The Woolly Patchwork Sheep Sanctuary

Bleatings from the Woolly Patchwork Sheep Sanctuary

Welcome to another newsletter and as always a big welcome to all our new sanctuary family members.

Here we are at the end of November and I’m sure everyone’s thoughts will soon be turning to Christmas! This year really seems to have flown by.

At least I can say we’ve had a beautiful Autumn in Wales this year. Very often we go from Summer to Winter with about 4 days in between, but this year, apart from a couple of stormy days in October, it’s been relatively dry and very mild. Looking at the long range forecast this looks set to change around about now though, so Winter is about to kick in. As the Sanctuary is nearly 1000 ft above sea level, we are above the snow line and usually get snowed in for a week or more most years.

Summer and Autumn brought some visitors to the Sanctuary which was lovely. Old friends returning and new friendships being made. Things have still been a little quiet on the visitor front though thanks to the ongoing covid situation.

September saw the sheds filled up with straw for winter bedding and haylage for winter feed. Large feed blocks have also been purchased. It’s always a relief to get these in, as I know then whatever the weather throws at us, we can survive. If bad weather is forecast, I just need to stock up with bagged feed and we are good to go!

Kiss and Kohl the 2 Gotland ewes that arrived here at the end of July have settled in very well and integrated into the flock.

Kiss had an eye problem not long after she arrived and my vet thought she may well have knocked her eye in the trailer whilst travelling here. She had a course of antibiotics and eye ointment and the bad eye cleared up. Annoyingly it returned again 6 weeks later so she had a further course of treatment with a different antibiotic and cream and again it cleared. I really hoped that was the end of it but no……at the beginning of November back it came again. Another vet visit and tests, only to find out that poor Kiss has a glaucoma type problem and the eye issue is likely to be ongoing. She has had a course of steroid eye drops and it’s a case of monitoring now to see how it progresses. It can be managed with specific drops for glaucoma if necessary. These are off licence for sheep but my vet is happy to prescribe them if need be. In herself, Kiss is well and very happy and that’s the main thing.

Both Kiss and Kohl have put on weight since arriving and they are full of beans. They are both very food orientated and will come running from afar if they hear the rattle of a sheep nut. This does make things easy if I have to treat Kiss’s eye. They really are beautiful girls and it was wonderful to see them both having the confidence to approach visitors recently.

October saw the old girls coming in at nights. They each have their own pen so they can snuggle down without being disturbed. Some of the oldies are very slow eaters and most have individual medicinal requirements so they can take as long as they like over their feed and hay etc. I can also monitor how much they eat and drink and notice any problems much quicker.

Pixie, who is nearly 17 is getting very slow, not eating at all well and drinking quite a lot of water. She was really unwell at the end of October and I thought she had got to the end of the line, but somehow thanks to energy boosting drinks, vitamins and pain relief she pulled through and has picked up well for now. I am fully aware though, that this will likely be a winter too far for old Pixie sadly.

There are a couple of others that also give cause for concern, most notably Kelly, who you will remember was diagnosed with a thyroid tumour back in June. The tumour is growing and before long it will start to impact on her breathing and ability to eat. I have changed her feed to soft, soaked sugar beet to avoid any choking issues. It’s a situation that is constantly monitored.

Little Ffion is another who also has problems. She like Pixie is elderly, thin and very frail and to add to all that she has now lost her sight in both eyes to cataracts. She can sense solid objects in front of her and pretty much knows where she is most of the time. I have a little bell that i’ve trained her to and she follows the bell noise to come into the shed at night. Despite all her issues, she’s happy, grazes well on the paddock and settles down in her night time pen to eat her supper and hay.

Aside from the really old girls, a few other delicates came in at nights at the end of October. I have to admit, I do love to see them all snuggled down into their straw beds at night.
The main young flock will hopefully be able to stay out at grass 24/7 until the middle of December. We still have plenty of grass even though the quality diminishes at this time of year. Feed blocks to provide extra minerals will be put out at the beginning of December to supplement what is lacking in the grass. They have access to the big sheep shed for shelter and haylage through the Winter. Timing is all dependent on the weather of course. Once all the sheep are in the daily workload really ramps up. At least it keeps me fit but I have to admit I’m tired at the end of the day. As someone kindly said to me the other day “At your age, 9pm is the new midnight”!!! Cheeky, but I’m beginning to think they’re right!!!!

I woke on Saturday 20th November to find that my beloved little Storm had passed away in the early hours. She looked very peaceful and I think she probably suffered a heart attack. She had aged a lot since the Summer and was really starting to struggle on occasions with her arthritis. She was on the maximum prescription for anti inflammatories and pain relief. I wasn’t totally surprised at her passing. I had pretty much made up my mind that it was time to call a halt and I was pleased that Storm decided when it was time rather than myself.

She was the sweetest little character. She was born here on 25th March 2007 in the exact same spot where she died. She was a triplet lamb, that presented head first and I had to deliver her. I reared her on the bottle. Storm had some funny habits, the strangest one being at dosing time. Whilst most sheep hate being dosed for anything, Storm always loved her medicine and would come back round asking for seconds!!!! She always made me laugh. She was very independent and knew what she wanted, never left you in any doubt as she had the loudest BAA that you ever heard.

RIP little Storm, you will always be remembered with much love and affection.

The lovely Deborah from The Living Rug Company has been raising money for the Sanctuary through the sales of cards featuring some of the gorgeous sheep in her flock. These will stay on sale until Christmas so if you wish to purchase a pack please visit her website www.thelivingrugcompany.com Each pack sold will raise £5 for the Sanctuary.

Easyfundraising has also been a great source of fundraising for anyone who shops online and thank you to all those who support and raise money for the Sanctuary in this way. It’s amazing how the pennies mount up into pounds. If you haven’t already signed up you can do so.

Thank you as always to all who continue to support us by purchasing gifts from our Amazon wishlist.

Our November fundraiser on the Woolly Supporters Club Facebook group was a big success and thanks to all who purchased items. There are a few things left if you are looking for Christmas gifts including one or two gorgeous hand made, knitted items etc.
If you don’t have access to Facebook and would like to know what’s left for sale, please drop me a line on our email woollypatchworksheep@yahoo.com and I can send details, pics etc.

Thank you all for your continued support for the Sanctuary. It means so much to me to have your support and know that people care about these wonderful animals as much as I do. I really appreciate all that you all do to support me in caring for the flock.

Much love,
Caroline & The Baa’s xxx