Animals of Farm Sanctuary

Hazelton: A Life Without Fear

A year ago in January, we picked up three sheep and a goat — the sole survivors of a small sheep herd, thought to have been used as dairy sheep. They were the sole survivors because their family had all perished due to neglect; the flock had been reduced to just this small group.

Tracey, Louise, and Jon.

The eldest female, Tracey, was the leader, even over the unaltered ram Jon. (Based on Tracey’s teeth, or lack thereof, we believe her to be over ten.) She stood in front of the other two and was especially protective of Louise, another adult female and likely — based on looks but also behavior — one of Tracey’s many daughters. On both dairy sheep farms and farms where sheep are raised for meat, there is typically only one (or maybe two) males, and the rest are females. The sons on the dairy farms as well as in meat production are sold as lamb meat; often, the female sheep used to breed lambs are related. 

Although they were clearly scared of us at first, Tracey came around before the others, and thankfully began to trust us. I say thankfully because she was pregnant and very close to giving birth — and although none of us knew it at the time, she would need our help. 

Tracey was the first of the group to warm to us.

Because of her age and the condition she arrived in (suffering from pneumonia, full of parasites, and significantly underweight), we monitored her around the clock so we would be prepared for the birth. She gained weight and her pregnancy quickly became very evident, so volunteers and caregivers set up shop in their pen at night — keeping watch over the mother-to-be in case she began to deliver. We had a camera on her at all times, as well, so we could monitor her from home or the office as well.

And finally the day arrived — after manager Jill Tedeschi had stayed up all night, knowing she was close — and Tracey went into labor. It was a hard labor, with a lot of blood and a lot of pain for mom — because Hazelton was stuck. But with help from her new humanimal friends, the baby was out — but the drama continued: He was not breathing. The baby was completely limp and mom was panicked.  

Finally breathing, Hazelton rests against his beautiful and very happy mom as she starts cleaning him. 

With mom overheating and the door cracked to keep her coo,l we had to help out with the drying of the baby, since we knew he had already had a rough start. 

With resuscitation for well over a minute, he coughed and then he breathed — and thankfully, continued breathing. Tears of joy streamed down everyone’s faces as we continued to check this fragile but massive lamb and check mom for any injury — but all seemed to be fine.  

We helped dry him and clamped and dipped his umbilical cord in iodine. We let Tracey clean and clean him, and we got him in a warm coat since he was shivering. 

Then, we stood back and watched to see if he could nurse — mom had plenty of milk. But after a few hours, it became clear that, even with help getting up, he could not figure out how to latch on.  

Relief and exhaustion for both Jill and Tracey. As Jill holds the sweet baby, we milk out mom for feeding.  

Senior Manager Tara Hess and Manager Jill Tedeschi tubing the lamb. If you have not done this, it is terrifying and has to be done so carefully. 

We checked for all causes of not being able to suckle, but he just hard zero suckle response, which happens. So we milked mom and tubed the vital colostrum for the first 24 hours. Unfortunately, the lack of response lasted for five days, which is not ideal and very scary. We made plans to send baby and mom to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, but on the day we would have taken him, our boy finally latched on and did not stop nursing for the next six months!

Cellphone photos were sent to all caregivers with the joyous news that Hazelton was nursing on his own! Life is good!

From the moment we met this boy we knew how very special he would be. That first breath, that first attempt to stand, and the evident love between baby and mom, a sheep we had grown to love so quickly — life was going to be good.

Night one — as seen from the office camera — the two took their first real sleep together, safe and secure.

Hazelton then lived with just his sweet mother and his aunt (or sister?) Louise, and all was fine for him — though Louise might beg to differ. Hazelton had a whole lot of energy, and although Tracey seemed okay with it, Louise was not a fan. 

But then it happened: the magical moment when Louise delivered two best friends for Hazelton and sealed the deal on what was already looking like a pretty perfect life.

For me??? Two little brother-like creatures who followed their big pal Hazelton everywhere! LIFE IS GREAT!

Hazelton got a great t-shirt as a gift from his friends at Food Fight when the brothers were born, since none of the little lamb coats fit him anymore. Tee-hee.

Summer and Reuben arrived, and Hazelton was bursting at the seams to meet them — which went very well. He had no idea how lucky he was going to be — having two more boys to head-butt with, to pronk around the yard with, and to just sleep next to. This family was now a very happy little flock.  

The boys lying in sun coming through the window on a very cold winter day!

Of course they had their ups and downs, but unlike living at a regular farm, they were able to do everything together. Because if you know sheep, you know they need to stay with their sheeple!  A flock is a strong bonded group, and mothers and babies especially flip out if separated — even for just a few moments. So when Summer got sick and we knew it would be weeks in the hospital — guess who went with him? EVERYONE!

Summer was always the sickly little one, but he has the best big brothers in the world — which makes him feel much bigger!

The night before the hospital stay — little Summer keeping warm in his spider pajamas.

Tracey at the hospital — still ensuring that no one messes with the family! (Summer has pink bandage in the back and is with mother Louise and brother Reubie! Hazelton stayed close to mom when they got the the hospital.)  

We have found that no one gets better when they are freaked out or scared — and keeping the family together, as you can see, made even a trip to the hospital very relaxed and a whole lot like home.  

Home from the hospital: Tracey yelling for Louise, who was out of her vision for two seconds, and Summer all bandaged up and in his pajamas. 

And then life just continued to get better and better — as did Summer’s health. Each day for Hazelton was full of nothing but love from mom, the family, and every human he encountered. 

He had the best of all worlds — the safety and security of mom while being surrounded by people and sheeple who thought he was the greatest lamb on the planet (don’t tell Summer and Reuben, but everyone thought that).

The boys with Louise (from front to back, Summer, Reuben, and Hazelton).

And then this family started getting too big for the hospital, and with the weather finally getting warmer, it was time to move on to new adventures. 

We started small — spending time in the pastures outside of the main herd and allowing moms and kids to warm up to the very large farm and all the residents who would become their extended family!

What are they, Hazelton? They are white and pink — we are white and pink. We shall call you Aunt Elsa.

Hazelton, with mom close behind, runs the pastures and is quite the big boy now!

The joining of the main herd was also pretty amazing. The flock contains around 70 sheep, and Tracey was a bit stressed bringing her crew into such a large group. We also complicated matters by bringing Jon back, too — so dad got to meet all three of the kids for the first time. Pretty insane first day moving into a new barn, but again, they got to do it together.

Hazelton really wishing mom wasn’t hanging out with Dad all the time. But they are all very close. Seriously mom — we need to talk.

While mom Tracey head-butted all the top sheep — just to make sure they knew the kids were not to be messed with — Hazelton slammed into their sides (very brave, having such a tough mom and a whole lot of human backup as well). And at the end of the day, Tracey and Jon were back together, Jon and Tracey both had bloody heads from all the butting, and everyone had their new home all figured out. And yes — they were all still together.

Oh, Hazelton. Mom trying desperately to wean her very large son; he was really feeling stubborn. 

Hazelton gets along with everyone and has zero shyness when it comes to meeting new sheep and goats. Of all the lambs, he fit in the most quickly and often took off without his family — leaving Tracey yelling for him in the barn when he was all the way out on pasture with his new friends.  

Hanging out with Audrey and Denise on the big pasture. 

Hazelton has become super-independent, but at the end of the day he always ends up with his sheeple: mom, dad, Louise, and the boys. And Summer, Reuben, and Hazelton love to play and run and meet everyone who comes to visit the farm. Hazelton loves the open pastures and the space he now has, and he is one of the most active of our sheep residents. Tracey is older and has slowed down even more since they arrived, but she and Jon seem to be enjoying their ability to let Hazelton do his own thing, now that he is all grown up.

Hazelton is one of the greeters at the sheep barn.

Just chillin’ in the barn.

So as you can see Hazelton has a pretty awesome life and has never really experienced any of the frightening things so many of our other residents do before they arrive at sanctuary. He has never had to be away from his mother, he has always been surrounded by love, he has never been mishandled or yelled at or treated with anything but respect — the way all animals should be treated.

And we have a few others just like Hazelton who are raised at the farm. Not all are super-friendly like Hazelton. Many are shy, some are very funny, and others are a tad grumpy, but what they all have is the complete freedom to be whoever they are supposed to be. Their true personalities shine through.

Hazelton pretending to be a goat — trying to make the new goats feel at home.

Please share Hazelton’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of sheep. We can make a difference for all farm animals. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate, vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!