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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Squished

All seemed normal as I went out to do evening barn chores. The animals were quiet, everything seemed calm.

Then Peaches stepped backwards as Mattie nudged her away.

A small scream rung through the rafters of the barn as Peaches moved, but the noise didn't come from her.

I looked behind my 700+ lb. heifer and saw a crumpled heap of brown fur.

Peaches accidentally stepped on Pippin, my little brown wether kid.

I honestly thought he was dead. I scooped his warm body up in my arms and felt a heart beat. There was life yet in this little boy. I brought Pippin inside, placed him in a towel-lined bucket, and gave him a bottle that was fortified with iron, calcium, magnesium, and acidophilus. He looks dazed... Zoned out. He's not "all there" it seems.

He'll spend the night inside, where it's warm and sheltered. I don't know if he'll make it or not. Years of working with livestock has taught me to never get my hopes too high, never get too attached to an animal, and has taught me that where there's livestock, there is going to be dead stock. It's a constant battle to control your emotions when something goes wrong with an animal. Not something that can be felt when trying to save a crop of spinach.

I'll try to keep y'all posted on him.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor baby... =( I hope he gets better.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, yes please keep us posted.

Sherry said...

I have a pippin too...I'll pray for yours.

Anonymous said...

Sending positive thoughts