Fiona is an almost 14-year-old registered Texel ewe, who has contributed many wonderful lambs to our flock, both rams and ewes. Fiona is the last daughter of “Selma”, one of two Texel ewes we purchased from Portland Prairie Texels many years ago to boost our flock genetics. Both Selma and Fiona were wonderful mothers and prolific ewes.
Fiona has been retired from the breeding program since 2022 after it was discovered she had arthritic growths in her back (old age again) which made lambing difficult for her. Since then, Fiona has been pampered. She gets to be a sheep and hang out with the flock, but as age increases, she is pushed out of the feeder which didn’t happen in her prime years. She also has been diagnosed with arthritis in her shoulders, has weird hoof growth that requires frequent trimming on one foot only, and perhaps has some eyesight decline as she reacts unusually when another ewe passes by in a certain field of vision.
I have never kept a ewe as long as I have kept Fiona; we are practical around here and normally sell older ewes at auction and this means they are sold for meat consumption. But somehow I have grown softer as I have aged right along with Fiona and she has become my special pet sheep.
She gets her own grain at the evening feeding with arthritis meds. They really help her get around but she is definitely the slowest ewe when going out to pasture and coming back in.
Last night, I noticed Fiona was having trouble while eating her grain / meds. Her sides were heaving in and out a bit and with our really humid wet weather lately, I got to wondering if she might be getting a respiratory illness. Today, we cleaned the barn and put in fresh bedding and noticed Fiona wasn’t to be found even though the other ewes came in to sort through the fresh straw for grain tidbits left behind during the combining process. I went out to find her standing in the field so I pushed her into the barn and she immediately laid down and was acting uncomfortable. I got her pushed into a separate pen from the others and noticed her mouth-breathing and panting. Her nose was runny and she had white foam on her lips.
Immediately, we administered a loading dose of antibiotic that works for pneumonia and some pain reliever. Within a couple of hours, her breathing improved and she seemed more comfortable. She ate a little, drank, and will be monitored and dosed with antibiotics on a regular schedule and we will see if she recovers fully. Fortunately, she is super easy to handle. We will do our best to keep her going for as long as she wants to keep going.
Sorry to write that this has turned into a memorial post as Fiona passed away overnight. I was expecting it in a way and gave her a good snuggle at the last barn check last night. The interesting thing is that I planned to check on her during the night and I surprisingly slept clear through the night which is unusual for me. I slept so sound and deep and woke up rested. She must have released me from the worry in my dreams. Here is a photo of Fiona and me (in my farm attire of course) shortly after her last time she had lambs in 2022. Will sure miss Fiona but she lived 13 3/4 years, was born here and died here and contributed so many wonderful offspring to our flock. I really couldn’t ask for more from a sweet Texel ewe or from being a shepherd. My heart is full.
