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Lambing Work Experience

Hi! I was just wondering if anyone knew where I could get lambing work experience in the Cheshire area? Also what kind of times should I expect? Do I end up staying at the farm for a week or not? Thanks :smile:

(Sorry if this is the wrong section, I'm kind of new to TSR)

Reply 1

Little Tail Chaser

Hi, welcome to the forum. (This is the right place, don't worry!)

In a couple of months the National Sheep Association will release their list of farms asking for work experience students. You can ask to be added to their mailing list, look them up :smile:

It has farms all over the UK so there will likely be some near you, but they tend to mention in each farm's description whether accommodation is provided. Not sure what you mean by times, but lambing season can be as long as Dec-June, although most places will do it around March/April time. Hours each day can vary, but expect to start early and finish late.

You can travel in every day or stay on the farm, it's up to you and the farmer. I'd recommend staying on the farm though, since you might get more chances to see interesting cases that happen in the evening/at night. It's also really fun, so you won't want to go home every day!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 2

ellyh

Thanks little tail chaser! I'll have to google the sheep association. I don't think staying on a farm will work for me - I'm vegetarian and I can imagine that being an unpopular lifestyle choice among farmers!

Reply 3

Little Tail Chaser

Fair enough, I don't know any veggie farmers so I can't say that's unwise :tongue:

If you read the sticky thread on advice from a shepherd (at the top of this forum) they suggest that you could bring some food with you to chuck in the freezer and microwave at meal times, might that be an option?

I'm not trying to undermine your decision at all, just making a suggestion in case the farms on the list are a bit too far away to commute to every day :smile:

Reply 4

lwescott

The NSA is definitely the place to look, they're really nice if you send them an email and will advise of local farmers.
You don't have to stay with the family if you can drive or get a lift there and it really depends on the system. The first farm I went do I did 8am-5ish, the farmer would check them at 10pm then leave them until 6am but when I could drive and moved to Uni we did the 8pm-8am night shift on a bigger Organic farm so we were busy all night pulling lambs.

I wouldn't worry about being a veggie too much, most farmers are meat and two veg kinda people but if you're not fussy otherwise it shouldn't be a problem. A few friends have stayed on farms and just had what the family have eaten minus the meat.

Reply 5

returnmigrant

Link for the NSA Lambing jobsboard : http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/nextgeneration/lambing-work-experience.php

"The 2015/16 list will be posted here in the autumn. If you would like to be notified when the list goes live, please send an email to [email protected]."