| Lambing
season is a busy time at the school farm, with all hands on deck, and children
helping out before school starts and after school finishes, but it doesn't end
there.
"Between myself and another member of staff, Sue, we take
it in turns to come in about 10 o'clock at night for half an hour to an hour,"
explains Matthew Hodgeson, farm manager.
"We check out the sheep
and see if any look like they are about to lamb. If they are, we help out if and
when necessary."
So far
they have three lambs but they are expecting a total of about 17 from their nine
sheep.
This is
more than the school farm had last year and the number of lambs depends on the
amount of help at hand.
"We try and tailor the season to the amount
of young farmers we've got," says Matthew. "At the moment there are
about 23 or 24 young farmers helping out with lambing."
The
lambing season continues for about three weeks, obviously depending on when the
ram first visited the ewe. "A chap comes in to scan the sheep," says
Matthew. "He then lets us know if they are due and if so within a week of
that date they will lamb."
The first
lamb of the season is a very healthy chap.
"This one is a real
stonker of a lamb," says Matthew as he lifts him out of the pen and into
Kerry's arms: "He's very muscly already and has grown into his skin. When
they first pop out they're very cold with lots of ripply skin - this one has filled
out and he is very handsome."
The
new lambs are being prepared for the Kent County Show held in Detling in the summer.
The school farm has a long history of showing their animals at this event and
several walls covered in rosettes confirm the past successes.
As well
as their new lambs, the farmers also have other animals that they will be putting
into the County Show this year, including chicks, rabbits, Silkies and two new
Beefies called Arial and Daz. | 
