THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

----Ebony

We have had a pretty good run in the birthing stakes over on the block. 6 lambs from three sheep, 1 chicken from 6 eggs - chickadee, a turkey on eggs and a visiting pheasant and the calves, all four of them growing shiny and fat by the day.

However, this week death came calling. First the turkey - sitting quietly on the nest under the gum tree looking for all the world like she was born to be a mum. Sadly, she died on the nest. She wasnt thin. So one of those mysteries.

Then it was the turn of the only black ewe lamb of the six lambs, ebony, sister to the bigger Ivory. Born three weeks ago and healthy and hearty, it took a scary two hours from the time we realised that there was something wrong till she was dead. First she couldn't see. For a while her mother called her then she gave up - the rest of the flock then ignored her as she started to struggle to stand. It was obviously something affecting her brain.

We put her out of her misery after she failed to get up and she was in distress and barely breathing. I can't stand to see animals suffer.

Then it was the turn of the chickens. They are fully free range. And they roam free with the haybarn their nesting place. Four silky chooks with ten acres to call home.

Two new chickens hatched from a clutch of eggs. One was obviously deformed and died shortly after birth. The second was a reminder that hens are incredibly vicious creatures. one of the other hens literally pecked the second chicken to death.

When we got to the chicken she was barely breathing and full of holes - hen pecked.

So again we decided that it would not live and we had to kill it. It was made worse that we had visitors at the time. I did the deed out of view of two teenage boys.

Its harder than you think - chicks are such fragile creatures, and we have killed thousands of birds over our lifetime. but it never gets easier.

But the one thing that it does do is make you respect life all the more.