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On Monday night, we got a call from our two friends S and D. They live on a farm and raise sheep among other lovely things. L and I had just sat down for an evening of sewing and various computer things when they called.
We were at their farm in a half hour (it's a 20 minute drive). We got there and two bleating babies were alone in the hay while the mother ewe (forever named Deadbeat Mom) was grazing with the rest of the flock. This mother is only 1 year old and a first time mother--this means she got pregnant at 6 months old. Very too much young. After much herding, we caught her and brought her to her two lambs.
We re-introduced her to her lambs, but she wanted nothing of it. We didn't know how long they'd been alone, but they were still wet. They were cold and they had not had any food. It is vital for their survival that they get the mother's first milk (colostrum). We were on the clock and I was feeling scared for the lambs.
D held the ewe while L and I each took a lamb and tried to bring its mouth to a teat. I was hoping instinct would take over, the lambs would know that milk would come out of the teat and they'd be fine. No go. The girl was feisty, which was a good sign. L milked the teat into her mouth and as long as L held the lamb's head to the teat, she would suckle. I had no such luck. The boy was lethargic and cold. He was shivering, quiet and completely limp. At first, he sucked on my finger when I offered it to him, but eventually he lost even that. It was looking like he was losing his will to live as each minute passed. He would not suckle from the mother ewe.
After a couple of hours of literally lying beneath the ewe trying to feed her babies for her, we decided that the girl would be okay but we'd have to bring the boy inside. D would try to put the girl with the mother to see if they would bond when we weren't there. I wrapped the shivering boy under my dad's barn jacket against my chest and brought him to the house. Before we did that, I milked the mother so I could have something to offer the boy in case he wanted to eat from a bottle.
When we got inside, L took the boy and held him close under the jacket while she reiki'd him. If we could just get him to eat! He had no desire to even suck on a bottle with a nipple. I had to be careful, because if I just forced it down, it would most likely go into his lungs and he'd drown. I figured if he was going to die, at least he would die in someone's arms and warm.
L said she slowly began to feel his energy change. We're pretty sure their traumatic birth made it hard for him to find the will to live. But shortly after D brought his sister inside (no success on the mother-daughter bonding front) and she started to baah, he woke up a bit and responded. After much cajoling, we got him to eat a little and he perked up. We fed them both again sometime around 12:30 or 1am and they fell asleep in our arms. In celebration, we named the boy Elijah because it was Passover and his sister is now Miriam. We were so close to losing them -- especially Elijah.
All this week, I've been going over to the farm twice a day to milk the mother (let me tell you--it is NOT as easy as milking a cow!) and help feed the babies. L naturally bonded with Elijah and Miriam seems to like sucking on my nose and chin. If she falls asleep in my lap, she'll wake up with a start and want to check that it's me by gumming my chin. When satisfied that I'm me, she falls asleep again.
In just a week, Elijah went from near death to a tall, bouncy glutton who likes to romp everywhere. Miriam is loud and talkative, bounces with her brother and likes to suck on a lot of fingers. They wag their little tails when they are playing and when they're eating from the bottles.
Because they've been rejected by the mother, they've become kitchen sheep. It's actually very common to have babies live inside for about 2 months after birth in these circumstances. I've brought them both outside for some fresh air and a romp. I usually baah and get on my fours. They follow me and most of the time stay underneath my torso. When they're hungry they'll push up on my belly where my sheep teats would be as if they were trying to milk me. Now the instinct kicks in! *wry grin*
I'm completely blown away by this experience. I thought my spring break would be quite a bit less eventful than this. I'm so grateful that I was able to help save those two lives and continue in their care. Some people have asked me if L and I get to keep them, but our land has deed restrictions against any and all farm animals. Plus, they're not wool sheep. I love animals too much to keep them for food...at this point in my life anyway.
I come from farmer stock. I am built like a farmer. I have farmer instincts, as I found out this week. I'm really proud of that.
Go here if you want to see pics of that night, and go here if you want to see pics from our visits this week.
Please come over right away. Apparently one of the ewes gave birth within the last couple of hours and she's rejectedthe babies. Can you help us corral her to see if we can get them to bond?
We were at their farm in a half hour (it's a 20 minute drive). We got there and two bleating babies were alone in the hay while the mother ewe (forever named Deadbeat Mom) was grazing with the rest of the flock. This mother is only 1 year old and a first time mother--this means she got pregnant at 6 months old. Very too much young. After much herding, we caught her and brought her to her two lambs.
We re-introduced her to her lambs, but she wanted nothing of it. We didn't know how long they'd been alone, but they were still wet. They were cold and they had not had any food. It is vital for their survival that they get the mother's first milk (colostrum). We were on the clock and I was feeling scared for the lambs.
D held the ewe while L and I each took a lamb and tried to bring its mouth to a teat. I was hoping instinct would take over, the lambs would know that milk would come out of the teat and they'd be fine. No go. The girl was feisty, which was a good sign. L milked the teat into her mouth and as long as L held the lamb's head to the teat, she would suckle. I had no such luck. The boy was lethargic and cold. He was shivering, quiet and completely limp. At first, he sucked on my finger when I offered it to him, but eventually he lost even that. It was looking like he was losing his will to live as each minute passed. He would not suckle from the mother ewe.
After a couple of hours of literally lying beneath the ewe trying to feed her babies for her, we decided that the girl would be okay but we'd have to bring the boy inside. D would try to put the girl with the mother to see if they would bond when we weren't there. I wrapped the shivering boy under my dad's barn jacket against my chest and brought him to the house. Before we did that, I milked the mother so I could have something to offer the boy in case he wanted to eat from a bottle.
When we got inside, L took the boy and held him close under the jacket while she reiki'd him. If we could just get him to eat! He had no desire to even suck on a bottle with a nipple. I had to be careful, because if I just forced it down, it would most likely go into his lungs and he'd drown. I figured if he was going to die, at least he would die in someone's arms and warm.
L said she slowly began to feel his energy change. We're pretty sure their traumatic birth made it hard for him to find the will to live. But shortly after D brought his sister inside (no success on the mother-daughter bonding front) and she started to baah, he woke up a bit and responded. After much cajoling, we got him to eat a little and he perked up. We fed them both again sometime around 12:30 or 1am and they fell asleep in our arms. In celebration, we named the boy Elijah because it was Passover and his sister is now Miriam. We were so close to losing them -- especially Elijah.
All this week, I've been going over to the farm twice a day to milk the mother (let me tell you--it is NOT as easy as milking a cow!) and help feed the babies. L naturally bonded with Elijah and Miriam seems to like sucking on my nose and chin. If she falls asleep in my lap, she'll wake up with a start and want to check that it's me by gumming my chin. When satisfied that I'm me, she falls asleep again.In just a week, Elijah went from near death to a tall, bouncy glutton who likes to romp everywhere. Miriam is loud and talkative, bounces with her brother and likes to suck on a lot of fingers. They wag their little tails when they are playing and when they're eating from the bottles.
Because they've been rejected by the mother, they've become kitchen sheep. It's actually very common to have babies live inside for about 2 months after birth in these circumstances. I've brought them both outside for some fresh air and a romp. I usually baah and get on my fours. They follow me and most of the time stay underneath my torso. When they're hungry they'll push up on my belly where my sheep teats would be as if they were trying to milk me. Now the instinct kicks in! *wry grin*
I'm completely blown away by this experience. I thought my spring break would be quite a bit less eventful than this. I'm so grateful that I was able to help save those two lives and continue in their care. Some people have asked me if L and I get to keep them, but our land has deed restrictions against any and all farm animals. Plus, they're not wool sheep. I love animals too much to keep them for food...at this point in my life anyway.
I come from farmer stock. I am built like a farmer. I have farmer instincts, as I found out this week. I'm really proud of that.
Go here if you want to see pics of that night, and go here if you want to see pics from our visits this week.
hopeful