Devonshire August September 16

Sam who organised the trial.
He knew the dog, he knew the
owner well and he just laughed
when I suggested he might be
the dog for Nell.
“Trust you to choose a dog that’s
obviously brilliant but... He’s
French!”
“You’re joking, surely they didn’t
come all the way over from
France just for your trial?”
The answer was affirmative.
Sam also told me that because
he is a top trialling dog, and
not just in France, his owner
Sabine is very selective about
who she allows him to mate
with, the pedigree of the bitch,
where the pups will be sold etc.
Maybe French Jim was beyond
my reach, geographically
and financially. I felt really
disappointed. But hey ho, its
only a stretch of water we have
to cross. No, I was not giving
up.
Sam was right. Sabine was so
thorough; no stone was left
unturned about Nell or me!
After what seemed like millions
of e-mails and phone calls, the
FARM CALENDAR
AUGUST
• Fencing and more fencing - its never ending as
lambs find holes everywhere.
“date” was agreed. We were off
to France. I must be mad. Surely
there are some good dogs on
my doorstep? Undeterred the
planning began. First Nell - she
had to have a passport and a
rabies jab. So much paperwork.
The vets were also taken aback
that I was going to travel so far,
but they all know that when I
set my mind to something there
is no stopping me. Next the
journey. Boat, Fly or Tunnel?
Nell came on heat and now was
the tricky part. The most fertile
time can be anything from
day 9 to 14 but with a journey
near to Paris to undertake, the
timing was critical. Perhaps
this was a stupid idea after all.
We had to be sure of the timing.
I took Nell into the vets for a
blood test which tells us where
her progesterone levels are at,
and whether the time is right.
The results came back and the
vet informed me that Nell was
spot on.
“She’s ready to mate, Janet, so
get going quickly - you don’t
want to miss it”
• Top the fields to remove long grass that hasn’t been
eaten - looks smart.
• Gather up lambs and take some serious time to
select those to as keep as flock replacements - be
critical, don’t just pick the good looking ones.
• Check ewes carefully post weaning - select ewes to
be culled. Check lambing records carefully to make
sure those that had lambing problems are culled
(missed one last year and she had problems again).
• Advertise lambs for sale.
• Keep up the daily routine of training young Ralph,
my border collie.
SEPTEMBER
• Weigh lambs regularly and select first crop of lambs
fit for slaughter.
• Pen up the rams and give them an MOT - teeth,
feet, testicles, body condition.
• Put rams onto fresh grazing (called” flushing”) and
start to feed if necessary to improve their condition
pre tupping.
• Select Jacob lambs to be registered (Black welsh ewe
lambs don’t need registering, only the ram lambs –
Society rules)
• Check condition of ewes and “flush” them.
• Try and take a few days off in beautiful Cornwall
before the sheep breeding cycle starts all over again!
“You’re joking; we’ve got to drive
to France!”
She was ready sooner than I
expected. Thank goodness I
had the test done. Time was
against me. I put the phone
down, got on the internet,
booked the tunnel, packed the
car, loaded up Nell who was
smiling from ear to ear as she
loves the car and off we went.
The roads were kind and in no
time we were at Folkestone. I’d
never been through the tunnel
and it was so quick. We had
another 3 hours to drive in
France and I couldn’t believe
how empty the roads were.
Does anyone live in France?
We arrived at our destination in
daylight - St Germain sur Avre.
Two large imposing iron gates
met us, behind which stood
the most amazing large French
styled farmhouse bordered by
the River Avre and surrounded
by old, imposing brick barns,
stone walls and level fields. It
was so peaceful and idyllic. I
was nervous. Our host Sabine
met us and at her heels was Jim.
He was as I remembered him.
Stunning, intelligent, strong but
There's nothing lovlier than puppies
Janet East is the proprietor
at Yellingham Farm, also
running a Farmhouse B&B
establishment
www.yellinghamfarm.co.uk
01404 850272
with a very kind eye. Nell was
champing at the bit to get out
of the car. I felt immediately at
home and soon, Sabine’s pack
of other dogs and pups greeted
us. In perfect English, Sabine
suggested we get right on with
things, as I had recalled the
vets’ discussion with me - Nell
is ready. We walked to a large
field and meandered alongside
the river as Nell bounded off,
sniffing at everything and
exploring at top speed. Jim
was in hot pursuit as clearly to
him, she was ready. Nell has
other thoughts and in a true
dog fashion told Jim that she
was not interested! In fact, she
had the audacity to show her
teeth to him. Surely we hadn’t
just driven for 10 hours for her
to give him the cold shoulder.
After an hour she was still
having none of it. Nell was
horrible, Jim kept trying and
I had my head in my hands in
despair. Sabine took control, I
walked away. Suddenly I saw
Nell calm down, ears pricked
as usual. Maybe Jim whispered
something to her. Total relief
washed over me as Nell stood
for her French beau.
We stayed overnight in a
fabulous self catering barn on
the farm and the next morning
at daybreak, outside the door
was Jim, sat patiently waiting
for Nell. All was well and we
were back on the road by 7am.
Nell was sat up smiling and we
arrived back in Devon by 5pm.
A lot of miles, a lot of anguish, a
lot of money and now a waiting
game.
It was worth every copper
coin... Nell had 6 beautiful pups.
Thank you Sabine and of
course the amazing Jim. x
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