Death on the homestead where do i start? Well i can only talk about my homestead and what we delt with.
This is Amber one of our doe. She is a very sweet girl. She was ready to give birth any moment.
This the first baby born and baby did not make it.
We thought ok things happen. She was still giving birth so there really was not time to think about it.
Here was the next two born. I had to help get them both to start breathing but they were alive. They were very weak and could not stand. I quickly warm them and tried to get mom to feed them. She would not feed them. I took into house to keep warm.
Mom did not want anything to do with them. I was able to get them to drink colostrum replacer. I thought ok i guess i got a couple bottle baby. I counted the days back and realized they were a month premature. I thought ok ill get them going should be ok. But it was not. They were very weak. The second day we lost the little boy. That was pretty tough on me but i had the little girl to still take care of. She even slept next to me in bed. She seem to be doing good. She started stand up and eating pretty good. I was able to keep her temp up and i was think cool shes going to make it. But then she got weak and would not stand or eat. The next day we lost her. Now this really got me bad.
Now i was caught up in the baby so much i didnt realize my 6 month old buck was sick. I gave him vitamins and dewormer.
He died the next morning. This hit me real hard. I got sheldon at 6 weeks old. He was sick when i got him and i nursed him back. He was our sweet little guy. I still am having had time with hes loss. Now i understand theres loss on the homestead but it still hurt bad. I question myself did i do everything i could??? I say yes but it dont make it any easier. I started asking myself why iam i living this way again??? Oh the freedoms we have. Now i wanted to do this post to share what we went though to hopefully help other that have had death on the homestead. This was hard for me to write but something i need to do.
RIP SHELDON WE LOVE YOU
Thank you all for the support you have giving us.
So sorry to hear about the loss of your babies and Sheldon. Animas on the homestead become a part of our extended family. It is life on the homestead and along with that comes death and sickness. We earn to deal with it but the hurt remains lingering in the background. We have lost animals too. Would I give up homesteading because of it? Not on your life. There are far more joys than disappointments. Where else are you going to enjoy the freedoms that come with homesteading?
I'm so so sorry for your losses. That must be terribly hard. Sending good vibes and thoughts your way. Keep your head up. Things will return to normal for you soon, I hope
Thank you guys for the kind words.