Caring for kids

We went to the ranch to check on Lamkins and he is doing great. As I stood watching him in the pen with his mama and brother, I heard bleatings from another pen. I walked around the corner and came upon 3 newly born kids, just a few hours old. The mama was moving around, so if the kids could walk they had a chance to eat and get stronger but if their legs weren’t strong enough then they didn’t have a chance to eat and they would soon die.

I kept hearing yet another cry but it wasn’t coming from the 3. I had a feeling there was a fourth one somewhere, so I followed the sound and sure enough there was another little lamb. I picked it up and tried to help it stand but it just couldn’t because it was too weak. We put a rope around the mama’s neck and held her in place so I could hold up the 4th one to get milk. The 4th little lamb wouldn’t latch on to the mama and we tried for about five minutes. This little lamb wasn’t going to make it if we didn’t intervene.

Without further ado, we put “Star” in our bike basket and brought her to our apartment. We mixed together a nutrient rich milk  similar to his mother’s (recipe found on the internet) and within 30 minutes Star had drank 4 oz and he was attempting to stand up. His front legs would just not hold him so I would hold him up and help him stand on his own. Then about an hour later we checked up on him and he stood up for the first time.

I have never tended to newborn farm animals before and this has been a precious experience. I most definitely see that new life in any form is such a beautiful gift from God!