Dear Curiosity Journal,
I was away from the farm on Wednesday morning to do a land walk for Wisconsin Women in Conservation. When I returned home, I found Joy Jr’s lamb, Judy, looking lethargic and shivering with a hollow belly. I took her temperature, and it was low, so I set up a warming box for her. I nestled Judy down in a tote with a heating pad and some blankets near her mama, but JJ was not having it. She bellered back-to-back hysterical baaahs for the entire 45 minutes it took to bring her baby up to temperature. Even though she could see Judy resting peacefully, she did not approve of the temporary separation. She was so worked up that she wouldn’t stand still to let the lamb eat once I gave her back, so I fed Judy a bottle, which she sucked down, seeming very hungry. I gave JJ one more chance to keep Judy warm and fed, but when I returned to check on them in the cold rain and the situation had not improved, I decided to bring Judy into the house for the night and give her a couple more bottles. Poor JJ absolutely lost her mind, screaming baahs late into the night. I felt horrible separating them, but I knew it was critical for Judy to stay warm and get some colostrum in her tummy. I’ve learned that hypothermia and starvation are the most common causes of lamb death in the first days of life. Judy slept very quietly in the warming box next to my bed like a baby in a bassinet, and I woke up multiple times in the middle of the night to check and feed her, feeling the fatigue of a new mom. By mid-morning, Judy was starting to chirp the cutest little baahs and emerge from her nest of blankets. Once she perked up, I returned her to JJ, who looked at me like she would murder me if she could, but she kept baby Judy close, warm, and fed from then on. After the intervention, they have both been doing much better, but I may have permanently damaged my relationship with JJ, who now gives me a crazy look and nudges Judy away from me every time I come near them. Hopefully she’ll eventually forgive me for saving her baby.
~Joy
