Two years ago I experienced my first lambing season. I had one bottle baby, Aila, that stole my heart. She lived in our house long after she should have gone back to the barn. I would take her up to visit the other lambs and play but bring her back with me each time. It was horrible having to leave her in the barn the first couple of days when she baaa-ed wanting to follow me. Now she can be way out in the pasture and she comes running everytime she hears my voice. If I sit in the pasture she will eat around me, never straying far.
Well Tuesday morning we found her in labor. The first lamb presented itself normally but never moved. The second lamb was born still curled up in the sac. I got her out and tried working on her but no luck. While working on number two, Aila laid down and about 10 minutes later stood up and behind her was another sac with the ram lamb inside dead. All her lambs were 2 lb 3 oz and under. I keep checking on her and she is eating fine but I think she looks sad. Other family members will argue this fact and say she looks and acts the same. I know she was agitated after I took her lambs out and once I laid down on the fresh hay she finally laid down. Now when I go sit in the field she comes and lays by me. I emailed back and forth with Grace and she says I can breed her again this year. I must be strange because I wonder if I can put her through it again. I would love her to have lambs but I don't want her to experience loss again. Maybe I am trying to attach human emotions to this situation too. I know when her mother rejected her but took great care of her other two, I was so mad at the mom. How could she kick one of her own lambs aside. I was horrified. I was trying to humanize things then too. The man kept saying you can't be mad at her she doesn't know any better she is an animal, but I was furious. For a while instead of calling her Momma, I just refereed to her as "the bitch."
Momma and the three other ewes (Scarface, Sable and Toupee) still need to deliver. And then I have months before I have to make any decisions on who gets bred again and who doesn't. Maybe by then I can detach myself and figure it all out.
1 comment:
If only we all could attach human emotion to things... not such a bad thing. You know what they say "better to be a bitch than a you know what." AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH
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