Spring bounce for new lambs at West Bromwich farm
Spring has definitely sprung in one part of the Black Country this year with a bumper flock of bouncing baby animals being born.
Four sets of triplets are among the 68 lambs already born at Forge Mill Farm in West Bromwich, with that number on the up every day.
Staff at the farm, part of Sandwell Valley, are working around the clock to welcome the new animals into the world, and to make sure all the proud mums are coping.
Farm manager Richard Aldis said: "The numbers have been very good this year, slightly better than normal. We have 55 breeding females here, and 35 of those have given birth so far so we have around 20 to go.
"The staff here are covering 24 hours a day, and at the moment I am doing night times along with another colleague – on Monday night we had the last lamb born at around midnight, and the first lamb born yesterday was at around five in the morning.
"We check on the mums, as there's some that need just a little bit of help with feeding in the first couple of hours and they may not have enough milk." Mr Aldis is particularly pleased this year as all of the lambs are being born despite the threat of the Schmallenberg virus, a new disease spread by ticks that can lead to late abortion or birth defects. So far, there have been no cases at the farm.
A percentage of the female lambs are kept to be added to the flock, while the rest, including all the males, are sent for meat mainly to Sandwell shops.
Mr Aldis added: "Children love coming here during lambing season, and when we tell them where some of the lambs end up they tend to take it in their stride, while the parents are a bit more squeamish."
