Lambing at the Doulton Flock 2011

Each year, well before the start of lambing, we advertise lambing placements at the Vet schools. The response is always good with lots of students replying. The difficult part is going through CVs and deciding who will fit in here.

This year we have been very fortunate and got two absolutely brilliant male students from the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine.

Two young men from Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania made the trip in March from Glasgow down to North Yorkshire to learn all there is know about lambing!! They had both had a tutorial about lambing but tutorials and real life are very different as they were soon to learn!

A little bit about them- Hiram was born in Mayaguez, Peurto Rico and his first language is Spanish. Brought up in Puerto Rico he studied pre-veterinary studies, followed by Biology. He then went to the States where his english improved and did a course at Michigan State University. In October 2009 he applied to study veterinary medicine and finished a Bachelor of Science in biology in the University of Puerto Rico. He was accepted for the University of Glasgow in February 2010 which is how we were so lucky to have got him!

Nate is from Pennsylvania and has a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Scranton and has done many internships, helping with Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, worked with many exoric animals and worked as a veterinary technician for several months. All this before being accepted at the University of Glasgow.

Both young men knew each other which was an ideal situation for us all.

I asked Hiram to let me have a paragraph on what he learned from the lambing experience and how useful he thought it would be once he qualified.

This is what he sent:

"Working in Royal Doulton Stables with Eleanor Stokeld is one of the best lambing experiences that any veterinary student could have. Here isn't just about lambing, isn't just about helping ewes to give birth, isn't just about feeding sheep, it's about a lot more.

Here we do pre-lambing care, optimum nutrition of ewes before and after lambing, helping at birth if necessary, care of the newborn lamb and good flock management among other important things.

Eleanor cares a lot about her sheep and does everything possible to keep them in the best possible condition at any time during their lives. The lambing ewes are provided with clean bedding every day, good nutrition with high quality hay and concentrates, clean water, good indoor housing, healthy conditions and any extra care if required. We observed the ewes during the day and night for imminent lambing. The ewes and lambs are monitored 24 hours a day with a camera and sounds to give any necessay care required. The lambs are checked several times a day to make sure they are suckling, warm and in good condition. If the lambs are not suckling we help them out, and if they are not warm enough we put them in a warmer to stabilise their temperature. If we predict any sign of disease or infection the vet is called.

With all of this good management and care the overall products are excellent quality rams and ewes.

Working with one of the best flocks of pedigree Border Leicesters in the United Kingdom was an honour to me and I am very grateful to Eleanor Stokeld for giving me the opportunity"

I felt very humble when I read this and can only say the input from Hiram and Nate was exceptional and I am sure that they will both go onto make first rate vets.

We lambed 51 ewes this year and our lambing percentage was 165%. The lambs are strong and thriving!