A New Year and a New Arrival

Fleecehaven N

ews

‘PROM

OTING HUM

AN BEHAVIOUR TOW

ARDS ANIM

ALS BY

PROVIDING CARE, PROTECTION, TREATM

ENT AND SECURITY’

Volume 6 Issue 3

Winter 2012/2013

On the 7th January, Fleecehaven wel-

comed a new arrival, Jessie. Jessie is

a Gotland ewe who was born in March

2002. She was one of twins and be-

cause she was so small her initial

owner decided to hand rear her.

When Jessie was just a few weeks old

she was taken on by Maggie and

Tony, who live on a small-holding

near Crediton in Devon.

Jessie enjoyed a wonderful life with

Maggie and Tony and adored her

flock mates, Poddy and Nellie. On

20th December, Jessie, Poddy and

Nellie were attacked by a dog and,

very sadly, Poddy and Nellie did not

survive.

Jessie was totally traumatised by the

attack and the subsequent loss of her

lifelong companions. She lost her

appetite and was constantly calling out

and looking for her friends. Maggie

and Tony were extremely concerned

about her and felt that she would be

better off with other sheep around her.

With this in mind, they contacted

Fleecehaven and arranged to come

and visit us with a view to Jessie join-

ing our flock. Although Fleecehaven

is essentially full, Jessie’s heart

wrenching plight made us determined

to do all that we could to accommo-

date her and, with a little jiggling

around, we managed to free up a sta-

ble for her.

When Jessie joined us she was very

subdued. She really didn’t want to eat

and was clearly still very traumatised

from her dreadful ordeal. As with all

new arrivals, our vet visited her and

gave her antibiotics and vitamins, he

also took her blood to run a general

health screen which returned a clean

bill of health. However, she still

seemed very depressed, so on the 10th

January we decided to introduce Tip-

toes and Tinkerbell into Jessie’s sta-

ble. After some initial wariness, they

quickly hit it off and, little by little,

Jessie began to regain her spirit and it

wasn’t long before she was once again

tucking into her food.

Continued on Page 2

A New Year continued

The Way to a Flock’s Heart

Winter Gallery

Sad Goodbyes

Thankewes

Newsbleat

Winter Visitors

2

2,3

4,5

6

6

7,8

8

Inside this Issue:

Jess

ie

fin

ally

en

joyin

g a

bow

l of

coar

se m

ix

Jessie making friends with Tiptoes and

Vashti

Jessie shortly after she joined us at

Fleecehaven

Page 2

A New Year and a New Arrival Continued

FLEECEHAVEN NEWS

With Tiptoes and Tinkerbell by her side, Jessie

slowly started to explore her new home. Initially

we restricted them to the yard so that we could

keep a close eye on Jessie and she seemed quite

contented exploring her new surroundings, espe-

cially when it snowed.

After a couple of weeks or so we allowed Jessie

access to the fields. Tinkerbell and Tiptoes were

clearly happy to venture out into the fields again

and Jessie tentatively followed them. However, as

soon as they went beyond the first field she pan-

icked and returned to the gate leading from the

yard to the fields, where she patiently waited for

Tiptoes and Tinkerbell to return. Over the course

of a few days, Jessie slowly became more confi-

dent and was eventually brave enough to walk

beyond the red barn and potter in our lower fields.

Just a short while after that we were all amazed to

see her, Tiptoes and Tinkerbell in our top fields -

the first time that any of them had ventured that

far! Since then, Jessie hasn’t looked back. She

now has absolutely no fear and freely wanders the

fields, just so long as she has Tiptoes and Tinker-

bell at her side.

Maggie and Tony have kept in close contact with

us since Jessie came to Fleecehaven and they have

visited her on several occasions. On their last visit

they found her grazing contentedly with her new

companions, completely settled and relaxed into

her new life.

Jess

ie,

Tip

toes

an

d

Tin

ker

bel

l ex

plo

rin

g t

he

yar

d i

n

the

snow

Jessie looking relaxed in

her new surroundings

Jessie grazing with Tip-

toes and Tinkerbell

The Way to a Flock’s Heart The winter has been extremely long and hard for

everyone at Fleecehaven. The weather has been

bitterly cold and, as things stand at the moment, it

doesn’t look as though Spring is going to appear

any time soon. Keeping the sheep fed and warm

has been a labour of love with constant deliveries

of hay, straw, coarse mix, haylage bales, sugar beet

shreds, ewe nuts,

lamb nuts, grass

nuts and buckets of

mineral licks. In addition to this, endless packets

of biscuits and weetabix have been consumed!

Throughout the winter, the majority of the main

flock have enjoyed a breakfast of coarse mix and

warmed sugar beet shreds. Whilst breakfast is

prepared outside in a series of troughs, the sheep

remain in their barn where they become increas-

ingly excited, often

bleating loudly and

kicking at the door. Continued on Page 3

Two of the many Hay

and Feed Deliveries

Emma unloading the

deliveries

Page 3 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

The Way to a Flock’s Heart Continued Once ready, they are let out and, after a little jos-

tling for position, the sheep happily tuck in. They

are then free to wander the fields as they wish or,

and as is more often their choice, return to bed!

Once the main flock is fed, it is then time to start

feeding individual sheep who have special dietary

needs. Some are elderly and need to have their

food soaked because they have very few teeth;

some require a blander diet; some have added

treats such as weetabix or digestive biscuits to help

them maintain their weight; some simply don’t

like the hustle and bustle of being fed with the

main flock so are held back and fed as part of a

smaller group. Whatever the reason, it is a time

consuming, yet a vital part of the daily routine at

Fleecehaven.

Once the morning round of feeding is complete, it

is time to turn our attention to the sheep’s bedding.

On a daily basis fresh straw is put down to ensure

that the sheep remain cosy at all times. A regular

programme of mucking out the stables is also in

place and at the end of January and beginning of

February it was once again time to carry out this

task. Our local agricultural contractor delivered a

large trailer to the yard as the ground was too wet

for us to realistically use our own trailer which is

kept in the field alongside the red barn. Over the

course of a week each stable was completely emp-

tied of compacted wood shavings and straw, pres-

sure washed and disinfected before being re-

stocked with a thick bed of wood shavings and

straw.

As mucking out for the day comes to an end, it is

time to refill the hay racks before the sheep start to

settle down for the night. For some, there is also

another feed to be prepared and enjoyed, espe-

cially by our more elderly and special needs sheep,

as they tend to require more food as they are less

likely to graze.

It seems that Emma’s life revolves around prepar-

ing feed and bedding for the Fleecehaven Flock -

no wonder they all adore her so much, she’s cer-

tainly found the way to their hearts!

Off out to explore with nice full tummies

Preparing breakfast before a contented flock tuck in

Emma mucking out the old boys stable

One trailer nearly full and ready to go!

Page 4

Winter Gallery 2012/13

FLEECEHAVEN NEWS

Precious wondering

‘Do I really want to go

out in this?’

Henry having a

bad hair day

Bunty in pursuit of biscuits

Skittles playing King of the Castle

Ned opening his Christmas card

Blackie sharing her Christmas treats

Eby enjoying some winter grazing

Snowflake strutting his stuff

Bramble snuggled up in the barn

Snowdrop enjoying the winter sun

Willaby Oak

looking handsome

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 Page 5

Stevie ‘Singing in the

Snow’

Murphy look-

ing doleful in

the snow

Jasper & Storm exploring the snow

Heading home after a day in the snow

Freckles, Poppy and co tucked

up in the barn

Holly, Morgan and Skittles enjoying

some rare grazing

A new year, a new dawn

Buster looking quizzical

Hugo leading the way

Cynthia keeping watch over her friends

Alfie waiting for

treats in the

garden

Page 6

Sad Goodbyes Once again, the winter has sadly seen us have to

say goodbye to some of our dear friends. It’s

never an easy time and every loss feels like losing

a member of the family.

Dear Honey was our first loss. She was diagnosed

with a heart condition in the summer, since when

she had been closely monitored by our vet. Un-

fortunately she stopped responding to treatment

and we had no alternative but to say goodbye.

She was such a sweet girl and is missed greatly.

Just a short while later, Fidget, one of our great

characters, sadly died following a short, age re-

lated illness. She really was a remarkable girl and

the yard still feels terribly empty without her end-

less inquisitive antics. She may well have been

tiny, but the void left is huge.

Sadly the winter ended with us having to suddenly

say goodbye to our dear Wallace. He was diag-

nosed with a peritonitis. He was such a gentle and

friendly boy and his passing leaves us all greatly

saddened.

Fidget, Aged 13 Wallace, Aged 7 Honey, Aged 11

FLEECEHAVEN NEWS

Thank Ewes Fleecehaven would once again like to say thank

you to Ange from Gemini Print who has kindly

agreed to print, free of charge, four editions of the

Fleecehaven Newsletter (this is the second). We

are extremely grateful to Gemini Print for their

wonderful generosity and, should you require any

printing to be carried out, would urge you to con-

tact them. Further details can be found on their

website at www.geminiprint.net

We’d also like to say

a big thank you to

Maggie (Jessie’s

owner) who has not

only donated a large

number of beautiful

soft toys for our

fundraising tombola,

but has also made some amazing craft items for us

to sell during our summer fundraising events.

Items include tea cosy's, spec cases, reusable book

covers and cafeteria cosy’s, which are all made

from recycled materials. They are all beautifully

made and extremely unique and I am sure they

will help us to raise some much needed funds.

Our sincere thanks

also to Andrea

Brown, who has very

kindly donated some

gorgeous ‘sheepy’

merchandise for us to

sell, including cuddly

lambs and beautifully

crafted wooden egg cups with a sheep motif. I am

sure that they will be very popular with our stall

visitors.

Finally, we’d like to say yet another thank you to

Debbs Elliman who has very generously made yet

more beautiful jewellery for us to sell. Debbs has,

amongst other things, made some incredible ear-

rings, broaches, bracelets and key-rings, all of

which are hand-made and

absolutely beautiful.

Debb’s items are always

popular and sell well at

our fund raising events

and I am sure that this

year will be no exception.

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 Page 7

News Bleat Towards the end of November Badger became

poorly. He was showing signs of abdominal dis-

comfort. An abdominal scan and blood tests were

carried out but no abnormalities were found. It

was thought he may have a urine infection, for

which antibiotics were prescribed and he now ap-

pears to be fit and well again.

Just before Christmas we became worried about

Lupin. She appeared disorientated and was stum-

bling a little. Her blood was tested for a variety of

ailments, including thyroid function. All of the

tests came back negative and our vet thought that

she probably had some form of age related neuro-

logical problem which is now being treated by

periodic steroid injections. Because we were con-

cerned about her stumbling over in the stable and

possibly being trodden on by the other sheep we

decided to move her into the utility room, which is

where she has been ever since. If the weather is

fine she goes out into the garden, otherwise she is

quite contented being a house sheep!

The dreadful weather conditions over the winter

have continued to cause us problems with feet and

Emma has been constantly treating individual

sheep for strip (an infection caused by micro-

organisms created by persistent moisture on the

skin between the toes). Phillip and Thomas have

both suffered from abscesses that have required

antibiotic treatment but both seem to have now

healed well.

Dennis was worrying us a little just before Christ-

mas. He is quite arthritic and appeared to be strug-

gling a little more than usual. On Christmas Eve

we took him to the Veterinary Hospital where x-

rays showed that he had arthritis in his knee, not

his hip as we’d previously thought. He is now

having regular steroid injections and appears to be

coping well.

Bunty was also poorly just before Christmas. Her

bleat became a little strange and she went off her

food. Our vet visited and diagnosed her with lar-

yngitis! A course of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory

and plenty of TLC saw her bleat and appetite

slowly return to normal.

Just after Christmas, we were concerned about

Henry’s eye. It looked a little cloudy and we won-

dered if he had an infection in it. Our vet con-

firmed this and gave him a steroid injection. He

also prescribed a two week course of anti-

inflammatory eye cream. He really didn’t like

having the cream put in his eye and at times it was

quite difficult to administer, but thankfully it has

done the trick and his eye has now completely

healed.

Frosty has been poorly on and off throughout the

winter. In December he developed and abscess on

his chin, which was successfully treated with anti-

biotics. In early January he appeared to be suffer-

ing from a urine infection, which again was treated

with a course of antibiotics. Towards the end of

January we noticed that Frosty was having diffi-

culty in eating his coarse mix, and on close inspec-

tion of his mouth it was discovered that his front

teeth had all become extremely loose. Our vet

examined him and it was decided that the removal

of the loose teeth

would be beneficial

to Frosty, and this

was carried out

under a light seda-

tion. He is now

much improved and

eating well. Continued on Page 8

Lupin (our house guest)

Den

nis

Frosty

Winter Visitors

‘Promoting humane behaviour towards animals by providing care, protection, treatment and

security’

Fleecehaven Howley Park East Buckland North Devon EX32 0TD

01598 760454 admin@fleecehaven.org.uk www.fleecehaven.org.uk

Registered Charity No 1111004

Newsbleat Continued Having made a full recovery follow-

ing the removal of his toe last Au-

tumn, Paddington was concerning us

again towards the end of February.

He appeared to be lame and, on in-

spection, we discovered a growth

between the toes on his front, right

foot. Our vet suggested removing it,

which was duly done the following

day. Since then we have been dress-

ing his foot on a regular basis and,

little by little, it would appear to be

healing. Our vet continues to monitor

him closely, but is pleased with the

progress that he is making and Pad-

dington would certainly appear to be none the worse for wear and is

once again busying himself around the yard.

The continuous rain over the winter has taken its toll on the ground

as well as Emma and the sheep. Over the Christmas period we

experienced a landslide along the stream that runs through Fleece-

haven. A large number of overflowing natural springs, together

with continuous water running off the fields and a period of ex-

tremely torrential rain, resulted in the bank of the stream collapsing

leaving a steep ravine. For the time being we have hurdled the area

off to ensure that it is safe and that the sheep can not get stuck in the

boggy mud or the fast running water. Once the ground has dried

out a little we will probably have to

re-route the fence that currently cor-

dons off the stream as rebuilding the

bank is likely to prove rather diffi-

cult and not terribly successful.

Let’s hope that as we move towards

Spring we will all start to enjoy

some considerably better weather.

Page 8 FLEECEHAVEN NEWS

It has been lovely to see so many adopters visiting Fleecehaven over the winter months. Andrea has

become a regular visitor and is now working with some of our sheep using a variety of complimentary

treatments. She is writing a feature for our next newsletter outlining the work that she has been doing.

Lucy, her sister and friend came to visit in early December and Frankie and Tom visited late in Febru-

ary. Despite the bitterly cold weather everyone appeared to enjoy feeding numerous biscuits to the

sheep (and the sheep certainly enjoyed it!!).

Lu

cy f

eed

ing B

lack

ie

Fra

nk

ie a

nd T

om

An

dre

a w

ith

Jes

sie

Paddington

Our mini landslide