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R.I.P. Spidey the Ram

15/6/2014

10 Comments

 
"There's something wrong with Spidey," said Farmer Wan. "I think you'd better come."

That was yesterday afternoon. Only the day before, Friday the 13th, our big blonde cow Bonnie had slipped a calf (miscarried) for the second year in a row. And now, it seemed, Spidey was sick.

"Sick" was an understatement. He was foaming at the mouth and staggering. We could hear an awful gurgling in his abdomen and he was fighting to breathe.

Poison, I thought, but that seemed ludicrous. A few days earlier, we'd moved the sheep into the orchard because it's the only place where we have any decent grass. There were native tree plantings by the fence that I knew were harmless -- coprosmas and flaxes -- and some non-toxic ornamentals bordering the driveway. 

We did have have a bit of buttercup in the drainage ditch, but a local sheep farmer had told us the sheep would avoid it. Maybe Spidey wasn't poisoned at all. Maybe it was bloat, or something. 
Wiltshire ewes and ram
Taken 6 June (Spidey second from front). Sure, he looked manky but he was a whole lotta ram.
I won't go into the gory details. Suffice it to say that we did everything we could think of while Spidey's condition grew worse. Farmer Wan asked me to call one of the local farmers for advice. I rang five different people but no-one was home. By the time I ran outside again, Spidey was dead.

It took a while for Spidey to grow on me. He wasn't particularly attractive and he was incredibly greedy. But in our first lambing season, we lost a ewe in horrendous weather and one of the other ewes started pining for her. She parked herself in one of the sheep shelters and refused to come out. She didn't eat or drink for three days and for all that time, Spidey stayed in the shelter with her. When she eventually came out, he did too. He remained by her until she started to eat and drink normally again.

I loved him a little bit for that.

Today is Farmer Wan's birthday. He spent this morning burying Spidey and Bonnie's dead calf.

And I loved him even more for that.

Picture
Picture
There were two small, undigested leaves in Spidey's stomach -- obviously the last things he ate. We took them with us into the orchard to find out what killed him.

We located the culprit down by the fence, a small shrub in amongst the native plantings and partially obscured by a large flax. I'd never noticed it before.

"Rhododendron, maybe?" I said. "But it looks way too small and I'm not sure."

 Farmer Wan cut some of it, brought it inside and jumped online.

"Rhododendron minus," he announced. 

This is a dwarf rhododendron and the physical description certainly matched what we had. The toxic effects matched too.

Farmer Wan dug it out and then found two others, both partially hidden by flaxes. None of the bushes were over 50cm high and yet they're so incredibly toxic that two little leaves were enough to kill a full-grown ram.

Ironically, the former owner of this place loved rhodos and had planted more than 50 on the bank behind the house. When we bought the property, I invited her to take them away if she wanted them and said that if she didn't, I'd probably rip them out and burn them because they were poisonous. She did take them out and I thought that was the end of it. These other three in the orchards were missed, although it's possible they were planted by someone else further back in the ownership chain and no-one else knew they existed.

So RIP, Spidey. Lambing will be a bit poignant this year and I suspect it's a birthday that poor Farmer Wan will probably want to forget.

Posted by Farmer Nik
10 Comments
Jan
15/6/2014 07:48:04 am

Oh no! I've often felt guilty that Spider was the target of my one and only rugby tackle:(
Ps. Hope the rest of your birthday was better Mr M

Reply
Farmer Nik
16/6/2014 02:33:08 am

Thanks, Jan. I think the birthday got better. There was roast chicken, birthday yo-yos (a perfect sugar to fat ratio) and plenty of wine :)

Reply
Cat
15/6/2014 10:35:46 am

So very sorry that you lost a good sheep in horrible circumstances, well done for tracking down the cause so quickly.
Much love to you both and I hope your birthday only gets better Ewan,
Xx Cat

Reply
Farmer Nik
16/6/2014 02:35:09 am

Thank you, lovely Cat. Ewan's outside as I write, doing another sweep of the orchard before we let the sheep back in.

Hope you had a great time when you were over here. I was thinking of you.

Lots of love to you and Brad. xxxx

Reply
Keen
16/6/2014 04:10:20 am

Oh sad! Poor Spidey. And I'm sorry for both of you, not a nice day for either of you Nix. Belated Birthday greetings to Poor St Ewan.

Reply
Farmer Nik
16/6/2014 06:59:58 am

He has a lot to put up with.

Ha! Thanks, Keen. xxx

Reply
Lizzie
17/6/2014 05:51:15 am

RIP Spidey. Hope you plant something good on top of him. And sorry about crap beginnings of birthday for poor Ewan. Yet again we missed his birthday...AAAARGH! Let the self flagellation commence...

Reply
Farmer Nik
17/6/2014 06:37:36 am

Spidey's gone to join the home-kill hoggets in a nice, big, wormy hole. As for Farmer Wan's birthday, nae worries, darlin'. He got huge amounts of sympathy and birthday love on FB and here. No need for flagellation, self or otherwise. xxx

Reply
Tash
24/6/2014 06:10:13 pm

Sorry to hear - very sad

Reply
Roy link
16/1/2021 10:41:34 pm

Awesome blog you have heree

Reply



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    About Ewan and Niki

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    Farmer Wan

    Scottish mechanical engineer with a deep and abiding passion for good food. Outstanding cook. Builder of lots of stuff. Cattle whisperer. Connoisseur of beer. A lover rather than a fighter.

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    Farmer Nik

    Kiwi writer and broadcaster who hates cabbage, even though she knows it's good for her. Chook wrangler. Grower of food and flowers. Maker of fine preserves. Lover of dancing and wine. Definitely a fighter.

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