The storm hit and we got a pretty good amount of new snow. Not as much as expected, but still around 10 inches or so.
I had figured to just hang out at home, get some small stuff done and just enjoy watching it snow. Instead, I got a call from my neighbor across the road. They are of the same mind as us, they raise a few animals for their kids to show, and also for the family to eat. They are younger then us and have six kids, three of which are teenage or near teenage years boys, so there is plenty of need for lots of food.
Anyway, one of her ewes was showing signs of lambing when they first went out in the morning around 8:00 am. This ewe had lambed before with no trouble, so she figured within the hour she would be proudly caring for her new little ones.
When about an hour later they went to check, she was still in labor. But things didn't look right, so she called me to consult. Here at our place we have had a few lambs, some minor troubles, but nothing really major. I guess you could say, I had some experience with troubled lambings. I have had my hands inside of some sheep, as that is one of the ways of knowing what is going on when there is trouble. The neighbor, has always had me do that sort of thing. One of these days, I am going to get her to do that part so she has some experience at it.
To continue, the ewe just didn't look like she was really pushing, she was just kind of having mild contractions. I made my way over to their place through the snow drifts on foot. Expecting when I got there to find a lamb being born backwards or some such thing. I scrubbed up and lubed up and proceeded to examine the inside of the ewe. I couldn't find anything in the birth canal! Where was the lamb that should have been in place?
We decided that maybe she was still just in the first stages, so we made the ewe get up and walk around the barn a bit, hoping to get things moving as they should.
After another exam, and still nothing we decided we needed more information. We called another friend who has been raising sheep since he was a young man and this past month had lambed out something like twenty! After talking with him, it was decided that the Vet should be called and maybe he should come out! What a mess, the roads are almost impassable and the Vet is coming!
When the Vet arrived he did his exam and declared that the ewe had a tensioned uterus, sort of a twisted uterus! His method of treatment was very strange looking but it worked. We got a 2" X 6" X 4' board, laid the ewe on her right side, placed the board on her belly where the lamb would be and then the neighbors 12 year or so old son stood on the board while him and I rolled the ewe over to her left side! Strange to say the least. The idea of the board was to hold the lamb in place while we flipped the uterus back into it proper position. It worked! Then the Vet was able to pull the lamb. She was weak, but between swinging her to get the gunk out of her lungs and tickling her nose with straw we got her to breathing regular.
The lamb was taken into the house to warm. We gleaned as much information from the Vet as we could about what went wrong. He explained why everything inside had felt so strange and I was able to relate to what he was saying, so next time we will know what to do. Even if it means just calling the vet sooner.
I stayed to help with the lamb inside, until we felt like she might make it. She had begun to suck my finger after we gave her about 2 ounces of milk and was even crying and trying to get up. I left then with hope that maybe she might make it.
There is a slight chance, as she was born almost a week early and was also very stressed, time will tell.
I had spent five hours there, but had learned a lot and I hope had been of some help.
I will be emailing today to see how the little one is doing. Don't expect too much, but just maybe...
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