Is not one easily taken, but on Monday that is what we had to do.
Two weeks ago this little lamb weighed 18kg, but just over a week ago we noticed that he was not eating or coming to the bucket for milk, his head was down and he just didn't look right. We weighed him again and his weight was down to 15kgs, so the vet was called.
An examination flagged up that he had a high temperature, but nothing else, so a course of strong antibiotics was prescribed.
On Friday the course of 'botics was completed, but the lamb had started to pick up, but not as much as we had hoped. Over the weekend the lamb started to go downhill again, and his weight was now 13kgs. So on Monday I spoke to the vet yet again to see what we could do for this lamb. He had two suggestions, another course of even stronger antibiotics, or we put him to sleep. We decided to go down the antibiotics route, but when Tim and I went to give the lamb this additional antibiotic, he looked so ill. He sat down and started to through his head about as if in pain. There was no other option but to call the vet and ask him to put this poor little lamb to sleep.
The vet arrived and the lamb was very quickly put to sleep with no fuss and stress to the lamb, but still upsetting all the same. But you can't have livestock without dead stock.
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4 comments:
It's a horrible decision to have to make isn't it, but at least the poor little lamb in no longer suffering.
What a sod! But as you say, can't have one without the other. Sorry...
The down side of keeping animals, but if we care about them we have to know when to do the right thing.
Doesn't make it any easier though.
I agree with Jon S. and Freyalyn I just re-read Steinbeck´s "The Red Poney". The first part of the novel is really, bautiful in description and sad in emotion, besides others.
Thanks for your blog Denise!
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