[SheepCrazy!]

I was having a great day in the  , handclipping my ewes, went off for a coffee break, for 15minutes to return to my dutch texel tup lying oddly with his neck bent and a tiny spot of blood, on his crown, not a mark on the other 5 tups,

Well my diagnosis of a broken back turned out to be wrong but vet diagnosed a brain trauma and bleed, he didn't make it
What a disaster from a great day to a # one

Just shows lifes short we should enjoy it while we can!

[Bionic]

Aww, that's very sad 

[sabrina]

How awful. There is nothing you could have done to change the outcome but a nasty shock for you. I always say, it never pays to be too happy because someone or something will kick you in the guts. Makes me worry when I have had a great day.

[SallyintNorth]

Sorry to hear about this 

Had you been clipping the tups it maybe could have been expected - the sheep always have to scrap to sort out their pecking order again once they've been clipped, so with tups it can be a good idea to pen them up closely for an hour so they can get used to each other again without having enough room to do each other any damage. 

But don't let fear of setbacks cast a cloud over the good times.  Although I do recognise that feeling, "Everything is going just too well, I wonder what is going to come and bite me in the bottom. "  But the setbacks will come when they will, especially when we're farming.  Nothing to do but put it behind you, and know that the good times will also come again 

[Rosemary]

Sorry to hear about your tup - what a shock 

[kanisha]

exactly must have been a terrible shock 

[ZaktheLad]

Horrible thing to happen. 

[feldar]

   i hate finding accidents horrible thing to happen,
 

[Young Ed]

shame
oh well look at the positive side of things at least he didn't leave just before tupping otherwise you would have had to work the other 5 extra hard or find a emergency replacement quick, either way not a good solution! out of interest how many ewes do you have?
Cheers Ed

[SheepCrazy!]

Thanks all,

Sally in the north I think a bite in the bottom to watch out for maybe a horsefly!

Young Ed, don't laugh I have 2 soay shearlings one home bred who is waiting to go to Falkirk, to join a breeding flock, and the other is a bought in replacement to cover my 12 Soay ewes, and to cover a small starter flock, I sold in the spring.

I have my 5 year old, Pedigree Jacob Tup for my 10 jacob ewes, I have a homebred 2 shear who I had for sale last year, (but couldn't find a suitable home for I'm kinda fussy about homes for my sheep!)

And my dutch texel who was for my 3 soay x texel gimmers and 4 badgers face welsh mountain, So technically I was over stocked with tups, I'd hardly call any of them over worked!!

As the two jacobs and dutch texel were best pals and inseparable, I blame either of the soay shearlings, as they can be extremely antagonistic.

But who knows,

[Hellybee]

Real sad, rip young man xx

[shygirl]

thats really sad. i presume someone headbutted him? just out of interest was he horned? and was the suspected bully horned. we kept a group of hebridean tups, with big thick horns, and i was suprised they didnt hurt themselves with the force they used when headbutting.

 

[Mammyshaz]

  such a shock finding whatever the cause 

[SallyintNorth]

We were advised to never keep horned and unhorned tups together.  And I learned to keep Texel types just with other Texel types, not with the likes of Blue-faced Leicesters.  BFLs are big strong boys with great bony heads; Texels are great fat puddens that fight 'like girls' , in that they bat at each other with their 'arms', rather than run at each other and butt.  So a ram that butts can quite easily kill a Texel 

[SheepCrazy!]

For the size of flock I have it wouldn't be practical for me to run the texel away from the jacobs ect, the only real trouble ive had until now was the soays harassing the jacobs, the texel could never be bothered! Mind you if the ewes are in a mood they have a good fight to, it was just a freak accident the vet said