Sometimes a Great Mother

Sheep that is. And sometimes not. Some ewes take wonderful care of their babies, guard them, clean and feed them, and love on them like nobody's business.

Some are just plain horrible.

Yesterday a sheep, which unfortunately belongs to Peggy, lambed with a tiny ewe. She instantly realized that it was the devil incarnate and not only would not feed it, but beat it severely.

Liz brought it into the kitchen where many another infant animal has resided before it. Alas, it was in terrible shape to the point of "pedaling". If you have livestock you know what that means.

Liz managed to get colostrum substitute into her several times, but by mid-afternoon her mouth was cold and she could not raise her head.

Thus we faced the virtually inevitable. However, Liz just kept trying and stayed up until midnight feeding her. Peggy, being her mother's daughter, wanted her to sleep in her bed, but a cardboard box seemed a better choice.

I hated to even ask this morning, but as you can see she is standing up, taking nourishment, and chasing sun spots around the kitchen floor. At one point she and Ren were snuggled up together, but I missed that. 

This does not mean that she will survive for sure. Sheep are not so very hardy alas, and lambs that have been cold don't often thrive. However, she sure looks a lot better than she did yesterday.