Pictures My babies (and a question) *picture heavy*

[BirdCatLady]

So I've been a sheep and goat momma since 2004. I got Jazz, a Tunis ewe, when I was in 4-H, spring 2004 -- she was about 7 months when I adopted her. To keep her company, I adopted a slightly younger Oberhasli dairy goat (from a friend who raises them), that I named Calypso (Cal for short). In 2005, I bred her and she had a daughter, whom I named Melody (Mel for short). These are pics of them from around 2011.

Picture #1 -- Jazz (blue jacket) and Mel.
(I had been experimenting with new photo software there so the greyed out parts aren't muddy... it was just me being an amateur. )

Picture #2 -- Jazz & Mel in the shed that my dad and I built. (I got to help with the roofing! as well as the rest of it -- way too cool. )

Picture #3 -- Cal, trying to eat my camera...

Picture #4 -- Cal looking adorable with the sheep in the background.

Question: Since my babies are getting pretty old -- Jazz will be 12 in January, Cal will be 12 in March, and Melody will be 11 in August next year -- what are the typical procedures in terms of dealing with their bodies after sheep/goats die? I hate asking that question, and I do hope that they'll live to be quite a bit older than "normal" sheep/goats since they haven't been bred every year, but I do also want to be prepared for the eventual stuff.

 

[Odin]

Beautiful!!!

 

[Chopper]

I love the snow pictures. They are so cute.
I'm sorry I can't answer your questions though.

 

[macawpower58]

Not sure about smaller livestock, but when a friend had a horse pass one winter, they had to hire equipment to haul him away to a dump that took him.

Sad end to a family pet.

Is it legal to bury them on your place where you live? I know some locals won't allow it.

If so, I'd find someone with a small backhoe, and arrange for them to dig a big hole when it's time.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Thanks everyone. They are beautiful. Jazz and Cal especially -- although they're technically livestock, really they're pets. Jazz will come over and give me nose-kisses, and Cal and I have a head-butting game that we used to do a lot when she was younger and able to move/jump up better. Mel and I aren't as close as we could have been, though, because when she was born I didn't have as much time or energy to spend with her as I did with Jazz and Cal.

But they're still my babies.

And yes, I do think it's allowed to bury them here -- they live with my parents, who have a nice bunch of land (since I live in an apartment with no acreage), it's just the size of the hole that would be a problem (as well as the what ifs -- especially the "what if they die in winter when the ground is frozen?" one). The soil here is ridiculous -- maybe 1-2 inches of topsoil if you're lucky, and then clay and rock and shale for forever. So a backhoe would definitely be necessary.

 

[Chopper]

Or you could dig the hole now and cover it with plywood before the winter starts.
My brother and I used to have a huge hole dug when we lived in Ohio - many decades ago. I know we covered it with plywood because we used to use it as a fort when we playing. It amazes me to this day that my father let my brother dig that hole and better yet let me play in it.

 

[macawpower58]

I've actually thought this same thing. I lost a dog last summer, and thank God the ground was soft enough to dig out. He was a large dog too.

I've one left that is also large, older, and not in the best of health. I am afraid of the 'what if' he dies during the winter. I want him beside his buddy, back in the yard where I can gaze out my kitchen window and imagine him out there beside his old friend.

I've been thinking of digging....just in case. My daughters are telling me I'm morbid and getting senile.

 

[BirdCatLady]

I'd be a little scared of digging a hole and covering it with plywood, because while my parents live in a rural area and have land, there are also kids (between 6 and 15) who live close to them and sometimes go for walks and stuff on their land (with their permission) -- as well as dogs (who roam free). Granted, the hole + plywood would probably be close to the house (rather than way out in the woods), but I'd be worried about a child -- or a dog -- falling in the hole and being unable to get out and unable to let anyone know. That's probably not a terribly rational fear, but I guess I watched Homeward Bound too much as a kid...

 

[Chopper]

No - I get it. Again, I'm not sure why my dad let us do it but we did. It was much bigger than you would need for one of your goats or sheep. Oh the things we used to do.