I found a 3 month old lamb dead this morning. I can't really figure out what killed him - unless the dogs scared him to death. He wasn't ill yesterday, and he didn't have scours like the ewe that died last week. So now we're down to 9 sheep. It's fairly depressing.
It's raining, which considering where I live is not surprising, but there is this wether to bury and the farrier is coming and there a few hard feelings simmering under the surface about that talk the family still hasn't had about job allocations now that the oldest has moved out and one of the adults is in-between careers and the other is starting a new stressful job.
On a brighter note, I had a very long phone conversation with one of my former co-workers but still one of my best friends. I am still interested in what is going on at my old school, especially since I talked them into a venture and then ditched, in a way, and Hilo being such a small town, she knows many of the teachers I am teaching with now. She is a wise woman, so it was good to talk to her and bounce ideas of her.
It was slightly depressing to go out after that and find Kehili dead, though. I have so many black sheep, I had to look at his head to figure out which sheep it was. I am glad it wasn't Niele - if I lost another ewe, I would be pretty upset. When I came back from the barn, the dogs were doing the cringe and grin thing, so I guess it was them. There wasn't a mark on him, so he must have died of fright. He is the one who was still sneaking under the fence to come out into the yard - it separated him from the flock and they must have chased him.
I hate having to bury animals in the rain. Since it rains probably 90% of the time here, I suppose I should be used to it, but it is still less than pleasant.
3 comments:
I am so sorry to hear about your lamb. I have a friend who says "every lamb born alive is a miracle and they spend the rest of their lives trying to commit suicide." Sheep unfortunately die so easily. Hope it all gets a little easier soon.
Sorry to hear about your lamb. I've only had sheep for a few months now and i'm just starting to expect them to still be alive when i check on them!
Thanks, Ruth and Julie, the first six to eight months of sheep ownership was a breeze - I would come out in the morning and there would be lambs on the ground with good mommies, nobody got sick beyond what I could deal with myself with horse experience - and then these last three months have been so fraught. A c-section, two dog bites, sore hooves, two dead lambs (three if you count the c-section) and one scours/possible coccidiosis.
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