Life and Death (Sorry for what I said when I was afraid) | VLOG — Key Takeaways
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Life and Death (Sorry for what I said when I was afraid) | VLOG
Roots and Refuge Farm32mJan 10, 2026
Watch the originalIntervene early and aggressively with weak lambs — hesitating to bottle-feed cost lives in the previous lambing season.
Key takeaways
Don't house large cattle with small goats or sheep — ever
Don't house large cattle with small goats or sheep — ever
- A 1,000 lb Jersey cow headbutted a 90 lb Nubian goat; suspected internal bleeding led to the goat's death days later.
- The cow wasn't aggressive by nature — the risk is structural. Size mismatch alone is the hazard.
Pull weak lambs to bottle-feed early — hesitation kills them
Pull weak lambs to bottle-feed early — hesitation kills them
- Creator lost multiple lambs the prior season by waiting too long to intervene; now pulls any lamb showing sunken eyes or weakness immediately.
- Triplet and lopsided-udder situations are high-risk — one lamb always gets shunted; act before it's critical.
Sheep milk replacer costs ~$40 for 8 lb bag — cow's milk won't substitute
Sheep milk replacer costs ~$40 for 8 lb bag — cow's milk won't substitute
- Lamb milk needs roughly twice the milk solids of cow's milk; even goat's milk falls short.
- Milking the ewe directly for colostrum and giving it first is worth the effort — colostrum is higher value than replacer for weak newborns.
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In this video
- 1mLambing Season Triage: Identifying Weak Lambs
- 6mMilking a Sheep for Colostrum and Pulling Bottle Lambs
- 16mWeak Lamb Revives; Bottle Feeding Setup
- 21mVie the Goat's Death: What Happened
- 26mStewardship, Vet Costs, and the Ethics of When to Intervene
“quitting is how you protect yourself. Not getting in the game.”
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