[Pedwardine]

Typical with me advising people to not dwell on what went wrong with lambing only to go out and find Beauty's teeny ewe lamb has died. She'd been a quiet little thing, not much baaing and we'd been feeding her tiny amounts every few hours. She didn't seem able to latch on to mum very easily but the suckling action was strong enough. I cried a stupid amount and held her for an age, the inside of her mouth was still warm so it hadn't been long. Kept thinking 'if only I'd gone out a little earlier' and suchlike. So terribly sad but Beauty wasn't upset, she knew what had happened and the wee one had died seemingly in her sleep cuddled up to mum. It could have been worse but goodness it hurts when they've been okay for a while and then die. I'm very resigned when they're born dead or die within minutes but she was such a cutie, just so, so small there was always going to be a chance it would happen. She only weighed 1.9kg but one went out on the field a few days back weighing just 1.2kg. She is constantly attached to her mum's teat though! Sometimes you just don't know why and I don't know that it helps if you do. She was beautiful. Never got a picture. 

[Sylvia]

  Can't say any more than that.....It would make me cry

[Pedwardine]

Thanks Sylvia.

[in the hills]

So sorry .... tears in my eyes   

[norfolk newbies]

Huge hugs...and with you being so tired I bet you are on the edge at the moment.
 I truly sympathise. Our boy lamb did not have any life in him to start with, but for you to lose one where you had contact and nuture....I feel your loss. I was near tears, and I have actually had some sleep recently.

 

[Pedwardine]

You're all lovely.
Thankyou.

[melholly]

So sad. You know, there are some hard nosed 'sheep' people out there that constantly make me feel stupid, naive and out of my depth but on here I don't know if it's because you can hide behind the PC or whatever, but it seems there are a LOT of people who do 'get' the emotional side of it. After all, we all 'smallhold' for our own reasons. I would cry too - I 'get' the emotion and am really very sorry you've had such a shock.

Mx

[doganjo]

 

I really feel for you too.       

After spending so much time and effort, not to mention affection, on the little abandoned lamb I had last year, and then for him to go back to his own field and contract something that if I'd kept him another month he'd have been able to resist, was very upsetting for me.

[jaykay]

I'm so sorry about your little lamb {{{hugs}}}

[Pedwardine]

Isn't this forum a wonderful place! I'm sure OH thinks I'm barely away from it (He might have something there ) but I find such strength and encouragement. Am I a sad arse in that I arranged the tiny body to look like she's curled up sleeping? It made me feel better somehow. I did that once before with a few weeks old lamb who got electrocuted on the fencing. Now that was something which could've been stopped and I still find it a little painful to think about it. Ewes and lambs were on friend's and neighbour's field and they cried too. These precious lives should be mourned shouldn't they? I cry when I take the ram lambs to slaughter too but I keep it in until I've walked away and am driving home. I've always been an emotional girl.

[Mammyshaz]

  so sorry

[jaykay]

If we didn't care about them, what would be the point. They're little 'souls', however you express or understand that and we have something in common with them therefore. It would be wrong if we just thought 'easy come, easy go' wouldn't it? Hurts of course, but 'better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all'.

[Rosemary]

  Really sorry to hear about the wee lamb - so much emotion at this time of year

[SallyintNorth]

{{{hugs}}}  Thanks for caring, and for sharing 

[Nell]

Sorry to hear about your lamb, she sounded a lovely little thing.n

Unfortunately I've had to become hardnosed over the years to the amount of lambs I've lost - I used to work with commercial lambs so it becomes a regular occurrence. I've not been on here long but it's so nice to see that there's genuine empathy and feeling amongst smallholders than the cold, cynicism of the 'big' farmers I normally associate with.