Some very sad news; Daisy has died after a very short illness. At nearly ten days old, the twins were doing very well, feeding and sleeping most of the time. Then two days ago, Daisy went off her feed and began to sleep all the time. We hoped it was just an off day, but when she continued to be unwell the next day we decided to take her to the vet. Between making that decision and me actually getting to where my daughter is working (a space of two hours) she was gone. Just like that, a little light had left the world.

The vet seems to think she had picked up one of the many virus or bacterial infections that lambs are prone to and because they had not had any colostrum they were much more likely to get. We are heart broken (as you can imagine) but not as sad as poor little Freida. She has spent every moment of her existence so far with Daisy; from conception, through birth to now. She is lost and confused, looking for comfort wherever she can find it. She cuddles my daughter constantly and calls her in a small panicked voice if she can’t see her. Life will change for my daughter now, she will become the sole focus of Freida’s life and she will have to be sure that Freida has company as often as possible (sheep don’t care to be alone). Freida will have to get used to sleeping alone and eating alone too.

Feed time for them both on their last morning together

Daisy looking very unwell on her last day alive

We buried Daisy beside Shaun. Together they will grow a mandarin tree; we plant a tree on each grave. I will miss her playful nature and loving cuddles.

Freida, looking lost just after we lost Daisy

Freida is now an only lamb.  She is adapting to being on her own; animals are resilient that way, they don’t dwell on things too much. I am trying to do the same (it is such a healthy way to grieve) but I can’t help but feel sad that we won’t be adding Daisy to our little flock in the future.

She is helping my daughter make a night shelter for other lambs in the flock in the clip below. The nights are sometimes below zero temperatures at this time of year, and newborn lambs can always do with some shelter, so my daughter made up a small enclosure inside a roofed yard. It has straw on the floor and is surrounded by bales and ply to block the wind. The mothers and lambs are herded into the shelter when it gets dark and given some lucerne and a bucket of water to settle them.