This is perhaps the saddest story I have had to write on this blog.   If you are not up to the harsh reality that can be small homestead farming, perhaps you might want to pass this post up.  I considered not even writing about it at all, it is so tragic and upsetting, but after talking with my friend, whom has a part in the story, he thought we should help and get the word out so that others may prevent such a terrible thing happening to them.

 

If you’ve been following our blog for any length of time, then you know about Bonnie.

Bonnie came to us from a friend, whom got Bonnie from an animal neglect seizure in her county.   Bonnie and several other animals were seized from the small farm of a woman who could not properly care for her livestock and pets.   Bonnie was covered in several year’s worth of dirty, nasty fleece, with junk embedded, even bits of barbwire and such that left her with cuts and wounds.   She was buddies with an old goat and very bonded with him.   She was skittish, untrusting and just pretty miserable.

She lived in her new home with our friend Jess after she was sheared and treated.  Her old goat buddy came along.   She was doing good, but only kept with him and wasn’t too trusting still, even for treats.  Unfortunately, her goat friend died shortly after rescue and Bonnie was left alone.  Jess has a lovely herd of goats, but Bonnie was the only sheep.  She kind of kept to her own, even though she began to trust a little, and Jess learned that she loved banana peels!

But she was clearly a lone wolf sort of gal, and just not really fitting in with the goats.   We were talking and I said, I would love to give Bonnie a chance to be with my sheep…  to join a flock and belong.  Jess agreed and on February 17th, Bonnie came to live here, at Windhaven.

She’s a big gangly girl, taller than all the other Shetlands.  She has a funny coat, half wool and half hair, so we’re not totally sure of her parentage.   But one thing was sure… she loved being with sheep.   She became their big awkward auntie…  watchful over all the others, still pretty low on the totem pole, but she didn’t seem to mind.  She belonged.  She loved to be with others of her own kind.

She fell in with the two yearling ewes of our flock, Emma and Beulah.   Beulah miscarried her first lamb and shortly after Emma had a difficult birth of her single ewe lamb, Galadriel.   What was so sweet is that Beulah and Bonnie became close aunts to little Galadriel!   The three ewes just smothered that little baby, all watching over her, keeping tabs on her.   I think because they were all at the bottom of the herd rank, they just naturally bonded and knew that Emma needed a little help with her little baby.

As time went on and the other ewes all had their lambs, we hoped that just maybe, maybe Bonnie was expecting.  It would be a bit of a miracle, since our rams were yearlings and Miss Bonnie was a tall drink of water!  But when sheep love in the air, if there’s a will, there’s a way and when we finally knew for sure that she was expecting, we were just all so excited!   A little lamb, especially a little ewe lamb would be such a joy for Bonnie.  She could stay here with her forever, and she would have a special bond with her baby… we just knew it would be such a special healing for this poor ewe with a tough life so far!

About ten days ago, Maggie came running back to the house…  Bonnie had lambed!   Her baby was still damp and a bit icky, but momma and baby were doing well.  I rushed out with my lamb kit and some towels to get her a little more dried off and make sure she was doing well.

Oh, did I mention, it was a sweet, BIG, single ewe lamb?  I think I had tears in my eyes as I checked over that baby and gave her a good rub down.   Even Bonnie, who is still a little skittish and unsure, let me check over her baby and stood right by me, chortling to her newborn and licking away.

Once I knew she was okay, and I sat her back down and she got right up, I knew I could snap some pictures and watch as the flock accepted their newest member.   And since this year’s lambs are all named with a Lord of the Rings theme… it was clear.   This was Precious.   Bonnie’s little Precious…   And buddy, was she a cutie.

Dark little speckles all over her.  I think her father was Otis…  with the white and the little gray panda eyes…  it really points towards Otis as the fellow that helped Bonnie to motherhood!  So sweet.

Bonnie was doing everything right.  She had her up and moving, she was pretty clean, and Precious was staying close to her side.   She wasn’t nursing yet, and I noticed that when she tried, Bonnie was a little nervous and would sidestep away, like she wasn’t sure.   I made a note that I would have to get Jessy to help me and make sure the baby was getting her first important drink and nursing time.  Jessy is my helper with the newborns, we have a good routine and make a good team.   I had to get Maggie to work and the rest of the flock was restless and wanted to get out to graze a bit.  So I made the decision to bring Bonnie and her lamb into the big barn in the back, in that paddock, so they could have privacy and a nice indoor/outdoor space.  I would only be an hour or less and Jess and I would be back to check on them, and make sure Precious was nursing.

I moved the rest of the flock into the dog yard and locked them in to graze it down.  The ponies and our visiting mule friend, Jax were in the garden and middle yard, contentedly grazing.

Little did I know that it would be the last I would see of Precious alive.

And that I would return to a very very tragic turn of events.   Something that we feel really needs to be talked about and known through homesteading groups and circles.

 

Shortly after I left to take Maggie to work, I told Jessy my plans and that when I got back from getting hay and dropping off her sister, we would go out and make sure Precious was nursing and okay.   Told her that they were in the back barn paddock, all locked in and having some bonding time.

Jessy went into the kitchen to do something shortly after I left and just checked out the window to see all the flock in the dog yard grazing. Suddenly, she realized that Jax, the mule, was way in the back, in the pony paddock and was jumping and swinging something.  In her horror, she realized it was the newborn lamb.  She ran out to the paddock, screaming at the mule, trying to get it’s attention.  Jax had thrown the baby down and was kicking at it, snorting and all upset.  Bonnie was bleating and trying to get in the way, to save her baby but she was no match for a full sized mule.  Jessy rushed into the paddock, shouting and trying to stop the mule as it turned on Bonnie, trying now to attack her instead.  How, I just don’t know, but somehow Jessy got ahold of the mule’s bridle and tried to get him out of the paddock.  He rushed the gate and took off running into the middle yard.  Jessy got the baby in her arms and tried to get Bonnie to follow her, but instead, the ewe dashed out and ran towards the rest of her flock, the safety she knew.

Jax was over at the dog yard fence, pacing and nervous, trying to get in at the other sheep!   Jessy made her way to the screen porch, and tried to see what she could do for the lamb, but it was dying, right there in her arms and there was nothing that could be done.   She had a savage wound on her neck and shoulder from the mule’s bite, and her body was swelling from the kicking.  Precious was dying.   But all the sudden, Jessy realized that Jax was attacking again!   And it was Bonnie, now trying to defend a lamb, only it wasn’t her dying lamb, it was another ewe’s lamb, little Frodo!

Frodo is very good at slipping through fences since he’s only a few weeks old and born a bit later than all the others.   He must have gotten out of the dog yard at the worse possible time and now, Jax was trying to grab and attack him but Bonnie was in the way.   Bonnie had gotten herself wedged in the corner of the fencing, with that baby behind her and was taking the kicks and bites of the mule!  He had gotten ahold of her by the neck and was trying to shake her, but she’s much too big.  Jessy had to make the decision to leave the lamb and save it’s mother and another lamb from the mule.

She was only a few feet away, and could see it all, so she grabbed what she could, which was a piece of rebar laying by the fence and she screamed at the mule and smacked him on the butt to distract him.  When he felt that sting, he let go of Bonnie and turned around to face Jessy.   Bonnie and Frodo ran away as fast as they could, Bonnie protecting that baby, as she tried so valiantly to save her own.  Jessy had picked up a rake as well, and good thing because she had dropped the rebar after she got his attention.  With the rake brandished like a sword, she got the mule to back up and she grabbed his halter.  Thank God that girl had horse back lessons as a child and knew how to handle a horse… and she had learned a lot the last few years with our little ponies,  because she managed to get him into the far back pasture and locked up without getting too banged up.   She had managed to twist her ankle at some point, but I don’t think she was feeling anything but adrenalin and pure emotions of fear, angst, anger, you name it.  I am so proud of that child…  we all said if it had been us, I think we would have wanted to just beat that mule to death…   but she knew she just had to get him far away, and get Bonnie and Frodo safe within the herd and call for help.

She said that getting Jax to the back was so hard, he didn’t want to go.  But she pulled and tugged and slapped and shouted and he moved.  His muzzle had blood on it, and he was out of breath and just totally upset.  She took him through the paddock and into the back pasture and locked him in.   It was then that she learned that he had BROKEN through a latch that was on that paddock gate to get in there and attack that lamb.  He was NOT in that barn with them, he had busted through to get at the baby.  It was pure bloodlust and a act that was just so surprising… it was just unbelievable.

It wasn’t hard for her to get Bonnie and Frodo into the dog yard with the rest of the very upset and anxious flock.   They had been feet away from the attack and could do nothing to help.  Bonnie was limping and was calling for her baby in this sad, mournful way.  Frodo was terrified and stuck to her side like glue, even when his own mother Bridget came over to mother him.  Jessy tried to check on Bonnie, but the ewe was so upset and scared, she couldn’t see too much. It looked like she was not bleeding.  She left them to check on Precious.

Precious was gone, she was so severely savaged, I just don’t think there could have been anything anyone could have done.  Her little body was swollen, a huge gapping wound on her neck and shoulder was enough trauma to kill a newborn.  And who knows the brain trauma from being swung around and thrown on the ground.  Her life here was so short.  Probably less than two hours at the most.  She had a sweet mother and should have had a perfect life here, happy, healthy and loved.  But now, she was dead.

Jessy was afraid that Jax might break out again, or do something bad.   He was in the back pasture, but he was pacing and just acting so oddly.  She was afraid that he might do something to the ponies, whom were totally in shock and standing way off in the garden, just sort of watching and totally unsure what had just happened.  She locked Shadow and Cody in the garden, and limped back into the house, her own ankle starting to swell and hurt.  She tried to reach me but my damn phone was not working well, so she called Jerry’s to try and catch me.  I had already left to get hay and come back.   So she called Justin, Jax’s owner, our good friend.   Justin was just in shock to hear what had happened and I think he wasn’t totally sure what had happened because Jessy was just so upset.   I think the whole situation as it unfolded was hard but she was just reacting and doing what she felt she had to do at the time.   Now that things were relatively calm, all the emotions just started to flow and she was overwhelmed by it all.   Justin knew he had to get there as soon as he could and bring a trailer to get the mule.   He was not too far, but had to make some fast arraignments to borrow our friend Mary’s trailer and get over as quickly as he could.

When I got home, Jessy rushed out to meet me, crying and upset, telling me that the lamb was dead and that Jax had killed it…  I was stunned.   I couldn’t hardly believe it.  What had happened?  I left a newborn with her mom and Jessy making breakfast.  All was good in the world and now this!   She was hobbling and upset and I just hugged her and got her in the house and tried to learn what had happened.  I just could not believe it.   Jax was such a mild mannered mule.  He was SOOOOOO low on the totem pole, he let the ponies boss him around.  Never in my wildest dreams would he do such a thing…   I thought mules were smart and protective of their herd mates…  he was fine around the sheep, the few times they mingled, he never chased or kicked at them…  if I had to guess I might have thought Shadow might be nasty, but even then, he only occasionally kicked at a goat or sheep, and would occasionally enjoy scattering them with a frisky gallop in their midst while they were busy grazing.  Naughty, but not murderous.

When I saw the dead lamb, I just could not believe it.  It was so sad.   When Precious had been born, I was so happy for Bonnie.   I wanted this baby for her so badly.   There were tears just rolling down my face, I was so upset for the ewe, but I was so upset that my daughter had to deal with all this on her own, how amazed I was that she had the strength to handle this all on her own.   And then I just got so mad…  I love animals, but at that point, I am so glad that I didn’t have a pistol, because I really think I would have shot that mule for putting everyone through all this tragedy.  But then I realized, he was not in the back pasture and in fact, he was at the dog yard fence again, pacing back and forth, trying to figure out how to get in and at the sheep.  I had to do something.

I grabbed a lead rope and my shepherd stick, and walked out there prepared to do battle, but he was relatively calm.   He let me grab his bridle.  I snapped the lead on, and I started to lead him back.   I wasn’t sure what to do with him, but I had to do something safer until Justin arrived.   I tried to lock him in the feed room but he balked and would not go in.  I tried and tried, and no go.   He would not enter the room.   So I took and put him in the sheep paddock.   I tied the lead to a post and went and got him some hay.  It was the last thing I wanted to do, feed him, but I knew it would keep him busy.   I will admit, I was so angry, I just whipped that flake of hay at him so hard he jerked back a bit in surprise and then started to munch away.   I’m sure he thought I was just nuts for some unknown reason.  I had to unhook him because he couldn’t quite reach all the hay and then I chained the paddock gate shut.  I made it to the firepit and then I just sat down and sobbed, it was so dreadful.   I hadn’t even seen or went through it all, but it was just so raw and upsetting.  I had to get back in the house and check on Jessy and see how she was.   She was calming down, but I could tell, it had really been rough on her.   We just waited for Justin in quiet.   There wasn’t a lot to be said.

Justin came and we talked, and he saw the lamb and all, he was in shock.  We were all playing the what if game…   what if I had left them all in the sheep paddock, what if he had come to get Jax a few days before, what if all the sheep were loose in the middle, would they have confused and sheltered Bonnie and her lamb, what if, what if…   How would we have even imagined that Jax would act so brashly, so savage!   I’ve been a fan of horses for my whole life and the only time I EVER heard of such an act was that occasionally wild mustang stallions would kill the newborn colts of the mares they had stolen from other stallions.  But Jax was no mustang stallion, he was a gelding mule!  Justin has been around horses for most his life and never had he heard of such a thing.  I was upset as well, because Justin is a good friend and I knew he was just as upset as we were, and just worried we would be mad or that Jessy would blame him or something…  of course, we could not be, but still, it’s hard when your animal does something bad, like if your dog bites someone, that sort of thing.   Such an emotional day!

Well, after Jax and Justin left and unfortunately, this mule’s fate was very much in the air at that point….   I had to talk to someone and I just had to let our friend Jess, who had first rescued Bonnie and was so excited, like we were, on the impending birth, know about the loss.   And she was just as upset, but started to tell me that she had heard stories about donkeys doing such a thing.   She has three donkeys and knows a lot about them.   I couldn’t believe it.   So, of course, I googled it and oh my gosh….   there are reports after reports of terrible acts like this with mostly donkey jacks and male mules!  We just could not believe it.   So many people get donkeys as pasture guard animals, in fact they are written about and proclaimed as an easy way to protect your flocks!  A few days after this tragedy, I actually got an emailed article from Hobby Farms Magazine that was promoting donkeys and mules as the perfect livestock guardian!   And not a single mention of this possible problem.  I read report after report, on blogs, on forums, on mule and donkey information sites…   surely it was not the norm, but it happened so often that it was amazing.  And heartbreaking!   One family lost twelve lambs to a single donkey gelding!   Another family lost baby llamas to a companion mule.  And it was just heartbreaking to read this over and over.

It is surmised that the mule or donkey becomes very attached to his herd.  His flock of sheep or goats.   And when the females begin to birth their babies, some mules or donkeys are upset by the new appearance of much smaller animals in their area, smelling weird and will just attack.  Often killing the newborns and sometimes killing or severely harming the mothers in the process.  Of course, it’s not every single animal that will do this, and that some are better at understanding babies and such, but it’s an awful gamble to risk with your precious newborns!    They can attack for no good reason, even after several years and birth cycles…  there just doesn’t seem to be a good rhyme or reason. It seems that female mules and donkeys are much better, but can still occasionally attack as well.

For us, we will not have another mule on our property.  Not while we raise sheep and goats.  We’re just not willing to take the risk.   And whenever we have newborn animals, we will be extremely diligent in keeping them safe and away from any other animals not in their own flock.  Even rams or bucks can harm newborns.  Please be aware and learn from our sad case.  It’s so sad to loose a baby from illness or to be stillborn, but to be savaged and killed right after birth, that is very, very hard.  It’s been almost two weeks and we are still raw about it.  I know that Bonnie is fine, she was upset for a few hours, but then settled back into her routines with the herd, eating and resting.   Her limp went away in a day or so, and Frodo went back to his own mom, although he does follow Bonnie around a bit closer now.  Animals deal with these things far better than we do, still, that doesn’t make it any easier.   Jax was rehomed with a horse trainer and she knows very well that he is not to be trusted around small livestock like sheep or goats.  We’ve all learned a hard lesson for certain.

I sure for every bad story of a mule or donkey guardian gone wrong, there are twenty of heroic animals that fought off coyotes or bears or packs of dogs.   And I totally understand that training and early integration of guardian animals is so important to bonding them to their charges…  whether it is equine guardians, llamas or guardian dogs.  Please, please, work with someone that is knowledgeable on guardian animals and choose wisely.  Please learn about this little quirk in mules and donkeys and be mindful when your own animals have their babies, especially out in the pasture.  They are so vulnerable and fragile those first few hours.  They don’t have a chance against a full grown male donkey or mule.

This has been one of the hardest posts I have ever had to write.

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