12/23/2024
As farmers, we wear many hatsâsome willingly, some not so muchâincluding that of an amateur vet when the need arises. With a variety of animals, each with its own needs and quirks, the challenges only multiply. No farmer ever wants to lose an animal, but the reality of farming with animals is that life and death walk hand in hand. Life is beautiful and joyous, but death brings sorrow and often leaves us questioning: Did we make the right choice? Could we have done something differently? Should we have intervened, or let nature take its course? Should we call a vet? How much money should or can we spend? Is the vet even available? Itâs always a tough tug-of-war.
Today, we lost a eweâand with her, one of her twin lambs. This ewe wasnât just any sheepâshe was one of our orphan lambs from two and a half years ago. We brought her into our home as a tiny baby, nursing her back to health after her own mother abandoned her. When she was strong enough, we returned her to the flock. As she grew up, we always knew who she was because she wasnât timid to approach us. This season was her first pregnancy. We were proud. Now, as we care for her surviving twin, we canât help but feel like this was always meant to beâan orphan creating another orphan. Did her mom know something we didnât when she abandoned her 2.5 years ago? Was this always her fate?
Despite the sorrow, we found ourselves driven by compassion, compelled to save the life that remains. And Jim did just that.
As she passed, Jim promised her he would care for her little lamb, just as we did for her. Itâs a bittersweet, beautifully tragic momentâa true, if painful, reality of life and death on the farm.
We named the little ram "Christmas."
