These sweaters are not a cute trick to make lambs more "Instagramable", they can save the lives of orphaned lambs.
It's the lambing season on Merino farms in Australia, which means Tracey Kruger wakes up every day looking for orphan lambs in need of rescue.
Usually, these lambs may be twins or triplets, and the mother took the other lambs with her, leaving the weakest one behind. Kruger brings home lambs who have lost their mothers and helps them recover, including by keeping them warm with baby jumpers.
Kruger will take home the lambs that have lost their mothers and help them recover. Image: Instagram
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > bring joy to lonely people everywhere</h1>
For years, Krueger has been filming her farm and community life — sheep shearers, soccer and tennis matches and, of course, animal cubs.
She shares these lives on social media and has also published six children's books on farm life, with the aim of showcasing the hard work of farmers and giving children in the city the joy of living on a farm.
The lambing season has always featured prominently in her publications, saying, "Lambing is my favorite season on the farm. At this time of year, when the ewes are lambing, we check them regularly to make sure there are no problems during childbirth and I may also need to deliver some lambs. ”
"When I walk around the flock, I often find a lamb that has just been abandoned, and many times it will be so weak that it can hardly stand up." At this time, Kruger would tuck the lamb into a warm sweater and take it home for the night.
Kruger has been adopting abandoned lambs. Image: Instagram
Krueger shared the journey of each lamb on her social media, and her record of the lambing season has received attention from around the world since the pandemic. "I get dozens of messages every day from netizens who probably live in apartments in New York, and the most important thing of the day is to get up in the morning and watch my lamb running around in a one-piece sweater. This occasionally makes me quite sad, and for many people the lockdown is long, hard, and extremely lonely. ”
When Kruger realized that some people used her sharing as a source of daily happiness, she struggled to keep her posts up to date. "I've received hundreds of messages and trying to reply to everyone is quite time-consuming. I've learned how to talk briefly with words to save time. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > give the lamb a new leaseon</h1>
Kruger began receiving some packages sent through the post office — hand-knitted baby jumpers from across Australia. At first, she bought knitwear for lambs from the store, and as people became more and more engaged in the fate of newborn lambs, a touching thing happened, and people across the country began to knit sweaters.
"People from all over Australia are now knitting sweaters for lambs and mailing them to me for free because they just love to see children put sweaters on." These sweaters are not a cute trick to make lambs more "Instagramable", they can save the lives of orphaned lambs.
Kruger explained that lambs with their mothers are generally safe and unaffected by the outside world and predators. "Their mothers usually lick them dry after they are born, and the ewe's hair also keeps newborn cubs warm.
People from all over Australia knit sweaters for lambs and send them to Kruger. Image: Instagram
The key factor in saving newborn lambs that have been abandoned is to get them back to body temperature and feed them.
When Kruger brings the lambs home, he cleans them up and uses heating lamps to rejuvenate them. After that, the lambs can put on new clothes. It usually takes at least one night for the lambs to return to normal, and once they do, Kruger tries to take them back to the farm to pair them with their new mother. This is known as "foster ewe".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="20" > raising orphan lambs</h1>
"Reintroducing the lamb to the new mother is a real cause." Kruger said.
If the ewe has other lambs, she smears its scent on the new lamb. She then uses a closed barbed wire mesh on the farm that will keep the new mother and orphaned lambs together for a morning, giving them plenty of hay and water and checking them out from time to time throughout the day. Usually, the ewe will mother the nearest lamb, and at the end of the day, they will wander like a new family.
Kruger would try to pair the lamb with the new mother. Image: Instagram
The call transfer of the public account is relayed by "Liquid Youth", and continues to pay attention to the work, life and spiritual world of contemporary young people.
Please search for the public number: Liquid Youth.