to find my legs. But, sadly,
:55:13. > :55:16.not my aim. Go on, go on! It's now down to my team-mate,
:55:17. > :55:20.Hamish, to get us back into the game. If I can hit that on the nose,
:55:21. > :55:24.without disturbing any of the rest of the blues, all these come into
:55:25. > :55:28.play as well so that's a pressure shot. Can you be that accurate? Some
:55:29. > :55:35.days, yes. Some days, no. I'll give it a go.
:55:36. > :55:46.Whoo! Look at that, that was text book. That was spot on. It was good.
:55:47. > :55:49.It's easy to see why days like this are so important in strengthening
:55:50. > :55:58.family bonds, but bigger workloads mean farmers have less spare time.
:55:59. > :56:01.Used to be the winter sport of the farming community because there used
:56:02. > :56:05.to be these outside lochs and things because every winter they would have
:56:06. > :56:09.days on end when all they had to do was feed their stock and go and curl
:56:10. > :56:14.and drink whisky, and hopefully be fit to work the next day! Yes, come
:56:15. > :56:30.on, quick, come on! Come on! Despite our frantic last efforts...
:56:31. > :56:33.Ah! You had that to go to as well! ...John and Susie's team is
:56:34. > :56:37.victorious, beating us five points to four. Good game, Kate. Thank you,
:56:38. > :56:43.John, very much. If nothing else, it's been a good workout ready for
:56:44. > :56:48.life back on the farm. How about that? She got a bit better
:56:49. > :56:53.towards the end. I was hopeless! You were very
:56:54. > :56:59.patient with me. Great to have some family time? That is what it is all
:57:00. > :57:03.about. Now, look over here. Hamish is with the ewe that was in labour
:57:04. > :57:11.at the beginning of the show. He decided that it needed some help.
:57:12. > :57:18.Can you explain, Adam why? He had a thing called ring worm, so he
:57:19. > :57:23.stimulates the inside of the cervix, that opens up, and he is pulling the
:57:24. > :57:26.lamb, he is squeezing behind the cranium of the lamb. It is a great
:57:27. > :57:35.big lamb, quite difficult to get and so he is slowly easing it out. My
:57:36. > :57:39.goodness. If you wanted Lambing Live, this is it. Keep your
:57:40. > :57:43.questions coming in - lambinglive@bbc.co.uk. Now, of
:57:44. > :57:46.course, our cameras will be here throughout the night, so expect
:57:47. > :57:53.plenty more excitement tomorrow. Not sure I can cope with anymore! Also
:57:54. > :58:00.tomorrow, we have got Adam, he goes out and investigates the science of
:58:01. > :58:08.sheep. And Kate joins the Dykes' family up on the hill to get their
:58:09. > :58:12.flocks down. We met Rosy and Murdo who tell us what it is like to grow
:58:13. > :58:19.up on a farm. Let's come back now to our ewe and our magnificent new
:58:20. > :58:26.lamb. Wow, Susie, this is the most exciting time of year. Isn't my
:58:27. > :58:29.husband wonderful? He is brilliant. See you tomorrow. Good night. Night.