Kelvin and Liz Fletcher shared fears for their Cheshire farm following a heartbreaking loss. The couple documents the highs and lows of farming in their ITV series, Fletcher's Family Farm. In the latest repeat episode, Kelvin and Liz faced a setback and bid a bittersweet farewell to their beloved alpacas to make space on the farm.
Vet visit after lamb's death
Kelvin and Liz welcomed vet Angelica to the farm for a health check on their flock following the death of their beloved pet lamb, Aga. "It kind of looks a bit chaotic, but this is the smoothest it's ever happened," Liz shared when referring to rounding up the sheep.
Kelvin noted, "We're improving. It just shows we are improving." With the ewes and lambs separated, it was time for a not-so-pleasant job of the season. "Put your hand up if you want a poo bag," Kelvin shouted to his kids, who seemed enthusiastic about picking up sheep poo.
Worm fears and testing
The former soap star shared his concerns: "To try to prevent losing any lambs, vet Angelica will take the poo samples collected today for testing so we can treat any early signs of infection."
Vet Angelica explained, "As they grow up, they build some kind of immunity, but lambs are naive to them, and worms are everywhere at pasture, so we need to make sure that they have a good level of exposure when they're young, which means that they will build up their immune response, but at the same time, the burden is not too high and make them sick."
Kelvin recounted their previous loss: "We're taking a belt and braces approach this year, as through the winter worms were a real problem and proved to be fatal for a couple of our lambs, including our beloved Aga. Aga was an orphan lamb, whom we fell in love with, but later lost to a worm infection."
All clear results
With all samples collected, vet Angelica returned to the lab to test the sheep poo. Luckily for the Fletcher family, the results came back all clear, as Kelvin informed viewers: "Angelica has been back in touch with the good news that the worm count isn't dangerous, but as advised, we still treat them."
He added, "It's not the easiest job to do, but such an important one, and this time it was such a great team effort. Right, so now it's that simple chase and getting them back out, back out in the pasture." Fletcher's Family Farm is available to watch on ITVX.
