wow, I just solved the mystery of my dead wether.  I realized about an hour ago that I hadn’t seen one of my other wethers today.  He is the wildest one of the four and ranges out of sight more often, so it hadn’t really registered with me earlier. I took a walk in the back pasture, my two other wethers following me skittishly—although sheep don’t seem very smart (sorry sheepies), it seemed as if they knew what I was looking for and expected to find. At first I saw nothing and started back closer to the other side. Then I saw a black form in the grass and knew it must be my wether, but it looked so small. All that was left of him was an empty rib cage, shoulders and head and just the skin of everything back of his ribs and his guts nearby. It was like his entire body had been pulled from the ribcage and there was just the shell and front body left. The grass was flattened all around the carcass. I’m guessing coyote mom with hungry pups because the area I live in is really not very good habitat for lions, although now I remember that one was seen on the west side of Olympia last year or the year before near Yauger Park? Not a dog because I never see dogs off leash here. Most of my pasture is fenced by a six-foot solid wooden fence, but portions of one side blew down in the far back pasture in our big windstorm two years ago. There is still a wire fence in those spots, but only five feet high, not coyote proof. I brought the other two wethers into the small paddock/pasture right near the house for the night. They have been grazing way in the back far from the house during these long, long evenings and I have even occasionally seen them out grazing in the middle of the night in the light of the neighbor’s big outdoor lamp. I also notice the moon is almost full, giving lots and lots of light for both sheep and predators.

 

Did Joey die from shock then? I have not turned him over, but his body looked completely free of blood or marks from what I could see. Again, he was right near the back of the house, so the animal must have had them right up close. I worked an all-nighter here at home on Thursday and now I’m thinking it happened on that night and not yesterday. But I don’t remember hearing anything unusual. If I had heard any loud noises, I would have attributed them to my two giant raccoon friends that come by to clean up bird seed on the porch on some nights.

 

It might be my biologist mind, but I don’t feel any animosity towards the predator. I had a false sense of security regarding predators here for many reasons and haven’t had the money to fix my fence either.  I always tell people with livestock that the predators aren’t to blame, but that it is our obligation to protect animals whose care we are responsible for. I’m having a little crow for dinner tonight. I know there are hungry baby carnivores to feed right now and their parents feel responsible for them too.

 

Priscilla and Steve, it was Saltmarsh Curry who met a not-so-nice end and I am sorry for that.

 

--Angela in Olympia

now with only Bucky and Lemon

 

---

From: SoaySheepBreeders@yahoogroups.com [mailto:SoaySheepBreeders@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Nancy & Tom Richardson
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 7:57 PM
To: SoaySheepBreeders@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [SoaySheepBreeders] unhappy sheep

 

Sorry about your weather. Could he have been wormy or just over eaten something? I had a bottle lamb just up and die for no apparent reason. His horns had grown really fast and my husband thought that perhaps his skull wan't mature enough and he hit another and caused brain damage. He was only about 6 weeks old. . We live way out in the country and when an animal dies we cremate him.. Sounds bad but it keeps varmits etc down.  Nancy

----- Original Message -----

From: Sylvia Smith

To: SoaySheepBreeders@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 9:35 PM

Subject: Re: [SoaySheepBreeders] unhappy sheep

 

Awwwww. I am so sorry about your wether. I don't have any ideas as to what happened, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Sylvia Smith www.aldercreeksoays.com --- On Sat, 7/4/09, Angela Percival <angela@...> wrote: From: Angela Percival <angela@...> Subject: [SoaySheepBreeders] unhappy sheep To: SoaySheepBreeders@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 1:44 PM I just discovered one of my wethers is dead. Looking out the kitchen window I could see his brother acting funny and looking at something but sometimes they are spooked by squirrels and other things. well, there was his brother lying bloated nearby in a place I couldn’t see from the window. It must have happened sometime yesterday. This was one of my bottle-fed babies, unfortunately—Lil Joe—very sad. :(  The other wethers are upset, making funny noises. I can’t blame them.   What might have killed him with no symptoms apparent in the days prior? I was out with them only a few days ago in the pasture and he seemed fine. It wasn’t a predator. The only thing I can think of is getting rammed by my wether with large horns—Lemon.  They have been at it in the evenings lately and there are some pretty hard hits. Any other ideas?   I covered his carcass with a tarp, but who do I call to have him picked up? And what happens on a holiday weekend, when things like this always happen with animals? rest in peace Lil Joe :( Angela in Olympia