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Documentary, This Farming Life S02E08

The working day begins as the sun rises above the horizon and it ends long after the sun has set. Across Scotland and Northern Ireland, the struggles and triumphs of farmers and their families are documented to give a unique perspective into the lives of those providing the nation with milk, meat and more. Against a backdrop of some of Britain's most remote and beautiful locations, these farmers go about their day with unprecedented dedication as they tend to their animals, harvest their crops, and care for their own families, as they endeavour to keep everything on the farm running smoothly during often testing times.
#FarmingLife #ThisFarmingLife #Scotland

#FarmingLife #ThisFarmingLife #Scotland
#Documentary

Category

🐳
Animals
Transcript
00:00Across some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes of the British Isles.
00:07There's not many views like that. It's absolutely stunning.
00:10Scotland's farmers work day and night, producing our milk and our meat.
00:17Trying out new ideas.
00:20Buffalo doesn't want to do something. You're going to find it very difficult.
00:24And striving to turn a profit in tough economic times.
00:28We're struggling. We're definitely struggling.
00:32Over the course of a year, six very different families let cameras onto their farms.
00:39Everything that could have gone wrong there, went wrong.
00:42The idea of lying on a beach. Bliss.
00:45To share their struggles.
00:47We have to get her out or she's going to die.
00:49And their triumphs.
00:52It's not about the paycheck. It's about the lifestyle.
00:58Spring has arrived in Scotland.
01:11From the rich low pastures to the rugged highlands, fresh nourishing grass is sprouting.
01:19Nature is blooming.
01:25For the farmers, everything they've invested into their livestock over the last few months is about to bear fruit.
01:33It's the season for new life.
01:36And the time when mothers play an essential role in everyone's survival.
01:40It's a wonderful time of the year, spring. It really is all about the girls.
01:44I love it because there's so many babies around and the lambs and the calves.
01:49The mums, they've got to do their job too and look after and raise their babies.
01:54And at the end of the day, we kind of have to sit back and hope that they've got that maternal instinct and let nature take its course.
02:07In the northeast of Scotland, near Aberdeen, Mel and Martin Irvine and their family are tenants of a 240-acre farm where they rear 70 pedigree limousine cattle and 260 sheep.
02:22Alongside their own flock, they also manage 600 sheep from the Dremure estate, a job they took on three years ago to boost their income.
02:34They're now nine days into lambing and Martin's on duty.
02:38If the weather's good like it is now, it's going to be just perfect for us.
02:41What you really want is to get the yow lambed and outside as quick as possible.
02:46So now it's been a good lambing. Quite enjoying it really.
02:52Two years ago, Mel and Martin lambed alone, 24 hours a day.
03:00I can't stress enough how tired you get.
03:04And to top it all, they were hit by an unseasonal blast of icy weather.
03:10In this last four or five days, it's been about the minus two, three, four at night.
03:14It's frosty, it's cold, it's wet, and it just kind of gets into you.
03:18And you don't get a full night's sleep. No.
03:20Ever.
03:25This year, with baby Erin in the mix, they've employed an extra pair of hands to help at night,
03:30which means no more camping out in the caravan.
03:34I come in in the morning, about seven o'clock, and I'll check everything, speak to the night lammer.
03:40It usually takes about two hours.
03:42Mel, she comes in through the day and gives a hand, so plenty of manpower,
03:45which makes the job much easier.
03:48Each ewe has been scanned to see how many lambs she's carrying,
03:52which dictates her position in the maternity ward.
03:56So the ewe's go from in here, waiting to lam, the lam in there.
04:00Spend a half day in this pen's here, we've shifted into the next pen, a day in there.
04:05They'll go out to the outside corral, a day in there.
04:07And if they're strong enough, out to the park, weather permit.
04:11So it's just a massive conveyor belt, and you just keep it going, keep it going, keep it going.
04:14Martin needs to be on alert for any ewe's having difficulty.
04:24So we've got one started here, so we've got a gimmer.
04:27This is a first-time lammer.
04:29All I can see is one foot, so I may be thinking it could be a leg,
04:32but it could be a problem that's not presented properly.
04:37If one leg is back, this gimmer, or first-time mum,
04:41won't be able to give birth without help.
04:42Martin must intervene to save her and her twins.
04:47As I thought, I've got one leg, and then one leg back.
04:52It's not presented properly, so it's not going to be the easiest way of coming out.
04:56And because she's a gimmer, she's going to be a little tight,
04:59and I've not got the smallest hands.
05:01I swear to God.
05:03This is where you need Mel.
05:05Mel's got nice, small hands for doing this job.
05:09My hands are just a bit big.
05:10I've found the other foot, so we've got two feet now.
05:15There we go, and it'll pop out nice and easy.
05:21There you go.
05:22So a nice wee shake of the head, that's what you want.
05:24The head's holed up. He's quite happy.
05:26I'll give him to his mum.
05:27I'll give him to his mum.
05:30But her ordeal's not over yet.
05:33She's gone for twins, so there is another alarm in there.
05:35And if it was sitting there ready, I'd take it out.
05:38It's still sitting away deep inside, so I'll leave her for another five, ten minutes.
05:42We'll leave her there.
05:43I hear some grunting and groaning and triplets, so I'll go check that shed.
05:46Can I just go round in circles all the time?
05:54Ten minutes later, Martin checks on the gimmer again.
05:58Worryingly, she's showing no signs of mothering her tiny lamb.
06:02First time lamb, her mother instincts never is strong.
06:06So what we'll do is we'll put her in a pen with a lamp.
06:12There's more chance the mother will bond with her baby in a smaller environment.
06:17She's a bit underweight, she's obviously not been eating properly.
06:20She's just not looking right in the eye.
06:23What you want to see is her looking in the lamb, but she's just not interested.
06:32While most experienced ewes are quick to attach to their new lambs,
06:37some first time mums can be slow to acknowledge they've had a lamb at all.
06:42A good mum, she's licking them, she's cleaning them.
06:48You can hear that mummy noise.
06:50It's a good sign.
06:53Where you've got the gimmer, the first time lamb over there,
06:56who, looking at her, doesn't even know she's had a lamb yet.
06:59So hopefully by the time I get the second lamb out of her, she'll...
07:03We've put her in a pen so she's in a confined space.
07:06Hopefully she'll start looking at her lamb, but she will love the child, eventually.
07:10On the other side of the country lies the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides.
07:32It's home to new entrant farmers Janet and Alistair Taylor.
07:36Shut the gate door.
07:39They set up their farm from scratch five years ago,
07:43and now keep 140 breeding ewes and 27 Highland cattle over 700 acres of rough ground.
07:53Lambing is imminent, and today the plan is to bring their pregnant ewes into the shed for a final health check.
08:01Today we're treating all the sheep before lambing.
08:05We like to do it quite soon so that we're not running them around too close to giving birth.
08:10Come up.
08:13We're being very gentle on them because they're heavily pregnant.
08:17That's why it's just one dog, not harassing them, making them do tight turns and things.
08:21It's much easier if it just coax them in.
08:24The ewes will lamb out on the hill, so this is the last time Janet and Alistair will get to see them up close.
08:34They're looking good, actually. It's been not too bad a winter.
08:37We'll see when we get hand on them. You can't tell under the wool how they're doing, but they're looking heavy.
08:43It's going to be a busy lambing, I think. Better catch up.
08:50That went quite well. There was a few trying to be naughty, but they knew where they were going.
08:55I'm excited about lambing time at the moment.
09:00I just get nervous about having lots of problems and the weather not playing ball because it's outside.
09:08Each ewe gets medicine that kills worms.
09:12One at a time, girls.
09:14And liver fluke, a potentially deadly parasite.
09:17It's very important to do this before the lamb. Just make sure they're clean of worms and fluke, and then they'll get a dose again after lambing as well.
09:28This year, their hopes are pinned on new untried tub, Owen.
09:36Last autumn, Owen was put out with the ewes for the first time.
09:40It's all just a gamble.
09:41We won't know until we get some lambs in the spring, whether he's done the job well and whether he produces as nice lambs as he is.
09:49Next year, it'll be exciting.
09:51Lambing time.
09:53The green on this one's bum, that's from Owen, from when he served her.
09:58So on their bum, they'll have different colours depending on which tub they went to.
10:02But all these ones are Owen's ones.
10:05He served a lot of sheep, but yeah, we just need to wait and see.
10:09A lot rides on how well Owen's done his job.
10:14But at the moment, there's no way of knowing, as Janet and Alistair's ewes have not been scanned.
10:21If all of the green bums didn't have lambs, that would be a disaster and definitely Owen doesn't work.
10:27I would expect one or two not to have lambs, but that wouldn't be any fault of Owen's, that's just life.
10:34If we had one lamb to every yow, we'd be ecstatic. If we had more than that, unbelievable.
10:40I mean, that's just the way our system is, it's different.
10:44You know, everyone else is aiming for like 150-200%, but we can get 100%, we're really happy.
10:49A hundred percent means one lamb for every ewe.
10:54Female lambs will be added to Janet and Alistair's breeding stock,
10:59and the males will be sold into the food chain in the autumn, providing half of the farm's income for next year.
11:05So it's all, I guess, in game. We'll see you when they lamb.
11:09If it was free, I would have them scanned.
11:12Yeah, if it was free, you'd have them scanned.
11:14She's in lamb.
11:16I would have said so, looking at her belly.
11:18Yeah.
11:19Definitely in lamb.
11:21Probably in lamb.
11:23Definitely, probably, maybe in lamb.
11:25Yeah, that's exactly it.
11:27Definitely, probably, maybe.
11:29Fingers are firmly crossed for a good crop.
11:35Come on, girls.
11:37But for now, it's just a waiting game.
11:47Near Aberdeen, Mel has arrived at the estate lambing shed.
11:53I know, girl, it's stuck, stuck, stuck.
11:56She's been around sheep all her life, so knows every trick of the trade.
12:01Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
12:04It's thanks to her they have the large contract to manage 600 of their landlord's sheep.
12:09This is big. This is too big.
12:13That's what the boss does. That's what the boss does.
12:17Last year, she had to stay away.
12:19Some infections can be passed from pregnant sheep to pregnant women that could harm the baby.
12:26Last year, I hated it, but it was necessary for me not to be here, being pregnant with Erin, so...
12:34I got really bad cabin fever at home, because I wasn't allowed near pregnant sheep, but it's really good to be back.
12:42Yeah!
12:47Who spat that out?
12:49That'll be what your grunting was.
12:51That's how quick it can be.
12:52We're over there, lambing a yow.
12:54Turn her back and that thing's spat out.
12:57Give her again, but...
12:59She loves her baby.
13:00She loves her baby.
13:02Oh, here it goes.
13:04And out pops the twin.
13:07She made that look like a piece of cake.
13:10My childbirth was not that easy.
13:13That's what we just want.
13:15Nice, easy, easy birth.
13:22Over on the intensive care ward, the first time mum is still not bonding with her lamb.
13:28Martin's hoping Mel will know what to do.
13:31She's no milk.
13:33Nothing at all.
13:35The Gimma's now ready to have her twin.
13:39Come out quite easy, I think.
13:43Mel has a trick up her sleeve to encourage the mum to bond with her babies.
13:47I just took a little bit of the amniotic fluid and rubbed it in her mouth.
13:52Sometimes that stimulates them to lick their lambs.
13:55Come on, mummy.
13:56Martin now said that she's never really took much interest of the first lamb.
14:03I think she might come round now.
14:07Some first mums are really good and some are not so good, so...
14:12Sometimes it just takes a minute for their mother and instinct to come in
14:15and sometimes it doesn't come at all, so...
14:18Just have to wait and see what she does.
14:20Just walk away and leave her.
14:21Further north in the Highlands, Robin and Penny Calvert have been running their craft,
14:39a traditional Scottish smallholding, for 25 years.
14:48Their 23 Highland cattle are in the middle of their spring calving season.
14:53They've got two calves here that are a couple of weeks old, ready for tagging now.
14:56They've been registered.
14:57And we need to shed the calves off from the cows.
15:01Quite which direction they'll go in, I don't know.
15:03The calves have to be tagged by law.
15:07So it's a necessary ordeal for calf and mother.
15:09The one at the back here, Mary-Anne, she's very, very possessive of her calf.
15:14So we'll just have to play completely by ear and just see what happens.
15:22It's that low moaning of the mother.
15:25Just say, you get one inch closer to my baby and I'll have you.
15:29But it's all noise.
15:31It's all noise.
15:32Bonding between cow and calf is formed by a combination of hormones and learned behaviour.
15:43And it's the strength of this bond that makes some mothers like Mary-Anne overprotective.
15:49You've got the maternal instinct.
15:50When they're just two or three days old, you just cannot get near the calf for the mother.
15:54You just can't take any risks with them.
15:57Mary-Anne's a bit of her own person.
15:58She's a very, very possessive cow.
16:00You feel quite threatened, Raya.
16:02No, she's not threatening.
16:03Well, she's mumbling away.
16:05Well, it's just, it's just, it's the same as women doing.
16:08Goo, goo, goo, goo, goo.
16:10Quite, in my mind, it's ridiculous. That's not ridiculous.
16:13That means business.
16:18The plan is to separate the calves from their mothers.
16:22Now, girls, we're going to try and get the cows and the calves up into this end of the crush.
16:27And then we'll see how we can separate them.
16:28I'm not quite sure it's just what's going to happen yet.
16:31Get that back gate shut.
16:32Right, don't let the cows in with them.
16:34Come on, girls. On you go. On you go.
16:37No.
16:39Get your calf here with you.
16:41Come on, calf your calf, actually.
16:43Brilliant.
16:45By chance, Mary-Anne's bull calf has ended up in the fank.
16:48Get up, get up, get up.
16:53Ho. Ho, ho, ho, ho.
16:55Come on. Ho, ho, ho.
16:57Come on.
16:58Pshh.
16:59No, it's not working for sure.
17:00Go. Ho, ho, come on.
17:01Pshh shh shh shh shh, come on.
17:04Pshh shh shh shh shh shh shh shh.
17:05And now we've got your calf here.
17:06Come on.
17:08Penny, come in and get to the back of that gate.
17:14Right, stay at the back of that gate.
17:16Right, push that gate around now.
17:18Ho, ho, ho, ho, come on.
17:21That's it, well done.
17:22Well done.
17:22Go on, back, back, back, back, back.
17:23Back, back, back, back.
17:25Don't want you coming over.
17:27Right.
17:29We'll do them one at once.
17:30I've got one there, we'll do that one first.
17:35Come on, Kelpie.
17:38Come on, put your head through there.
17:40That's it, we've got him.
17:42Right.
17:44Penny up against the side of the thing so it doesn't struggle.
17:46I don't hurt it.
17:47Okay.
17:49Very woolly ears.
17:51That's it.
17:52One.
17:54Kicked pieces.
17:57Horrible things to get in the right place.
18:01Now I've missed it.
18:03Make sure you don't get too lots of fur in.
18:05How's this problem with these tags?
18:10Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
18:12Take your time.
18:13Problem is, if this tag doesn't go right,
18:16we've only got a half-tagged cow then.
18:21Whoa!
18:23Come on, that's it.
18:24Look, you've got new badges.
18:26Isn't that pretty?
18:27Aren't you pretty?
18:27Those two are reunited again, that's fine.
18:33Sort of.
18:33There's no telling what's going to happen on here.
18:34I knew we were going to have problems getting them separated.
18:41Now it's calf number two's turn.
18:43A heifer.
18:44Who needs to get to the corner?
18:58Hold him, Pam.
19:01That's one.
19:03One.
19:04That's two.
19:07That's it.
19:07You sure?
19:08Yep.
19:09Get you back to your mum.
19:10Here.
19:11There you go.
19:16Everybody happy?
19:18That one, Daisy.
19:34Nearly 150 miles southwest, on the Isle of Mull,
19:38lambing has finally kicked off.
19:42And Janet and Alistair are on early morning patrol
19:45to see who's arrived.
19:48A yow with new lambs.
19:51That's the first set of twins.
19:54Good job, girl.
19:55It's just nice, you know, first-time lamber.
19:58She's done it all herself.
19:59She's got two of them, and she knows she's got two of them.
20:01And she adores them.
20:03Good mothering and strength.
20:04I'll leave her in peace.
20:05Many ewes lambing outdoors give birth first thing in the morning.
20:15It gives the mothers and lambs time to bond and adjust
20:18before nightfall, when the risk of predators is high.
20:21The first one, born.
20:27Yeah, that's number one that's climbing on the...
20:28On its mum.
20:31Mum, what are you doing?
20:32Pay me some attention.
20:34I'll be a week old.
20:35Getting quite cheeky now.
20:37By regularly patrolling the fields,
20:41Janet and Alistair hope to keep on top of any problems during lambing.
20:45I do enjoy it.
20:47It's an emotional rollercoaster, though,
20:48with lots of ups and downs, and it's quite stressful.
20:51You're worrying about things when you're not here,
20:53so it'll be...
20:56..be good when there's lots more lambs.
20:59Going to start to relax a little bit more.
21:00There's some room in here for me.
21:07They plan to stand clear and let nature take its course.
21:11But if necessary, they will help any mothers in trouble.
21:18Most of them, you just come out and there's a lamb with them and it's fine.
21:21Then you see one that's starting lambing
21:23and you can't help but stay and watch it,
21:25just in case there's a problem.
21:27Seeing them in the middle of it,
21:29then I've got all the thoughts.
21:31Oh, is there going to be a problem?
21:32Just a pessimist, I guess.
21:35I think the lamb's just coming head first.
21:37Yeah, it's hung.
21:39I'll have to intervene with this one, yeah.
21:42Alistair's spotted the lamb's tongue,
21:44which means it's coming out head instead of feet first.
21:48Catch, catch, catch, catch, catch.
21:54Are you still with us?
21:56Got one leg.
21:57It's come with its head first, no legs coming.
22:02So it's got stuck and its head's swollen.
22:06I'm trying to see if I can get hold of something
22:07to pop the other shoulder through.
22:09Come on, girl, push.
22:11That's it.
22:12That's it, girl.
22:14It's a boy.
22:17That's good.
22:18We sneeze.
22:19There's a good boy.
22:20Obviously, as you can see from his head, it's very swollen.
22:25It's been put under a lot of pressure at his neck.
22:27And it's stone cold, his head.
22:30He's been stuck like that for a wee while.
22:32So, yeah, I would say a couple of hours, maybe.
22:34The lamb is still weak,
22:38so Janet and Alistair take the pair to the shed,
22:41where they can monitor them closely.
22:43We need to get them in the lambulance,
22:45but we're not sure it can get down here.
22:47It's quite boggy.
22:48Come on.
22:55Here, dogs.
23:00Yeah, a little ambulance.
23:02It's fun driving now, though.
23:05There we go.
23:07Even with all the trauma and upheaval,
23:10this older mum is already bonding with her baby.
23:18Good girl.
23:23Out you come.
23:25We'll get your baby in a second.
23:28Back at the shed,
23:29she clearly doesn't want to be separated from him.
23:33Where'd your mummy go?
23:36Slime ball?
23:39So, because they're going to be in the shed,
23:41we give them a wee umbilical spray
23:43just to help prevent infections.
23:48And you can come back in here with mummy.
23:52Come on, mummy.
23:58She's an older yow, so she knows the score.
24:00She's quite content with him.
24:03The ewe is doing her job perfectly.
24:06The worry is whether it's all been too stressful for the lamb.
24:10It's not looking very lively at the moment.
24:12It's lying flat out, shivering away.
24:14OK, I'd like him to sit up a little bit more.
24:17It's just a bit more tongue.
24:20OK, I'll be ready.
24:31My pleasure is the wine wood.
24:32Across Scottish farms, the quality of the land and pasture affects the birth rate of sheep.
24:52Where conditions are tough and food scarce, most ewes will have one single lamb.
25:02But in the lowland pastures, better nutrition increases fertility, and twins and triplets are more common.
25:18Near Aberdeen, at the Dromur Estate, Mel and Martin are expecting 372 sets of twins and 142 triplets.
25:28Their survival rate will depend on the mothering skills of the ewes.
25:35Mel checks on the gimmer who's not bonding with her twins.
25:40These little lambs are hungry.
25:43She's just going to crouch down. This is another way.
25:46You want to get the colostrum into them as soon as they're up and going.
25:51And they usually do that themselves, but...
25:54You know, the first milk's so important, it's packed full of antibodies.
25:59I'm hoping the more of these lambs go to the teeth, it'll stimulate her to produce more milk.
26:08But...
26:10But there's not a lot there to start with, so...
26:14We'll be definitely keeping an eye on these ones.
26:16The gimmer's still showing no interest.
26:23If she doesn't develop a maternal instinct, her twins' lives are in danger.
26:28On the other side of the country, on the west coast in Appin,
26:49David and Sandra Coltart farm over 3,200 acres of rough hilly terrain.
26:59Their 550 sheep have already started lambing.
27:03But today, David's preoccupied with their pregnant cows.
27:07Everybody looks fairly content.
27:09But I don't think there's anything that's imminent like today and tonight, do you?
27:14I don't know, she's pretty...
27:16She's pretty close.
27:17The brownie's quite close.
27:20David's cows spend winter and spring in the shed,
27:24where they're warm and dry, and he can monitor them closely.
27:28Calvin's really kind of started to ramp up in the last few days.
27:31There's other cows, she's just started kind of calving just in the last 10, 15 minutes.
27:37Come on, girl.
27:40With so many about to give birth, it's tricky to know when to step in.
27:45These are like his babies, so...
27:48I like them too, but sometimes he gets just a bit kind of...
27:52Quick, get in there and do something before it's too late.
27:54And it's like the cow's looking at him like, I'm not ready yet.
28:00The cow's halfway out. She's still pushing.
28:04I'm actually going to stand back a wee bit so that I'm not the distraction.
28:07Maybe if she gets up to move, then the weight of the cow will pull it out.
28:13She's going up and out.
28:15Don't want her to intervene unless you really have to.
28:18I need to go in and get that.
28:23Oh, come on. Get in. Come on. In you go. In. In. In the yoke.
28:27Let's get this round.
28:28Oh.
28:29Oh.
28:30Oh.
28:31Oh, we have a few.
28:32Right, come on. In this case, the calf is small, so the mother might have managed alone. But a swift birth is better all round.
28:42And that's one of the joy sights of farming. A new life. Mum licking his calf, got that maternal bond just immediately being created. One of the better moments.
28:54Across the shed, another cow has started labour. One of the cows has went to the back of the pen and started pushing. So I'll get a pen for her.
29:06Oh, that's it. David's hoping it will be an easy birth, like her last one. She's had three calves already. So I can probably have it quite quick. But I'll just leave her in peace in the moment for the next kind of 15, 20 minutes and see what happens.
29:20But minutes later, it becomes clear that this calf might be much bigger than the last.
29:23But minutes later, it becomes clear that this calf might be much bigger than the last.
29:26She's had three calves already. So I can probably have it quite quick. But I'll just leave her in peace in the moment for the next kind of 15, 20 minutes and see what happens.
29:41But minutes later, it becomes clear that this calf might be much bigger than the last.
29:49We have to cover. Did you call Alistair?
29:53Yeah.
29:54David's brother Alistair runs the farm next door.
29:58We'll have a look. She's quite a big cow. Might need a wee helping hand.
30:03Now David has a team of helpers, including his nephew Robert.
30:10We've got Sandra, the boss. We're just going to put in the yoke and feel to see that everything's coming all right.
30:18But she hasn't really made any movements in the last wee while. She should have been further forward than she is.
30:27The plan is to try and ease the calf out using a rope.
30:31Just trying to get the rope round past the kind of knuckle.
30:41Come on, girl.
30:44Gently.
30:45Come on, girl.
30:46Gently.
30:47Come on, push.
30:48Gently.
30:49Come on, girl.
30:50Gently.
30:51Gently.
30:52Come on, girl.
30:53Gently.
30:54Come on, girl.
30:55Gently.
30:56Oh, well.
30:57Big calf.
30:58Holy smokes.
30:59Wow.
31:00Is it heavy?
31:01Is it heavy?
31:02Is it heavy?
31:03Yeah.
31:04Yeah.
31:05Yes, it helps keep the pressure on when we're calving.
31:07Gently. Come on, push.
31:22Oh, big calf. Holy smokes.
31:24Whoa.
31:25Is it Heather?
31:26Is it? She's lovely.
31:29It maybe looks harsh, but it's actually not.
31:32And it just keeps everything at your pace.
31:35Yeah, because if you're pulling by hand with ropes,
31:37as we used to do years ago before the jacks came along,
31:40you can't keep the same pressure, so you relax a wee bit,
31:43and that calf can go back into the position you started,
31:45so you're more pulling. It's more stressful on the calf.
31:47So once you bring it up the birth canal,
31:50you don't want it to go back.
31:55The result is a happy, healthy and very large calf.
32:01It's just a wonderment that half an hour ago
32:04that was inside the cow,
32:06and with a wee bit of help from myself and Alistair and Robert,
32:09the calf's out, and it's wanting to get up and suck,
32:12and she's got that wee survival instinct,
32:14and that's what you want. It's lovely to see.
32:24Back at the house, there's another expectant mother.
32:27Come on.
32:28Now, let's have a little feel.
32:32Sandra's three-year-old collie, Flash.
32:35You've got a little bit of a bulgy tummy going on, hmm?
32:39This'll be her first litter of puppies as well.
32:42I think she'll make a good mother.
32:43She's nice and gentle.
32:44As a sideline, Sandra successfully breeds and trains
32:49pedigree border collies,
32:51which means the farm's puppies are in high demand.
32:56The pups are all spoken for.
32:57That makes it easier.
32:59Then I'm not tempted to keep any
33:01when I know that there's, like, a waiting list for them.
33:04We keep far too many of our dogs,
33:06so I think we've got 14 at the moment.
33:09Too many!
33:11I must resist.
33:19Further north in the Highlands...
33:22Hello.
33:23Where's the rest of you?
33:25Robin patrols his 110-acre croft
33:28to keep a watchful eye on the mothers.
33:30Unlike David and Sandra's cows,
33:33his pregnant cattle give birth anywhere,
33:37and one of his cows needs help.
33:43Here we are.
33:45We found her.
33:47It's four-year-old Ginger.
33:49She was down.
33:50There's no head showing yet,
33:51and I've got her on a rope just to keep her in one place.
33:54So I suspect she's got it rather stuck.
33:56What I'm going to do is put a rope on the hooves
33:58and give a gentle pull,
33:59and just see if that encourages a strain or not,
34:01and then we'll see what happens from there.
34:04There are no yokes or carving jacks out here in the woods.
34:08All Robin has is a rope and his own strength.
34:15I'm going to try and get a rope onto these hooves
34:16and see if we can just give it a gentle pull
34:18and see what happens.
34:21All right, Ginger. All right, Gil.
34:23There's a hoof.
34:24There's a hoof.
34:27If I can't get at you, I can't help you, can I?
34:28Come on, this way.
34:30It would help if you would just, you know,
34:31give us a little bit of help as well.
34:34Come on.
34:35Come on, Gil.
34:37Come on.
34:38And you come.
34:40I feel the hoof.
34:42All right, Ginger.
34:46A gentle strain onto that.
34:49Robin must keep the tension up to stop the calf slipping back inside.
34:54Come on, Ginger. You can do it.
34:55You're doing it. We're nearly there.
34:57There you go. Good girl.
35:00Come on.
35:02It's coming right around. Come on, Ginger.
35:03Strain.
35:05It's the danger point.
35:07Come on, Ginger. You can do it.
35:09Come on, Ginger.
35:10Strain a bit, girl.
35:13The bloody head and shoulders out.
35:15Pulling is not working.
35:18Robin needs help.
35:21But the only help on hand is the film crew.
35:25Put that camera down. Give me a pull.
35:27Seriously.
35:29I'm gonna lose this calf.
35:30We're not careful. It's gonna come quick fast now.
35:31It's gonna strangle it.
35:33So...
35:34It's a two-man job, isn't it?
35:36You can hold that right here.
35:37Right, now.
35:40That's it.
35:44Well done, thanks, Dave.
35:46That wasn't fun, was it?
35:48The calf's out.
35:49But it hasn't taken a breath.
35:50Go on, get some breathing going.
35:52Go on, get some breathing going.
35:53Oh, God.
35:54Oh, God.
35:56Come on.
36:10Come on, little fella.
36:15Come on, you can get it. You're there.
36:16Come on, you can live.
36:18Go on, little fella.
36:19You're there. Go on, you can live.
36:22Go on, little fella.
36:23Go on, big cough.
36:25Big cough.
36:36He's breathing.
36:38He's alive.
36:39Are you all right?
36:40That was tough, wasn't it?
36:42You just got a bloody big head and you've got a small mum.
36:45Yes, I know, I'm not your mum.
36:47You need your mum, don't you?
36:49Come on, you sleepy little bugger, let's have you.
36:54Yeah, Ginger.
36:55That's all yours.
37:02That's it, go on.
37:03Come on, Ginger, give it a leg.
37:09It's more like it.
37:10She's bonding with it.
37:13That was never going to come on its own.
37:16I just needed more strength than I possess
37:18to actually pull that calf out.
37:20It was very, very stuck.
37:22If we hadn't been here to help her,
37:23we'd have probably had at least a dead calf
37:25and possibly a dead cow by the morning.
37:27But that's what it's about when you're calving.
37:29You're there all the time.
37:30It's been an ordeal for the calf.
37:33And mum, too.
37:35Hello, girl.
37:37You did awfully well.
37:38You did well.
37:39Yes, you did well.
37:40All this fuss that women go to in hospitals and things.
37:45You can have a lovely place like this
37:47instead of some stuffy hospital full of chemicals.
37:51You've certainly gone a bit slimmer, Jim.
37:52You've certainly been here.
37:55That's a little Roebuck I didn't know we had.
37:57And another.
37:57Two Roebuck's.
38:00It's a miracle.
38:02It's fabulous, you know.
38:04Yeah, I never fail getting a buzz out of it
38:06because reality-wise, we are commercial here.
38:08But we don't see the cattle just as a number and a commodity.
38:15You know, they are very much part of what we do.
38:18You know, they're part of our every day.
38:23Come on, laddie, you can do it.
38:24Come on, you're nearly up.
38:26He's up on his feet.
38:28Yay.
38:30We have a nice bulky orphanage standing.
38:34Not very steady on his pins, yeah.
38:36He's bursting milk.
38:37Come on, you can get it old.
38:38That's it.
38:40He's on.
38:41I think that's pretty awe-inspiring, isn't it?
38:44I mean, you know, the little things that have been born
38:46after a pretty rough ride.
38:48And he's got the wit to get up
38:49and start ratcheting around
38:52looking for where his dinner's coming from.
38:54Yes, grumpy little bugger.
38:56Well done, Ginger.
38:57Good girl.
39:00Right.
39:01Success.
39:01Birth is the most hazardous time in any young animal's life.
39:30And lambs born outside
39:33are amongst the most vulnerable.
39:36In the UK,
39:38almost half of all lamb deaths
39:39happen in the first two days of life.
39:43A ewes mothering instinct is critical.
39:46But at times,
39:48not enough.
39:53Near Aberdeen,
39:56Mel's on her morning rounds in the lambing shed.
40:00You guys look like you're probably getting fed.
40:03Ten days into lambing,
40:05so far over 350 lambs have been born.
40:09But all is not well.
40:15We have a tragedy in this pen, unfortunately.
40:19It's the Gimmer's pen.
40:21Both her lambs have died.
40:23They've been 24 hours old.
40:27And this morning I found that her last lamb has died as well.
40:32It's tummy has got milk.
40:37It's got a full tummy.
40:40It's mouth is maybe a little watery,
40:43which could be a disease called watery mouth.
40:45Watery mouth disease is a dangerous infection in a lamb's stomach.
40:52It causes excessive salivation.
40:56It is usually fatal,
40:58particularly if the mother fails to give her lambs
41:00the antibody-rich first milk, colostrum.
41:03She has just been a useless mother.
41:07She didn't want to lick them at all,
41:09and if they don't get that colostrum within however many hours of...
41:13You know, you really want them up sucking as soon as they can.
41:17So this woman will be kicked out here.
41:19I'll mark her with an X or a stripe along her side,
41:21and she'll go out to the field.
41:23No prisoners here, so...
41:25She's not getting any more lambs.
41:28It sounds harsh, but farming is a business.
41:32Every animal has to pay her way,
41:34and if this Gimmer has no mothering instinct,
41:36then she's not doing her job.
41:38She'll go out in the field.
41:40She's a Gimmer, so...
41:41Maybe give her a second chance.
41:44Maybe.
41:46But suddenly...
41:49The Gimmer does something she hasn't done before.
41:54She kind of looks actually a little interested, isn't it?
41:58Do you want another lamb?
42:00Maybe the lambs weren't right anyway.
42:02I'm not sure.
42:04So I've had maybe a little change of heart,
42:06and I might try a pet lamb and see what she does.
42:12Mel keeps the orphaned and abandoned lambs in a pet pen.
42:16Right.
42:17Who wants a new mummy?
42:24Right, let's see what she does.
42:26This is the thing,
42:27because this lamb's got different smells on it and sounds.
42:29Mel's plan is very much a long shot.
42:37Yews form an exclusive bond with their lambs
42:40through sight, smell and sound.
42:42So a mother will almost always reject a lamb
42:45that she doesn't know as her own
42:46by butting it away.
42:48It doesn't smell like mine, she says.
42:54Oh.
42:56Oh.
42:57That mummy noises are always quite nice.
42:58It looks quite good so far.
43:12You know, this is all new for her.
43:14She's never done it before.
43:15So sometimes you can't blame them,
43:18but sometimes I just think,
43:19ah, mother instinct, just kick in, please.
43:22She might make a good mother yet.
43:28Just keep an eye on it.
43:29In the far west, on the Isle of Mull,
43:46Janet and Alistair are keeping an eye
43:48on the lamb they rescued while on patrol.
43:51Here, my girl.
43:53Oh, you're up and having something to eat.
43:54It sounds and it looks like it's feeding.
44:00She looks like she's doing a good job
44:01of cleaning it off.
44:03Yeah, absolutely fine.
44:05This one's been a complete success.
44:08It's great news.
44:10Another healthy lamb, which is just as well.
44:14Alistair's just found out that the farm
44:15is soon to lose valuable subsidies.
44:18So every lamb and the more lucrative calves
44:21must make up for this loss of income.
44:24I've discovered that over the next few years
44:27we'll be sort of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds worse off
44:30on the subsidies we receive.
44:34So every calf's worth a fortune to us now
44:37because they've got to make up that extra gap.
44:40Recent changes to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy
44:44mean smaller farms could struggle to qualify for grants.
44:48There's a lot riding on everything on the farm.
44:50The farm really needs to produce a bit more
44:53to try and make up for the loss in subsidies.
44:56That's the way it is and it always will be.
44:58Things are always tight.
45:00They'll be a wee bit tighter for a few years
45:02but hopefully we've got more cows calving
45:04than we've had before
45:05and we've got more heifers coming through
45:07so we should get up to our sort of 10 to 12 cows
45:10which is kind of where we're thinking
45:11will be enough cows for the place.
45:13Hopefully all Owen's lambs will sell for lots of money.
45:15Much has been riding on young Owen's success rate.
45:23The hope is that he'll produce predominantly female lambs.
45:27They'll join the breeding stock
45:28increasing the number of sale lambs in the future.
45:33So on patrol, Janet and Alistair
45:35are keeping a tally of his offspring.
45:37Oh, it's super cute.
45:40Can you take a picture with my cat?
45:45It does have her ears.
45:47It does look just like it.
45:49Big stretch.
45:51Oh, there we go.
45:53You see all the brown going through her legs.
45:55Yeah, but her mother's like that.
45:57Yeah.
45:57And her mother's mother.
45:59The whole line's like that.
46:01Three generations.
46:03It's a perfect female lamb.
46:06And even better,
46:07Owen is the dad.
46:09The plan is that he'll
46:10keep producing females for us
46:12to increase the numbers
46:14and replace old girls.
46:16And so far,
46:18he's fathered six lambs.
46:20I think all so far have been females
46:22except for one male.
46:24He's doing quite well at the moment.
46:26It'll take a wee while to see how it grows on
46:28and how they come on
46:29but things are looking good so far.
46:32Across the country,
46:39there are new lambs in every corner.
46:43They're learning the ropes
46:44by closely following their mothers
46:46for the first two weeks of life.
46:50Running and skipping
46:51releases happy chemicals
46:53or endorphins in the brain.
46:57Tests their motor skills
46:58and teaches them social rules
47:01in a safe environment.
47:05Oh my God,
47:06the twins are just so cute.
47:08They're so tiny.
47:10The twins need some extra milk
47:12as their mother is getting on in years.
47:15Such little wrigglers.
47:17Shetland wrigglers.
47:18And you?
47:19I'm talking about
47:20because she hasn't got much milk.
47:22Definitely her age
47:23that she's not got much milk on her.
47:25No, don't gargle on it.
47:30We first came out to check them.
47:32She'd got them both laid down
47:33and she'd laid down
47:34and she gave us the dirtiest look.
47:36Like, I've just settled them down.
47:38And we got them up
47:41and they were like,
47:41ah!
47:42By the time you left them.
47:45She's a very good mom.
47:46She's a good mom.
47:47It's been a good lambing so far,
47:49which bodes well
47:51for future progeny on the farm.
48:03Across the Sound of Mull,
48:05on the mainland in Appin,
48:06Sandra and David
48:08are taking a well-earned break
48:09from the farm
48:10to collect their number one baby.
48:13Well, this is a big day for us.
48:16The parrot that we have abandoned
48:17down at my parents
48:18is about to be recovered.
48:21Einie is short for Einstein.
48:23He's our African grave parrot.
48:25He's our child.
48:27It's kind of crazy,
48:27but he's like our child.
48:31Sandra grew up in Canada
48:33when her parents emigrated,
48:35but they returned
48:36to the family craft
48:37over 20 years ago.
48:39I guess we'd better go
48:40and see what's going on
48:41with mom and dad.
48:42Do you want your mask?
48:47It's your idea.
48:49I'm trying to stop.
48:50Both David and Sandra
48:53have colds,
48:54so they're wearing masks
48:56to protect her 84-year-old mother.
48:58Okay.
49:02We've finally come to collect them.
49:07Time to come home.
49:09Are you ready to come home?
49:11He's not saying much, is he?
49:12So you're going to grab that end
49:14and I'll grab this end.
49:15Yep.
49:15Are you scared of us
49:19because we're wearing masks?
49:20I thought living in the country
49:21was supposed to be healthy.
49:23Well, it is.
49:24You sure as hell
49:25don't look too healthy.
49:28Bye, Einie.
49:29Say goodbye to your granny.
49:38Uh-oh.
49:38It's okay, Einie.
49:39Calm down.
49:40Calm down.
49:41Yeah, I love my little Einie.
49:43He is really like my child
49:44and when he gets,
49:45sometimes at night,
49:46if something scares him
49:47outside the window,
49:48he's going to have to come
49:49running downstairs
49:50and console him
49:50because you can actually hear
49:52his heart thumping
49:52outside of his chest.
49:56Einie has been at Sandra's parents
49:58for six weeks.
50:02There he is.
50:04Hello.
50:06Welcome home.
50:06Kiss, kiss.
50:07Of all the animals,
50:09that's number one.
50:10Einie is the most important animal.
50:13Are you happy to be home?
50:15Oh.
50:16Oh.
50:17Hey, we tickle.
50:17Tickle, tickle, tickle.
50:18Kiss, kiss.
50:21Hello.
50:22He's a bit of a huff, I think,
50:24because we left him.
50:25You going to say anything?
50:27Oh, Einie.
50:30Einie is normally very talkative,
50:33but it seems the upheaval
50:34has stunned him into silence.
50:36However, he does have
50:38another party piece
50:39up his sleeve.
50:40Einie, come on then.
50:42Come on, Einie.
50:44Come on.
50:45Come on.
50:46Come on.
50:47Dance.
50:48Dance.
50:49There he goes.
50:49Woo.
50:50Dance.
50:52Come on.
50:53Come on.
50:53Come on.
50:53In the far northeast,
51:06Robin's keen to check
51:07on Ginger and her calf.
51:10Heading back out.
51:11She's haven't seen her
51:11for two or three hours
51:12and still want to keep
51:13an eye on her.
51:16Hold tight.
51:17Do you see the calfie?
51:25It's there, look.
51:28Hello, little fella.
51:32Looking fine to me.
51:33Looking like a one-day-old calf.
51:38It's just nice to see the animals
51:40in a habitat like this, you know.
51:41They're short of absolutely nothing.
51:44Every new life is of huge value.
51:48Ginger's calf could go on
51:49to make around 500 pounds
51:51when he's eventually sold.
51:53But like Janet and Alistair,
51:55Robin's also feeling
51:56the effect of subsidy changes.
51:58All the support mechanisms
52:00for agriculture
52:01have all gone
52:03to the big profitable outfits.
52:06It's become very unfair,
52:08to be quite honest,
52:09but the politics that are behind it
52:11and the way everything's going
52:13and the Brexit and whatnot,
52:14and I honestly don't think
52:17to see things improving
52:18a lot over the next,
52:20probably at least the next
52:20eight or nine years,
52:21if not longer.
52:23Farmers and crofters
52:24with the poorest quality land
52:26now receive approximately
52:2790% less
52:28than those with the same acreage
52:30of better land.
52:32We just have to work
52:33with what we've got,
52:34you know.
52:34It's like the weather.
52:35You can't do anything about it.
52:36You've just got to,
52:38you know, sort of work with it
52:39rather than work against it,
52:40you know.
52:41further south near Aberdeen.
53:02Mel and Martin
53:03are also contemplating
53:05their future.
53:05It's a baby,
53:09like you.
53:11Look,
53:11a baby like you.
53:14Aww.
53:16Baba.
53:17Baba.
53:19Lambing is going well
53:20with the flock
53:21at the estate.
53:22So we've just hit a milestone.
53:24We've got probably
53:25about 600 sheep to lamb
53:26and this is us
53:27marking up number 200
53:28so we're over a third
53:30of the way they are now.
53:33I'm looking forward
53:34to when it's more like
53:35500 and 600.
53:37It's about 400 to go.
53:43But the extra work
53:45is taking its toll.
53:47It's just hard
53:48doing the work here
53:50and having to go home
53:51and do work there
53:52and come back up here.
53:53A lot of juggling
53:54between here and home.
53:57In fact,
53:58the juggling
53:58between two farms
53:59has been playing
54:00on Mel and Martin's minds
54:02and they've come
54:03to a decision.
54:05So this is going
54:06to be our last lamb
54:07in here at the
54:07Shenmue from your estate.
54:09It's just too tight.
54:10I think the big factor
54:11was Erin.
54:13We're Erin
54:13coming out new
54:14and we're not just
54:14spending enough time
54:15with Erin.
54:15So we've taken
54:17an executive decision
54:18to pack it in,
54:20really.
54:21It's a shame
54:22because the sheep
54:23are now where
54:23we want them to be.
54:24They're looking well.
54:25We've got our own
54:26stamp on the place
54:27and it's a shame
54:27to give it up.
54:29Priority's Shane
54:29and she is our
54:30main priority.
54:32Don't get me wrong,
54:32I still love sheep
54:33and I'm hoping
54:35that there'll still
54:35be sheep at home
54:36which I'm pretty sure
54:37that they will be.
54:38So as much as we need
54:39the money,
54:40I think it's just
54:40more important
54:41to spend time with Erin.
54:42And in the mix
54:43of it all,
54:44you know,
54:45we are wanting
54:46another baby
54:48so that might
54:50just get thrown
54:50in there somewhere.
54:52Maybe.
54:52There's more
54:53to life
54:53than work,
54:54work,
54:54work.
54:58It'll mean
54:59a £15,000
55:00drop in their income
55:01but despite
55:03their decision,
55:04there's still hope
55:05that Erin
55:05might be bitten
55:06by the farming bug.
55:08She'll get every chance
55:08to be what she wants.
55:09She can be a sheep girl
55:10or a cattle girl
55:11or a tractor girl.
55:13She might be a hairdresser.
55:15She might be a hairdresser.
55:16She won't be a hairdresser.
55:18Will you?
55:19A little farmer,
55:20surely.
55:21It's nearing the end
55:30of Mellon Martin's
55:30work at the estate
55:31and time for the Gimmer
55:34and her adopted baby
55:35to move on too.
55:39She wants it,
55:40which is nice.
55:41She's making her mummy
55:42noises to happy days.
55:44We like things like that.
55:48So we're going to take
55:49a little 201.
55:49She's been in her small pen
55:51for two days now.
55:52So after two days,
55:53come into this bigger pen
55:54and the lamb can learn
55:55to look for mum
55:56and follow mum
55:56in a bigger space.
56:02The Gimmer
56:03and her adopted lamb
56:04have only ever been
56:05in a single pen together.
56:07The big test now
56:09is whether they recognise
56:10each other
56:11in a larger pen,
56:12surrounded by the sounds
56:14and smells
56:14and smells
56:14of other ewes
56:15and lambs.
56:27Happy days.
56:28on the west coast
56:41in Appin.
56:42David and Sandra's parrot,
56:56Inie,
56:57has finally broken
56:58his silence.
56:59the parrot
57:06never shuts up,
57:07doesn't he?
57:08But now,
57:09Inie's not the only
57:10baby in the household.
57:11Flash has had her litter
57:21of puppies.
57:23Four little babies.
57:26They're now two weeks old.
57:28You're eating lots
57:29and you've got lots
57:30of milk for your babies.
57:31Yeah, she's such a good mum.
57:36You know,
57:37she doesn't mind me
57:38in here with her pups
57:40touching them or anything.
57:42She knows.
57:43I'm your mum
57:44and you're their mum.
57:48Oh, sweet.
57:49Next time.
58:01Up.
58:02Come on.
58:03One of Stevie's buffalo
58:04refuses to budge.
58:07I've just given you
58:0825 girls
58:09and you want to lie
58:10in a puddle.
58:11What's your problem?
58:13Janet and Alistair
58:13get up close
58:14to Mull's wildlife.
58:16It's a break from
58:17lambing,
58:18feeding deer.
58:19Nice to get
58:19where you do
58:20something different.
58:21And David and Sandra
58:22have to leave a wedding
58:24when disaster
58:25strikes the farm.
58:27Hopefully there isn't
58:27any more problems.
58:28I'm not dressed for it.
58:49никогда never stops.
58:50I may be out of London.
58:59I'm not aira.
59:01We've just had a lot of
59:11these things to do.
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