[MrsJ]

Oh dear, I am sorry pedwardine.  Each one is precious.  We had twins on Sunday, one huge and the other tiny.  He's a sweet little thing and suckling well but I shall be watching him like a hawk. 

[Remy]

Aww, so sorry Amanda  , big hugs.  I think we smallholders by and large have more empathy with our animals than the big farmers, as we have smaller numbers and tend to get to know the individuals.  As you say it's worse when they live for a bit then expire for reasons unknown.  I felt very demoralised when I pulled out two dead lambs this year, it affected me for quite a while and even my friend who was helping!

With the lambs destined for market I try to keep them at arms length and don't get attached to them, but it still doesn't rest easy with me when I load them all in the trailer  .  It's going to be very hard with the Gotlands who are sooo friendly - and this year particularly the little hypothermic twin ram lamb I am bottle feeding and sees me as mummy! 

When I first moved here my farmer neighbours used to scoff at me keeping pet sheep and pigs, they all thought I was quite mad!

[Brijjy]

  ((Hugs.))

[Herdygirl]

Aaw so sorry Pedwardine, i know how heartbreaking it can be with the tiny ones.  i lost a little lamb last year 'Pumpkin'.  In my head i knew she wasn't 'right' but never the less she had more care than my grown up children (they understood) and when she died we all cried.  so i can put my self in your very sad shoes....have  a big hug from West Yorkshire and remember how beautiful she was.

[Brucklay]

So sorry to read of your wee lamb Pedwardine, off out to check my wee ones now

[fleurky]

Gosh this post has done me more good than any other, having cried buckets for the 4 lambs lost thus far this lambing season from a large sheep farm up the road I now feel less wussy!
My 'better' half tells me not to get so emotionally involved, but when they are hopeless case bin ends with just one chance I feel the need to at least try, rather than leave them in the 'lamb box' to surely die.  Any warmth and affection is better than none surely. 
I tell him if the alternative is not caring I'd rather cry but I still feel a bit of a gimp! Girls huh! =D 
On the plus side, I have 2 at 4 weeks which are getting much stronger, and would definately not have survived without the Florence Nightingale style intervention but I'm definately not counting my chickens (appologies for mixing metaphores!) as everyone keeps telling me they are born to die.
Children are so much easier to raise!  So sorry to hear about your little one, but thanks for raising the issue of weeping! =) xx

[MrsJ]

We lost our tiny wee thing (mentioned above) yesterday.  Guess he just wasnt strong enough.  He was half the size of his brother.  I had a good old sob and a good long hug from OH which helped.

[Pedwardine]

So sorry Mrs J  Fleurky, don't change.
You know when I take my boys to THAT place, it gets to me so much because I have loved them even for that short duration of time they're looked after by me and OH so I have to continue that level of care by being with them to the last stage. OH has said he'd do it on his own but the one time he did he got back with red eyes having missed a red light and getting in the wrong lane on the journey home 'cause HE was so upset. If we're gonna do it at all we do it together. We do get over it but it never becomes 'easier'. I kind of don't want it to. The hurt indicates the love you see?