When I did my last feed yesterday, I was confident that everyone was happy, fed and ready for Nigel's last call at about 11.00... I intended an early night, and had been in bed over an hour when he got home in quite a state....
He had found Tabatha out of her pen, the end gate was open, with Charlie and Ellie wandering round.. he gathered them up but couldn't find Davinia.... until he spotted her under the hay rack in the pen... warm and relaxed, but very very still...... oh no, not just still but lifeless...... he tried without success to revive her.... Whatever had happened could only just have happened and he was too late...
He secured Tabatha, Ellie and Charlie back inside, after feeding the lambs a bottle to make sure they got through the night, then came home to tell me the awful news... we discussed it.. got very upset and decided that perhaps Tabatha had sat down too close to her and smothered her by mistake... We went back to the barn to check that Ellie who is smaller than her sister was ok... decided to put the whole family into to top end of the barn with lots of space and then came home. The only positive we could see was that Tabatha might get on better with 2 lambs instead of 3....
This morning we both went early... Tabatha was full of beans as was Charlie, but Ellie was crouched alone, cold, empty, fearful, shaking, and cried out when she heard my voice, I picked her up and she was really weak... We offered her to her mums teat, and she didn't respond... she just hunched up and shook, her mum was really dismissive, kicking out and almost trampling her under foot... we turned Tabatha up so Ellie could drink safely...... she was terrified..... I removed her....... most farmers would make a mum take a lamb, but this morning Ellie looked so pathetic that I got the milk out of my pocket and fed her... she took it all very slowly..... then shut her eyes and snuggled into my fleece, shuddering... far from the barn monster with the cheek of the day before..
We constructed a pen just for her, made a nest in the hay and straw, then put her in and went home... Had the death the night before been an accident, or had it been something more sinister... Tabatha loves Charlie, feeds her far more and takes more care of her, she's become much bigger as a consequence..... Was this because I help feed them all, and Tabatha naturally chose to look after the biggest of her lambs? Do they smell different? Could I have somehow instigated this situation? Did Tabatha kill Davinia? Had she tried to kill Ellie?
When I went back to feed Ellie, mid morning, she was just where I'd left her, and called to me. She was still shaky but drank her milk a little quicker, nibbled my chin all round, then snuggled down and went to sleep again..... after a few minutes I put her back into her nest.... and got on with my day.. calling back with her lunch 3 hour later... she was still in her nest again, but got up, called to me and came to meet me, circling my wellies... she drank her lunch at a much better rate of knots... and sat in my arms looking round... She must be missing her little sister, they spent all their time together. She was being called by her mum and sniffed through the rail, but she didn't respond at all. Afternoon tea was even better, I even think she looked fatter and at 7.30 she was perky and much brighter... she was looking at her big sister in the next pen, so I made another nest in some hay, so they could sleep next to each other, but safe from being battered... I popped her in and she snuggled down, looking at Charlie through the gate... Charlie was talking to her... They went to sleep together... Nigel will go for a last visit tonight, and then I'll have another early morning!!!!
He had found Tabatha out of her pen, the end gate was open, with Charlie and Ellie wandering round.. he gathered them up but couldn't find Davinia.... until he spotted her under the hay rack in the pen... warm and relaxed, but very very still...... oh no, not just still but lifeless...... he tried without success to revive her.... Whatever had happened could only just have happened and he was too late...
He secured Tabatha, Ellie and Charlie back inside, after feeding the lambs a bottle to make sure they got through the night, then came home to tell me the awful news... we discussed it.. got very upset and decided that perhaps Tabatha had sat down too close to her and smothered her by mistake... We went back to the barn to check that Ellie who is smaller than her sister was ok... decided to put the whole family into to top end of the barn with lots of space and then came home. The only positive we could see was that Tabatha might get on better with 2 lambs instead of 3....
This morning we both went early... Tabatha was full of beans as was Charlie, but Ellie was crouched alone, cold, empty, fearful, shaking, and cried out when she heard my voice, I picked her up and she was really weak... We offered her to her mums teat, and she didn't respond... she just hunched up and shook, her mum was really dismissive, kicking out and almost trampling her under foot... we turned Tabatha up so Ellie could drink safely...... she was terrified..... I removed her....... most farmers would make a mum take a lamb, but this morning Ellie looked so pathetic that I got the milk out of my pocket and fed her... she took it all very slowly..... then shut her eyes and snuggled into my fleece, shuddering... far from the barn monster with the cheek of the day before..
We constructed a pen just for her, made a nest in the hay and straw, then put her in and went home... Had the death the night before been an accident, or had it been something more sinister... Tabatha loves Charlie, feeds her far more and takes more care of her, she's become much bigger as a consequence..... Was this because I help feed them all, and Tabatha naturally chose to look after the biggest of her lambs? Do they smell different? Could I have somehow instigated this situation? Did Tabatha kill Davinia? Had she tried to kill Ellie?
When I went back to feed Ellie, mid morning, she was just where I'd left her, and called to me. She was still shaky but drank her milk a little quicker, nibbled my chin all round, then snuggled down and went to sleep again..... after a few minutes I put her back into her nest.... and got on with my day.. calling back with her lunch 3 hour later... she was still in her nest again, but got up, called to me and came to meet me, circling my wellies... she drank her lunch at a much better rate of knots... and sat in my arms looking round... She must be missing her little sister, they spent all their time together. She was being called by her mum and sniffed through the rail, but she didn't respond at all. Afternoon tea was even better, I even think she looked fatter and at 7.30 she was perky and much brighter... she was looking at her big sister in the next pen, so I made another nest in some hay, so they could sleep next to each other, but safe from being battered... I popped her in and she snuggled down, looking at Charlie through the gate... Charlie was talking to her... They went to sleep together... Nigel will go for a last visit tonight, and then I'll have another early morning!!!!
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