Returning a lamb

[Willoughby]

I live in the countryside and noticed a lamb becoming very lost and looked exhausted so I took on the job of returning it to its family.

Was this the right thing to do. I had to stalk it for an hour back through the fields to where he had wandered off. It wouldn't stop or allow me to carry it. Sometimes I had to run beside it to prevent it from going into the wrong field. It was exhausted and terrified and I tried to give it breaks but it would start wandering off. At one point I made it make a pretty big jump so I'm worried if I ended up injuring it.

Should I have figured out who the farmer was instead or left it alone. It had been lost for at least 3 weeks probably because of the poor fencing in the area and was at least a mile from its family by that point.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

I live in the countryside and noticed a lamb becoming very lost and looked exhausted so I took on the job of returning it to its family.

Was this the right thing to do. I had to stalk it for an hour back through the fields to where he had wandered off. It wouldn't stop or allow me to carry it. Sometimes I had to run beside it to prevent it from going into the wrong field. It was exhausted and terrified and I tried to give it breaks but it would start wandering off. At one point I made it make a pretty big jump so I'm worried if I ended up injuring it.

Should I have figured out who the farmer was instead or left it alone. It had been lost for at least 3 weeks probably because of the poor fencing in the area and was at least a mile from its family by that point.

Top marks to you .....I just hope it was supposed to be where you put it !!

 

[HolzKopf]

I would have taken down its number + a photo on your phone and reported back. Not stalk it for 3 weeks
Your story doesn't sound credible tbh

 

[Guleesh]

I live in the countryside and noticed a lamb becoming very lost and looked exhausted so I took on the job of returning it to its family.

Was this the right thing to do. I had to stalk it for an hour back through the fields to where he had wandered off. It wouldn't stop or allow me to carry it. Sometimes I had to run beside it to prevent it from going into the wrong field. It was exhausted and terrified and I tried to give it breaks but it would start wandering off. At one point I made it make a pretty big jump so I'm worried if I ended up injuring it.

Should I have figured out who the farmer was instead or left it alone. It had been lost for at least 3 weeks probably because of the poor fencing in the area and was at least a mile from its family by that point.

how big was this lamb?

 

[Hfd Cattle]

I would have taken down its number + a photo on your phone and reported back. Not stalk it for 3 weeks
Your story doesn't sound credible tbh

I'm not sure he was stalking it for 3 wks ....I think that was his estimation for how long it was 'on the run '

 

[Willoughby]

I would have taken down its number + a photo on your phone and reported back. Not stalk it for 3 weeks
Your story doesn't sound credible tbh

I first noticed it separated weeks ago on a walk. Getting it back took an hour.
It didn't have a number painted on it
I just want to make sure I did the right thing.

how big was this lamb?

Tiny, not much larger than a typical yorkshire terrier

 

[Willoughby]

Top marks to you .....I just hope it was supposed to be where you put it !!

It was in direct contact with its family eventually. I made sure because it didn't even seem to see the other sheep or go towards them easily.

 

[Guleesh]

I first noticed it separated weeks ago on a walk. Getting it back took an hour.
It didn't have a number painted on it
I just want to make sure I did the right thing.


Tiny, not much larger than a typical yorkshire terrier

It was in direct contact with its family eventually. I made sure because it didn't even seem to see the other sheep or go towards them easily.

What do you mean its family? some other sheep? is there by any chance a ewe looking for its lamb nearby where you chased it from?

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I first noticed it separated weeks ago on a walk. Getting it back took an hour.
It didn't have a number painted on it
I just want to make sure I did the right thing.


Tiny, not much larger than a typical yorkshire terrier

If it was that small, and therefore only a few weeks old, it would not survive 3 weeks away from its mother. Lambs often find a gap under a fence, or gate and regularly run in and out, going back to mother to feed.
They can however, especially if disturbed, get driven away from the gap know, and so struggle to get back.
You did the right thing to put it back, presuming it went back to the right place, but I would advise caution doing such a thing as it is not always obvious where it has come from.
Did it suckle happily from its mother on reunion?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

So a lamb was roughly 6-8 weeks old was missing from its Mam for 3 weeks and it wasn’t dead...

 

[Guleesh]

So a lamb was roughly 8 weeks old was missing from its Mam and it wasn’t dead...

So a lamb was roughly 6-8 weeks old was missing from its Mam for 3 weeks and it wasn’t dead...

It probably will be shortly....

 

[Becs]

It doesn’t make sense that it could have been lost for 3 weeks but only be the size of a Yorkshire terrier?. A Yorkshire terrier sized lamb would only be a week or so old at the most and couldn’t survive long without its ewe - I’m confused.

 

[Willoughby]

What do you mean its family? some other sheep? is there by any chance a ewe looking for its lamb nearby where you chased it from?

There is only one patch where sheep graze in that particular area so I brought it there. It was straying in the wrong direction. There weren't any other sheep actively looking around for it.

It was absolutely terrified of me, is there a chance I have traumatised it.

 

[Guleesh]

It doesn’t make sense that it could have been lost for 3 weeks but only be the size of a Yorkshire terrier?. A Yorkshire terrier sized lamb would only be a week or so old at the most and couldn’t survive long without its ewe - I’m confused.

Quite common here for helpful people to find lambs on their own and 'rescue' them, Once transpired from somebodies house i was working at that they'd taken a lamb home they found alone on a common grazings.

 

[Willoughby]

If it was that small, and therefore only a few weeks old, it would not survive 3 weeks away from its mother. Lambs often find a gap under a fence, or gate and regularly run in and out, going back to mother to feed.
They can however, especially if disturbed, get driven away from the gap know, and so struggle to get back.
You did the right thing to put it back, presuming it went back to the right place, but I would advise caution doing such a thing as it is not always obvious where it has come from.
Did it suckle happily from its mother on reunion?

Maybe I'm exaggerating how small it was sorry. My fault. It was roughly the size of a small dog and very young. The fencing here is poor and blown over so it's reasonable to see how it might have got lost. It's clear it belonged to that group because there are no other sheep groups around and it was fairly close when I first noticed it lost. I am worried I seriously scared it, it cowered from me and urinated twice. I feel like I bullied a small animal half to death
I wasn't able to pick out its mother... That I could not do.

 

[Guleesh]

There is only one patch where sheep graze in that particular area so I brought it there. It was straying in the wrong direction. There weren't any other sheep actively looking around for it.

It was absolutely terrified of me, is there a chance I have traumatised it.

Maybe I'm exaggerating how small it was sorry. My fault. It was roughly the size of a small dog and very young. The fencing here is poor and blown over so it's reasonable to see how it might have got lost. It's clear it belonged to that group because there are no other sheep groups around and it was fairly close when I first noticed it lost. I am worried I seriously scared it, it cowered from me and urinated twice. I feel like I bullied a small animal half to death
I wasn't able to pick out its mother... That I could not do.

Urinating would suggest it had drunk something recently?

 

[Willoughby]

Urinating would suggest it had drunk something recently?

I think it was out of fright, both times I backed off but I am worried I seriously scared the animal.

 

[Bones]

I think it was out of fright, both times I backed off but I am worried I seriously scared the animal.

all this talk of lambs is making me hungry, must get some lamb chops out of the freezer, Don't be worrying about the lamb, the farmer not worried about it,

 

[bitwrx]

Don't be such a ninny. Sheep are prey animals; they basically evolved to be scared. Their prey-type behaviour is what made them so amenable to being domesticated.

That lamb will not be sitting on the shrink's couch when it's an angst ridden teenager, bleating about the trauma it suffered as a toddler. In fact, if it's now back with its ewe, it'll be perfectly content and absolutely unbothered by being bothered by a well-meaning doo-gooder all afternoon.

Farm animals are generally very good at looking after themselves, and do best when left to do exactly that. Next time, maybe just trust the animal to look after itself, rather than impose on it your desire to get it back to its 'family'. At this time of year, any new lamb that had strayed on its own for three weeks would be long dead; it being not developed enough to digest grass, so relying entirely on its mother's milk. If it was one of last year's lambs and still the size of a small dog, it would a) be a very poor doer; and b) not in need of any other sheep for sustenance (or company for that matter).

Anyway, assuming you aren't trolling us, there is actually some good info out there on how to herd animals so you don't actually cause them to be distressed. For some interesting reading, Google Bud Williams low stress cattle handling, or some of Temple Grandin's work on the same subject. I'm working on applying it to our pigs, and it's really rewarding when it works.

 

[DanielBennett]

You lot are a bunch of buggers!

Assuming Willoughby is genuine, we should be thanking them for trying to help, not berating them!

Whenever someone shows an interest in this strange farming way of life we should welcome them and help them to understand.

Lecture over