My heartfelt story

[Farmercharliesblog]

When I was 12 (I still am) I was in 6th grade (I’m in 7th) I was asked to help out at my neighbors sheep farm during lambing. I loved working there. On my 3rd day of lambing there was a hard birth that set me off. I had to undergo lotts of therapy to get over that night. During that night my boss was on the farm with an experienced sheep farmer and another girl had my new flashlight. I was holding a young girl lamb and keeping her warm because her brother was hogging their mother. She survived the night and is thriving. The hard birth when Tom for hours. Eventually my mom had to come pick me up around 8:00pm for school the next day. I cried all night. Around midnight my mom got a text that said the baby came out unalive. I cried all night and was unable to go to school the next day. Mind you this is mid February and my grades are low. I when to school on the next day aka Tuesday. I told know one about that night. I when back the next week to help at the sheep farm because it was only one night. The next few days I learned about these 2 baby sheep who where fighting to stay alive and where on the verge of death. I took them both in and they lived in this shed that we used to keep baby chicks in. They he night I took them home was the 1 night a year my parents go out. My grandpa and brother made the chick shed a lamb paradise. They lived in that for a while. A few days later my grades when yup and I got another dying lamb. I had nurses the other 2 back to health so we’ll 1 more sheep to fix would be nothing. His name was trooper. He passed away the next day. He was living in our basement because he was so sick. I was in math class when they told the school over the loud speaker to have a moment of silence and for me to come to the office. I when to the office through the silent school only to be told my mom is on her way to pick me up and trooper was dead. I cried for 2 days. We had a funeral and everything. Me and my brother did not go to school for 2 days. A few days later we got another sheep to rescue. He lived in our basement to. Every night my brother would teach him how to walk and help him gain strength. Eventually my brother was to tired to go to school and told us the whole story of what he did every night from bedtime at 8:00 to 5:00 which is an hour before the first person had to wake up to get ready for school. He got about an hour of sleep a night. The 3 baby’s have thrived and we walk them as often as possible. It is December now and they still need their hugs and kisses. They also play with us and give us kisses. Today buddy the one we rescued after trooper tried to jump into my arms and he also gave me kisses with his snow covered face. I walked inside with my face sobered in show and minirals I love my baby’s. This morning tiny one of the originals needed a hug and happy another original wanted to play with me like he does with my mom. I gave them all what they wanted.

 

[Farmercharliesblog]

Photos of my luvys.

 

[Baymule]

They will make wonderful pets and teach you a lot about sheep.

 

[Farmercharliesblog]

We use them for camps and to educate children about sheep. Me and my brother are “animal ambassadors” like on that show the zoo. We have our own uniforms and text group. My bro just gets embarrassed easily so you can’t find any evidence of him doing this except from word of mouth.

 

[Farmercharliesblog]

The sheep are 10 and 9 months old this month.

 

[The Chick Addict]

Photos of my luvys.

What a sweet story!!! And adorable sheep.

 

[Farmercharliesblog]

1) On January 25 2 lambs were born. (I was about to say baby lambs then I realized that lambs are just baby sheep!) 1 mother was good the other was bad. The bad mother refused to care for her baby. My boss took care of the baby almost all night. I got to work the next day and was filled in on what happened. I was told to go take care of the horse and donkey for a minute because they did not want to mentally scar me to see another dead lamb.(mind you this is the 2nd lamb born alive this season) the baby was in critical condition and the mother was kicking him. We took him into a different barn where we had to put a feeding tube in and nurse him back to health. We did not think he was going to make it so we made him comfortable and let him sleep. I continuously checked in on him. Eventually he stood up on his own. I was so proud and happy I started crying. I named him miracle. We really thought he was going to make it. Eventually we had to move his mother so I did not check up on him for about 20 minutes. (We were going to butcher her on the spot because we looked back in the records and she had done this dozens of times to other baby’s. They all died.) we where unable to move her so we prayed for someone to murder her in her sleep. I eventually whent back down to check on miracle and he was breathing weak again. I picked him up in a kangaroo hold. (The kangaroo hold has need known to help human baby’s. It is most effective with skin to skin contact. It helped a lamb last year) I was holding him like that with my gloves off and my sleeves rolled up as far as possible when he let out a sad little cry, looked me in my eyes and then whent limp as the light in his eyes flickered out. I don’t know if I can get over him. I promised my brother that I would keep the lambs and their mamas alive.

2) for years this one mother has had multiple miscarriages. She is Beautiful. She is only 3 or 4 but she is wise. She is an amazing mother and has taken in all the orphan bottle lambs and raised them as her own. This year everything was going as planned and she would have rainbow lamb twins but she sucked them back In And their umbilical cords broke. They came out dead once again. I am so sorry for her. We had another baby born the same day. We out the good mother and the new baby girl In the same pen as the miscarriage mother and they all became friends! I bet they are talking about their favorite lamb princesses and their crushes . I really wish the miscarriage mother had 2 healthy twin girls .

 

[Baymule]

These experiences are good for you, even the losses. It is all a teaching experience, the good and the bad. You have a good heart and love what you are doing. You have the makings of a good shepherd.

 

[Farmercharliesblog]

We have had chickens my entire life. They are the reason I know about death . When I was in EK (early kindergarten) we he’s some chickens. I named only one of them, red aka red riding hood. Red was the leader. She loved being taken on walks and doing simple chores with us. She was so extremely smart. All the other chickens obeyed her and tended to her every need like servants. One spring day in particular I had a bad feeling. I wanted to spend all day with the chickens but that day was the day we learn how to spell our names and it was a big deal, so I went to school. I got off the van and me and I immediately whent to go see our chickens. My mon told me not to. She could not keep up with me because she was pregnant with my baby brother. I got there and we only had one chicken, red. All the other chickens had been caught by animals and never seen again while red his inside a nesting box silently not moving. We eventually got new chickens and that is how we got goldy aka goldy locks. Goldy was our second in line to be the leader after red. When I was in first grade red got sick and passed. Goldy was our leader. About 2 months later we got an abandoned chicken named ruby-Jean. The owners left her on my aunts front step. Ruby-Jean became our new seconds in line. My brother was like 2 now and was starting to understand death when goldy got really sick and died. We made her a grave and birthed her next to red and our dead cat who had passed a few weeks earlier, trixy. Ruby-Jean was our new leader. Ruby Jean lived years and years untill we got new chicks and one of them happened to be a boy. We now have a rooster, John Missouri Deer. Who is now the ruler and we all want to butcher but cannot because he is my 10 year old brothers. I am 13 now and my brother is 10. Ruby-Jean was pushed back to 2nd in command while John rules the chicken kingdom. The kingdome had done horribly wrong and we can’t do anything about it because he is the ruler. Anyone want a free rooster? You can come take him I. The dead of night and I can tell my brother he is dead. He runs around at 3:15 ish am and pm screaming.

 

[peteyfoozer]

Certainly one of the hardest parts of animal husbandry is that death is a big part of it. I’ve raised calves, goats, chickens, rabbits, sheep, all to feed my family. But I love these animals and like you I get excited every time I see a new one born we’ve had several sheep that would twin and reject one of the babies so even with my little small herd of sheep, I’ve had more than my share of bummer lambs. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to save all but two.
Had one Dorper ewe and I had a pair of Maremmas who were very bonded to them. One of them, Bruno, attended every birth. This mama passed a dead lamb who looked only partially formed, and I thought she miscarried. She was a good mama, and she was trying to take care of it, licking and crying and pushing with her nose then she got up and laid down in the corner and while she was there having a second lamb, Bruno picked up the first the dead one and snuck out the door with him. I helped her with the second lamb and Bru came back and helped Mama dry it off. Bruno and Potamus took the stillborn lamb far out in the back pasture. They never injured lamb. They never hurt a live lamb, but I think he knew the moment needed to have it taken out of her sight. When the second lamb was born, she stopped grieving.

Another lamb was born with a right neck and was unable to nurse so we kept her in the house and my sheppie took charge over her. I was only responsible for diapers and bottlefeeding.

You are getting an awesome education doing what you’re doing being in touch with our food supply learning how to take care of animals and keep them healthy and deal with their medical needs, and giving them the best life possible. By the time you’re an adult you will have so much knowledge and so many skills people will be coming to you to learn. you’re a lucky 12/13 year-old!!