The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: mowhaugh on April 16, 2014, 09:57:25 pm

Title: Trying to do the right thing
Post by: mowhaugh on April 16, 2014, 09:57:25 pm
Grr feeling  >:( >:( >:(

I had an older ewe lamb just earlier, one big lamb first, and one tiny wee scrap about half an hour later.  By the time the scrap was born, the first one had guzzled all the colostrum, so I gave the scrap some powdered.  Dithered about whether to leave it with mum as it wasn't that warm and she was much more interested in the big one, but thought it was better with mum, so popped the bigger one in the next pen by itself, and mum licked the tiny lamb and so on, all looking good, thinking it might be fine, even when big bro was returned she was still keen on both, asked the lovely retired shepherd who is doing nights for us to check on it and see if he thought the ewe did have enough milk for both and he has just been in to tell me she was lying on the wee scrap and it is dead.  Wish I had taken it off her in the first place now.
Title: Re: Trying to do the right thing
Post by: trish.farm on April 16, 2014, 10:01:05 pm
Awww, so sorry, dont beat yourself up, probably one of those situations when whatever you did would have been the wrong thing.  :hug:
Title: Re: Trying to do the right thing
Post by: SallyintNorth on April 17, 2014, 02:11:44 am
 :hug:

I would have done exactly what you did, if that makes you feel any better.  It's so much better for the lamb to be reared on a ewe than to be bottle-reared, it's always best to try for that.  And sometimes this happens.  :hug:

Concentrate on the lambs that are alive.  As BH says, if every ewe rears one good lamb, it's a good year.
Title: Re: Trying to do the right thing
Post by: Treud na Mara on April 17, 2014, 08:32:20 am
We had a big tumphy looking Ryeland (previous owners had not shorn her for 2 years!) with two lovely lambs doing well and about 2 days old still penned up. OH checked them on their last morning before release to the Caithness weather and we decided to ring the tup lamb first. He came into the house to get the kit and myself and by the time we returned to the pen Mrs Tumphy had squished the little ewe lamb and she was dead. So it can happen in moments and nothing can be done except feel sad I'm afraid.
Title: Re: Trying to do the right thing
Post by: kelly58 on April 17, 2014, 09:33:18 am
So sorry to hear about your loss  :bouquet: