Author Topic: Crows.....a cautionary tale...:( (Read 4562 times)

woollyval · « **on:** April 21, 2011, 08:20:27 am »

We have one more ewe left to lamb and all the other ewes have lambed in the last few weeks with no problems and being Ouessants the lambs are able to outrun me within an hour of birth. All the lambs are strong and fast and their mums doting......they like nothing better than to charge around in a large gang of an evening and chase the odd crow or phesant.....

Well yesterday morning the sheep were sitting in the sun and I happened to look out of a window and saw a lamb flat out near its mum who was happily cudding....something did not look right so I grabbed some binoculars.....and watched a crow sidle up and have a peck....

Moved very fast and ran to field to find warm but dead lamb with anus pecked out

This was one of the biggest and strongest ram lambs that was a possible stud ram as it was grey.....I was gutted. Nothing appeared to be odd, lamb had been fine the evening before....so decided to ask vet for PM as I don't vaccinate.

He was intrigued....he is a proper sheep vet who keeps a good flock himself. He concluded that the lamb was a cracker, a real good strong lamb with no possible illnesses and recent milk in stomach. He said trauma had killed it and he thinks that it was attacked by crows as it laid in the sun

He said he had seen this once before and the crows go for the anus as there may be a tiny bit of poo there that attracts them and once one had pecked hard whilst the lamb was relaxing the second will do the same immediately and death from shock is quick.....

I have to admit in all my years I have never heard nor seen a crow attack a 2 week old strong lamb but it obviously can happen so be on your guard for yet something else! We are going to shoot the b#####s

Rosemary · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2011, 08:36:19 am »

Shame. I hate crows.

Brucklay · « **Reply #2 on:** April 21, 2011, 11:30:10 am »

Thanks for the warning - we have quite a few about but the Jacob lambs will be a lot bigger than yours so should be ok - but I've seen them carry off duck eggs as our call ducks lay here, there and everywhere instead of their boxes ans I scare away whenever possible

kanisha · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2011, 11:57:28 am »

just as a word of caution and it may not have been the crows....... grey Ouessants are a colour mutation. in this case it is likely that the pathway for this mutation has a neurological component

quote
NEUROMELANIN

In the cells involved in Parkinson's disease (the dopaminergic neurons) the function is to produce dopamine. In the melanocytes, which are in the skin, the function is to produce the pigment melanin. Melanin is what causes people to suntan. Although they end up with different substances (dopamine and melanin), both of these cells start off with L-tyrosine, and both of them form L-dopa as well:

dopaminergic neurons : L-tyrosine > L-dopa > dopamine

melanocytes : L-tyrosine > L-dopa > melanin

Having had a grey lamb that was narcoleptic it is likely future studies may find the closer link to this colour variant.

Most grey lambs do very well but there are a percentage that fail to make it past weaning there is thought to be a link to the action of the bowel as well. i would be interested to know if it was possible for your vet to determine any pathology that might further this understanding.

TheCaptain · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2011, 03:13:42 pm »

Woolyshepherd - I'm gutted for you and your loss. I felt bad enough this morning to have another of my ewe lambs rip off a horn (had got them all in as had to have the vet look at one of my ewes, she went and got caught on one of the rails on the hurdles) but to lose one at this late stage would be devastating.

Again, condolences. Got my rifle - gonna shoot me some crows as vengence!

woollyval · « **Reply #5 on:** April 21, 2011, 03:35:43 pm »

Well if it was a narcoleptic lamb it didn't show it and I have a friend with narcolepsy so I know what I'm looking for! It was a very very healthy big lamb and I asked the vet re everything and he did a very thorough PM. It didn't have scours nor was it even loose......and having watched the crows trying it on with another lamb today my money is 100% on the birds.....we havent had many crows around here before but this year have 2 pairs.....who will soon be dead.

kanisha · « **Reply #6 on:** April 21, 2011, 03:42:09 pm »

Hi Woolly I'm not saying the lamb was narcoleptic belive me if it was you would see something wrong but just be on the look out as the greys are more prone to die. With their bowels this generally seems to happen around the time of weaning and is due to the gut simply not functioning. peristalsis is very slow or non existant.

Pony-n-trap · « **Reply #7 on:** April 21, 2011, 03:44:29 pm »

Farms around us have lost a few lambs to Hoodie crows this year......the new Gamekeeper is now onto that with Rifle and Larson Traps! Makes me a tad concerned as my ewes are due to start lambing next week and are in adjoining fields to where these lambs have been killed, in fact, I too saw one pecking what I am 100% sure was a bouncing healthy lamb when I had driven passed 15 mins before!

I know its a life cycle/nature thing but hey, thats our Lambs they are killing!

robert waddell · « **Reply #8 on:** April 21, 2011, 04:40:33 pm »

saw one today on the road to lanark same situation

poppajohn · « **Reply #9 on:** April 21, 2011, 07:35:52 pm »

Sad story that and I feel for you. I crofted in Shetland for five years and the hooded were b.......ts. As a lad I can honestly say we never lost a lamb to crows on the family farm, fox yes but never crows. I am not in sheep anymore but still trap and shoot all Corvus, they are natures thieves and are almost as bad as rats and moles in my book.