Two hours in the life of a wannabe shepherd!

It's a busy time of year for our livestock staff and volunteers - so extra pairs of hands are always welcome! Join Harry as he helps out for a couple of hours, as told by his mum and our Bedfordshire team's admin and projects officer, Sophie Stocking.

I am writing this on behalf of my youngest son, Harry, who all his life has been obsessed with sheep!

A boy smiles as he leans over and botle feeds a buff and brown coloured lamb resting against the leg of a livestock officer

Given his obsession, you can imagine that when the annual email comes round offering staff the opportunity to visit Barford Meadows to assist with some lambing duties, I instantly think of Harry. In fact, this is the second year we have joined the wonderful Northants grazing team on an afternoon in the sunshine learning all about how to care for the newborn lambs.

Things started off on a high when Tom arrived, and out of the truck jumped the most adorable, tiny, Bambi-esque, baby Mouflon and his slightly larger side-kick! A completely unexpected bonus was being able to help bottle feed them.

Two mouflon lambs stand, agouti-brown coloured and rather goat-like, alongside a man's boot

A pale orange young calf stands, wonky on its legs, as its shaggy orange mother looks on from the shade of a nearby hedgerow

Once they were fed and suitably fussed, crook in hand, we set off across the fields, basking in the spring sunshine. Our first stop was to admire, if from a slightly distant viewpoint, the ONE DAY old Highland calf - his mother mooing softly just to remind us she was there! He could barely stand, and I’m sure wondered who we were and why we were staring and cooing at him. His fluffy little face perplexed but inquisitive. Great photo opportunity!

Then off we set ready for the real job! Binoculars poised, Daisy spotted some lambs which had only been born that day and needed tagging and registering. Helped by Tom, Harry managed to catch the first, a little, black, lady Manx and assisted with clipping the tags to her ears.

A man and a young boy kneel on the ground whilst the boy holds a young white lamb that is being fussed over by its mother standing alongside

Tom, Harry, lamb and sheep. Photo by Sophie Stocking

A young boy helps to tag the ear of a white lamb carefully held still by a man as he kneels on the floor

Harry helps tag the ear of a lamb, supervised by Tom. Photo by Sophie Stocking

A young boy kneels on the ground as he cradles a dark-coloured lamb he caught gently with a crook

Harry cradles the lamb he caught with the crook. Photo by Sophie Stocking

The second lamb to catch was a bright white beauty! She proved a little tricky and slipped out of the crook, but Harry didn’t give up and managed to hold on to her with his hands and pull her into his lap for tagging – even under pressure from a fussy ewe who was concerned about what we were doing to her baby!

By the third lamb, Tom was confident that Harry was ready to go it alone – and sent him off sprinting after the final newborn who was fast disappearing up the hill. Like a true professional with one confident swoop Harry hooked the lamb and by the time we caught him up he had it cradled in his arms.

The conversation that ensued was whether Tom needed his crook back or if Harry could keep it, and then whether he could have one for his birthday. He also expressed that he would choose to come out with Tom and Daisy, even over Art – which is his favourite subject.

HUGE thanks to both Tom and Daisy – for answering all the questions, for letting Harry be so hands on and for being so encouraging. You literally made Harry’s day! It’s moments like these that make me so grateful that I work for the Trust.