hi all got up this morning at 6 to go and feed my pet sheep that i reared from only minutes old to find 1 out of my 6 sheep was missing, the other 5 came running to me and wanted food i then fed them and went looking for shy the smallest littel boy. by the time i got half way around the field the other sheep had finnished there food and caught up with me and led me to the top corner of my field near to the woods there was shy all cut open and wool all over as you can emagine i was devistated i have not cryed since i was very young but i broke down it was like one of my dogs had been badly hurt as they have depended up on me all there life they are like my kids even though i havent any. so i rang home and got my dad up there as soon as pos and he helped me carry him home to a warm shed where we cleaned his wounds he is in a bad way with all of his wool pulled off and bare skin and under skin showing. i dont know what to do for the best my dad said to bathe him and keep all his wounds clean i want to call the vet just to come out and reasure me but my dad said it ill cost too much as he isnt worth anything but that is what all farmers are like so im gona phone them anyway i dont care what it costs. what would you do in my situation? i am devistated.
love
mark

Awww... :( Poor you, must have been a shock. Was it a fox? Best to get the vet if you can.

Mark that is horrible, I'm so sorry.
If it were me I'd get the vet out straight away.  Hope he's ok.

I would definitely get the vet, its unfair to let an animal suffer ... do hope he will be OK, fingers crossed for you (and him).

Lindsay
x

thanks guys vet is on his way gona cost a fortune but it will be worth it i love them all to pieces dads going mad but i dont ever ask for anything so now it is time to. we arent quite sure as the fox would have killed him and not just ragged him however the lurcher next door is a suspect as the fence has been knocked down and the wounds do look like a dog bite.
thanks guys
mark

If he doesn't know already, make sure the vet knows that he's a pet sheep - they do treat them differently!

Aww - are sheep like goats & get very upset when they're sick/hurt??   Try some Rescue Remedy (we've used it with a sick goat once).    Keep him warm - with luck, he'll be okay!

Margot

awww sorry to hear.  I would also call a vet out as at the animal, as you said it's like your child.  they are your pets so do whatever you want, no expence spared :)

awww poor sheep, I hope hes ok.  Is there any more news?

Clair
xx

Hi Mark - how is sheepie - or as ou've referred to "he" - how's Rambo???

I do hope he's made it!

Regards

Margot

hi guys thanx for the much needed sympathy the vet did come out and i told him that he was a pet sheep and that there would be no expense spared but he had to be put to sleep as his injurys were too server i am so upset and cried all day yesterday and the day b4, he has been took away by my dads freind who runs a pet crematoriam and i will be getting his ashes back next week and it will definatly b him as he only does 1 at a time, there is some good come out of this the 5 other girls that he grew up with that are 9 month old now are expecting his babies the vet told us when he came to see shy so he lives on. however i am still very deeply upset and never want to go through this again for along time.
thankyou all again for yyour kind words
luv mark x

(((((((((((Mark)))))))))
Thats is so sad. People think livestock dont get to you the same way as conventional pets do. We had 2 ducks. That lived to 15 and 16. I was devestated when they died as I had grown up with them.
When are the sheep due for lambing??? (unusual time of year for it isnt it?)
And did the vet suggest What had caused the injuries?
Lea.

hiya lea they are due to lamb end of feb early march getting scan done in jan to be certain of lambing. the vet did know it was a dog attack and it has been happening all over the north east as hunting people have been using sheep for there lurchers to practise on and he thinks that shy was a victim of one of these attacks. there is an investigation going on with the rspca and they are going to try and stop these sick people they have caught the dog that did this to shy but its not the dogs fault its the owner they want. To me my sheep werent just livestock as werent your ducks they are part of the family i had to bottle feed them every 3 hours from when they were only hours old so i got attached very quick. i am just so pleased that my girl sheep are in lamb cant wait till i have new arrivals.
luv mark x

I'm so sorry Shy has gone, but hopefully the other sheep will be safe and sound now and will lamb next year safely. Sadly there are people who use other animals to practise on, this is why some dogs are stolen :( but hopefully they will be caught soon.

Best of luck to you for the future, and take care of those sheepies :)

Lindsay
X

Why would people use sheep for lurchers to practise on? ?

Have to say I would like a vet like yours, who can tell that a ewe is in lamb as early as he did!!!!

Gestation of a sheep is approx 5 months, so by my reckoning if they are due end of February early March, that makes them a maximum of 1 month in lamb. Hmmmmm

Plus you must have some very dodgy characters up in your neck of the woods, can't see the majority of lurcher people that I know using a sheep for practice, lurchers are used on Rabbits Hares and Fox, so how would a sheep be practice for them??????

Amazing detectives you have up there too, they have caught the dog that supposedly did this to your sheep!!!  You didn't know it had happened till 6 in the morning, you didn't see anyone at the time, etc etc. 

How did they do it with DNA testing of all local lurchers?

Sorry to be so cynical you lot but not much of this rings true.

Indeed.

well that is nice of you lady dazzel y not keep your opinions to yourself and not post such sh*t on to a board where some1 is greiving questioning everything the vet sed it was a dog bite and not a fox and he sed that animal welfare and other farmers have been trying to catch a group of people doing this sort of thing as they have been seen by various other farmers as there sheep have been attacked to this year mainly new born lambs. and i do apologise for getting you confused on the matter of my sheep being pregnant as bloods were taken off the ewes that day to say that they were carrying as hecheaked them that day for me and got back to me and they r due end of feb early march. thanks alot for questioning my vet and trying to make out that i am making the hole lot up and adding things on but im not and i wouldnt b that sick. and you are rite gestation period is 5 months however they can hold them back if they feel unsafe in there surroundings just like horses but very rarely go over. luv mark
P.S there are doggy characters everywhere you go.

I do feel there are some very weird and disturbed people about - remember the horses attacked by so called "satanists"? It may be that the owners of the lurchers are not real country people but just like to see their dog having a go... and so on. Like dog fighting circles and badger baiters.I can understand people being concerned, but it worries me that if the post is genuine then the original poster will be very upset. Sometimes people do get things wrong especially if they are youngish, but this may not necessarily mean that the whole story is fabrication. I too felt there were one or two things not quite right but I would not say that necessarily means as i said, it is a fabrication.

JMHO
Lindsay
X

Was the satanist theory ever proved with horses?

I'm not sure - it has been cropping up on and off for years and i am pretty sure there have been some incidences in the New Forest although don't quo te me on that! :)

Some horses were attacked more than once and it was horrible to read about :( and i believe there were Satanic symbols found, but maybe that was just something to sidetrack those investigating. It's totally appalling though isn't it  :(

Lindsay
X

You could be right Lindsay, but I have my doubts.

Considering the value of sheep and as my son has a flock of breeding ewes I know that only too well, this lads father was probably right in what he said, but the young man apparently was prepared to pay the huge cost of a vet visit as it was his pet, but what I cannot understand is the next bit about blood testing ewes to check on pregnancy.  All the farmers I know would scan if they indeed wanted to know and wouldn't even consider the cost of blood testing, if indeed there is a blood test for ewes that early in lamb ( which I have my doubts about having never heard of one).

I still do not understand how when no-one saw the attack, that the lurcher to blame has been caught!!  We ourselves have suffered the loss of sheep to dog attack, but unfortunately as is normally the case this was done by pet dogs getting loose in the flock, not by someone deliberately setting a dog onto them.

Sorry to be the cynic but thats how I see it,  If it is all true then I have every sympathy for the loss.

So sorry to read of your loss....

Doesnt matter if its a sheep, a dog, a cat, a goldfish even, when they are gone they leave a huge hole.

Can I say though please be careful of what you write on a public forum like this. Working lurcher folk have a hard enough time as it is without people making ill thought out comments about lurchers being 'trained' with sheep to 'practice' on.
Anyone who knows working folk will know this is rubbish b ut sadly there are those who DONT know, and it doesnt take long for rumours and lies to become 'well known facts'.

For the record, i have never, and i know no one who has, ever used a sheep as quarry for a lurcher. Lurchers are supposed to be able to work THROUGH livestock, and ignore them completely.

Em

how I agree with Lady D. and Themx.....lurchers being used to practise on sheep? What rot :( We spend a lot of time training our houndsto be safe with stock...its basic rules of anyone running a sight hound or longdog.

I'm so sorry Mark People think sheep are stupid which they are not I have a German friend who has a few pet sheep & they come to their names, he collects the orphan lambs & then hasn't the heart to rear them for food. Another friend now sadly passed away had a ram brought up by him & his dog & he thought he was a sheep dog. He wasn't good enough to breed from so my friend had him neutered & kept him as a pet, he was a real character & would follow his owner everywhere, I don't think he ever realised he was supposed to be a sheep let alone a Jacob. I like sheep as a species Was he a mule(cross breed)or an actual breed. My favourites are the herdwicks the breed saved by Beatix Potter

At least you will have something from him when the ewes lamb in spring

The majority of sheep hurt in this way are the results of dog attacks & not all country people are "nice"we had a nasty dog/badger baiting ring locally & most of the members were country people,