Animals fallen in the canal

[Puffling]

My first season continuous cruising, and I'm moored opposite a field of sheep. Fantastic, you say, soothing to count their baahs as you drop off to  sleep.

 

Except some of them have already lambed, and the small sheeplings, curious by nature, have found some more tempting grass available by hopping over the low fence separating their field from the canal. I'm slightly anxious about my course of action should a lamb end up falling into the water. I can sprint to nearby houses and ask if they have the farmer's number, but by the time a helper arrives it might already be too late 🐑

 

My general question is how many boaters here have had to deal with animals falling into canals or rivers? Did the creatures survive and what action did you take to try and rescue them?

[Tracy D'arth]

14 minutes ago, Puffling said:

My first season continuous cruising, and I'm moored opposite a field of sheep. Fantastic, you say, soothing to count their baahs as you drop off to  sleep.

 

Except some of them have already lambed, and the small sheeplings, curious by nature, have found some more tempting grass available by hopping over the low fence separating their field from the canal. I'm slightly anxious about my course of action should a lamb end up falling into the water. I can sprint to nearby houses and ask if they have the farmer's number, but by the time a helper arrives it might already be too late 🐑

 

My general question is how many boaters here have had to deal with animals falling into canals or rivers? Did the creatures survive and what action did you take to try and rescue them?

If there is an area of the bank that is low enough they will climb out. The farmer will be aware that they get through the fence and not concerned. The sheep are probably worth next to nothing anyway.

[Puffling]

10 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

If there is an area of the bank that is low enough they will climb out. The farmer will be aware that they get through the fence and not concerned. The sheep are probably worth next to nothing anyway.

Low enough for a human, just not sure about lambs' hooves being strong enough to pull a cold water shocked animal out.

 

Worth nothing? Surely life is more than about economic loss?

[Tracy D'arth]

6 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Low enough for a human, just not sure about lambs' hooves being strong enough to pull a cold water shocked animal out.

 

Worth nothing? Surely life is more than about economic loss?

Regrettably not to most farmers.

[springy]

2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The sheep are probably worth next to nothing anyway.

 

Current market values of £100 + for a 20kg lamb would suggest otherwise - you wouldn't want to loose many. 

 

springy

[Troyboy]

I moor on the River Nene and it is not unusual to see dead sheep floating in the river . I have been involved in two sheep rescues over the years . The first one I had to dig some steps into the river bank to be able to climb down and then dig a ramp to assist the sheep to climb out . They are heavy animals particularly when wet ,that one ran off once I had dragged it out. The second one I think had been in the river sometime but with others we managed to get it out using a rope but it was too weak to stand so we put it in a wheelbarrow and called the farmer .When the farmer arrived I recall him using a syringe type device and squirting something into the  mouth of the sheep which he then took it away in his truck to dry out and hopefully recover . I never did find out if it survived . I remember seeing  mink feeding on a dead sheep floating in the river at Wansford. 

[Ex Brummie]

A former customer of mine stopped keeping sheep on his meadows as he said he awoke every morning wondering what form of suicide they had discovered overnight.

[ditchcrawler]

I have pulled a few out of the canal alive and just humped them back on the bank. This was one who was in no great hurry to join the others, it was a heavy bugger. Note the tide mark

 

 

 

Also I have turned several as per this video 

 

[BWM]

It doesn't normally end well for most animals that fall in because of the square sides to the canal, apart from cats. We have managed to save a couple of muntjack deer though. 

[Hudds Lad]

“just bags of bones, eyeballs, and teeth, lookin’ for new ways to die.”

Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

[smiler]

40 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have pulled a few out of the canal alive and just humped them back on the bank.....

Oh really?

Not Welsh are you???

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

If there is an area of the bank that is low enough they will climb out. The farmer will be aware that they get through the fence and not concerned. The sheep are probably worth next to nothing anyway.

I'm not so sure about that, I saw a drowned ewe  not so long ago, there was quite a sharp drop off the field, she had no oportunity to climb out.

Farmers are not writing off their livestock, but it was not a great field, ie unfenced.

Price of lamb in Tesco is quite high, so they are worth a significant amount, even if the cost of production leaves gross margins very tight. 

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Regrettably not to most farmers.

You don't know many farmers, of course there are exceptions, but most are hard working, and look after their investment. 

[Tony1]

I passed a dead sheep for the first time a few months ago, floating in the shroppie about a mile before Tattenhall marina. 

Its a grim sight indeed. 

[ditchcrawler]

36 minutes ago, smiler said:

Oh really?

Not Welsh are you???

I didn't have my wellies on

[tree monkey]

16 hours ago, springy said:

 

Current market values of £100 + for a 20kg lamb would suggest otherwise - you wouldn't want to loose many. 

 

springy

Is that carcass value from the butcher or price paid to the farmer for a lamb

15 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

“just bags of bones, eyeballs, and teeth, lookin’ for new ways to die.”

Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

That is my, admittedly limited, experience, the things seems to try to find new and exciting ways to die

[Tony1]

 

I think its worth pointing out that not a single one of the many drowned sheep were found wearing wellies. 

 

I very much do wear wellies.

 

I'm no statistical expert, but it seems to me there is a very good chance that I won't be found floating face down in the cut.

 

 

[mrsmelly]

I have a foto somewhere of our boat moored up with a cow, stood in the canal looking at the front of the boat. Shame I cant find it, its quite amusing. Twas on the Llangollen, taken in 2000.

[mrsmelly]

Found it lol

[Grassman]

We once came across a deer on the Witham Navigation between Torksey and Lincoln. The poor thing was trying get out but the piling each side made it impossible. There were a few 'deer ramps' along the way which were just a pile of stones protruding out of the water at the edge, but most of these had slipped under the water so the deer wasn't able to see they were there.

 

We tried from the boat to fish it out but every time we got near it panicked and swam away and it was the same when we tried to get to it from the bank. Not wanting to unnecessarily tire it out we reluctantly left it in the hope it would manage to get out. Sadly on our way back from Lincoln a few days later we came across it floating in the water. 

[mrsmelly]

4 minutes ago, Grassman said:

We once came across a deer on the Witham Navigation between Torksey and Lincoln. The poor thing was trying get out but the piling each side made it impossible. There were a few 'deer ramps' along the way which were just a pile of stones protruding out of the water at the edge, but most of these had slipped under the water so the deer wasn't able to see they were there.

 

We tried from the boat to fish it out but every time we got near it panicked and swam away and it was the same when we tried to get to it from the bank. Not wanting to unnecessarily tire it out we reluctantly left it in the hope it would manage to get out. Sadly on our way back from Lincoln a few days later we came across it floating in the water. 

Deer are always doing that. In around 1990 myself and the missus with Glyn the lockie at Whitley lock on the A and C saved 2 from the cut. We shooed them into the lock and Glynn shut the gates, he then frightened them across to the side of the lock my missus was at and she leaned in, grabbed their front legs and dragged each one out. They were so knackered they sat with us still for several minutes, then dashed across the fields. I have afoto of them with the missus somehwere lol.

[Bugsworth Tippler]

Of historical interest perhaps? In 1912 a cow called Buttercup swam through Foulridge Tunnel on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, all 1500 metres of it. More details can be found here : Song - The Bravest Cow

[cuthound]

Over the years we have been involved in several animal rescues.

 

The first was a cat which had fallen into Cropedy Lock on our first shareboat trip in 1992. It was nearly exhausted when I fished it out.

 

Then a year or two later we came across a baby deer which was stuck in the deep mud near the Calcutt Locks. Several  boats were trying to help without success. Then a boat arrived with a man on board who made a lassoo with his fore line, lassooed the deer and pulled it out of the mud and onto the bank, where it quickly ran back into the woods from where it had come.

 

We found a cow in the Shroppie, and called the Fire Brigade who pulled it out 

 

Finally we came across a boat on the Leeds and Liverpool which was moving very erratically across the cut. It turned out a sheep had fallen in and he was unsuccessfully trying to pin it against the bank so that it could be rescued. It just kept swimming away and was getting very tired. We managed to trap it against the offside bank using both boats and then heaved it out. Boy are sheep heavy when soaked. It took 3 grown men to pull it out and we all got thoroughly drenched!

 

Also attached is a photo of cows in the Llangollen and our second shareboat. Later one waded right across the canal and up to the boat where it peered in through the saloon windows, much to the concern of our dog!

Edited March 10, 2022 by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.

[ditchcrawler]

I had to call the fire brigade to this one, they knew exactly where to go to find it, on the Gt Ouse near Ely

  

[haza]

tracy maybe right abt the farmers not being bothered ,some  time back up at elsemere  ,3 sheep in the water mr and other boaters tried to get them out .2 made it 1 drowned that was after mr even went in the water to try and save poor thing .the farmer came and said we should not have gone though the trouble every one did .it     looked like he he could not have given a toss .most of the offside bank  as no fence  most time s