Myerscough springs into action for new Lambing Season
Published: Monday 9 March 2026Spring Lambing Season is always a very busy time of year at Myerscough College’s Lee Farm.
The season usually lasts approximately between early February and April, and involves Myerscough agriculture staff working around the clock to deliver around two thousand newborn lambs every year.
Over the weekend, Myerscough welcomed hundreds of people to Lee Farm for the return of the popular Lambing Weekend, which was a sell out across both days.
Families who visited us got to see our ewes give birth to twins and triplets, and some of the children were lucky enough to name them.
Everyone was so interested in farming and how we produce food to the highest welfare and safety standards.
Keep an eye out for June’s Open Farm Sunday – which is a free event where you will get to see our dairy cows, beef cows, and calves.
The lambing process begins around about this time of year, when the rams are put out with the ewes for breeding. Rams are sometimes called ‘tups’, and mating is often referred to as ‘tupping’. Sheep carry lambs for around 147 days.
During pregnancy, ewes have a scan to check progress and establish their probable due dates. Most ewes give birth to, and then rear, twins, but single births and triplets are also common.
After scanning, ewes are usually split into groups according to how many lambs they are carrying. This allows the farm to make sure the ewes are managed correctly through the process in terms of their feeding and ongoing care.
Ewes can be lambed indoors or outdoors, depending on their breed, with Myerscough lambs generally born indoors. March and April are peak lambing time in the UK, making these next few weeks a very busy time down on the farm. When a lamb is born, the sheep is left to nurse it in order to establish a bond. After birth, the ewe and her lambs are then placed in a small pen to help with the bonding process.
Newborn lambs receive colostrum from their mother in order to help them avoid disease, and then the animals are usually ‘turned out’ into the fields within a day or so after birth. Lambs weigh between 4 and 6kg when they are born and grow very quickly, with are ready for market from around 12 weeks old.
Myerscough agriculture students are also heavily involved in the process too. As part of their study programme they are given the opportunity to help with the lambing, including working night shifts to make sure they experience the full experience of how the process is carried out on a working farm.