Belle (Merino lamb/sheep). Arrived: 2 May 2015
Belle came to us at 2.5 months old, but was looked after for those first couple of months by a kind woman who was given her by a farmer in Parkerville, after she was orphaned at birth.
Passers-by noticed a sheep with two newborn lambs in a field, being attacked by a fox – on checking out the situation they found that mum and twin had ran off but Belle was left behind – still covered in the afterbirth which would indicate that she did not get the essential first drink from her mother before she disappeared. The farmer tried to get Belle bonded to a ewe (mum no longer interested), so that she would get the essential colostrum from the first milk, but no other ewe would have her.
The caring local offered to take Belle and look after her and the farmer agreed, seeing as he could not get another ewe to “adopt” her. Nobody was sure that Belle would pull through, but happily she did!
Originally named Lambalina by her new family, she was raised in a happy household with young children who gave her lots of love and shared their snacks with her like rice bubbles and paddle pops!
At 2.5 months, Belle was brought to Happy Hooves as it was becoming apparent that she was lonely. With no other sheep to keep her company, and the whole family away at work all day it’s no surprise, as sheep are flock animals and need companionship – especially as a young lamb. Now she has all the companionship she could want, with Petal, Tully, Rose and Bud, Arnie, Baart, Annie, Ella and Tonto!
Belle and Petal have become BLFFs (Best Lamb Friends Forever) and hang out together all day…Petal is undoubtedly imparting her vast three months-worth of wisdom and life skills.
So far Belle doing great and we are keeping a close eye on her, but she is not out of the woods yet; she could still get sick at up to 3-4 months of age – this is the period where the mum’s immunity that was passed on via the placenta wears off and her own immune system must kick in and take over – her immune system is likely compromised if she did not get colostrum in those first critical hours.
We will continue to watch Belle very closely and it is fortunate for her that she has ended up here, where she can be given round the clock attention and care, and we will work closely with vets should the need arise, to give her the best possible chance of survival.
Would you like to help us to take care of Belle? One off donations and sponsorship gifts are available now to support our work. Thank you for caring about farm animals.
** Happy Hooves Farm Sanctuary – Where The Good Life Begins **
