Natasha, I am not an experienced Shepard by any means. My goats when heavily pregnant, whilst lying down, will have a bulge, out the vagina,(vaginal prolapse but not severe) that disappears when they stand up. They also moan and groan, which is normal for the Nubian breed, tending to be somewhat drama queens.
It is really hard to make a diagnosis over the Internet. My vet charges $30 some dollars to make a farm visit. If you don't dare do a vaginal check yourself. Maybe to put your mind at ease, it would be a good investment to call your vet out to check. That being said, my vet said that she loves hair sheep as they seldom have birthing difficulties. So that is in our favor. That being said, if she was in distress, you would probably be able to tell it, if you can read your animals well. Them being herd animals, I suppose that they are stoic, and hide any weakness well. I have an alpaca breeder friend who had a female that seemed to be in labor, and then went back to eating and carrying on as normal, they had the vet out, and found that the female had been in labor, and the cria's head was laid back over her hips, so the baby could not be delivered by the momma, the vet was able to get it out, but it was already dead. Just my rambling on a warm spring day. Liz Radi Nubian goats and Katahdin Hair Sheep Nunn, Colorado 970-716-7218 idaralpaca.blogspot.com --- epbreedl...@dsl-only.net wrote: From: "Eileen" <epbreedl...@dsl-only.net> To: <blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info> Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Prolapse (or maybe not) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:47:35 -0700 I am a rank novice, having only watched lambing this year. When one of my ewes had that ping-pong ball thing, it was a lamb trying to be born who was stuck. The ping-pong ball is the fluid sac around the lamb. The ewe had one live lamb and one dead lamb when I went out to the barn. The ping-pong ball was the third lamb, also dead. I ended up calling the vet and she was able to get that lamb out; it was sideways. What I learned was that you need to wash, put on gloves, lube up, and stick your hand/arm in to see if you can feel feet and a head trying to come out. Or, you can call the vet. If this happened again I would not hesitate to stick my arm in. I hope other much more experienced shepherds will advise you. Good luck! Eileen -----Original Message----- From: blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info [mailto:blackbelly-boun...@lists.blackbellysheep.info]On Behalf Of blackbelly-requ...@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 3:08 PM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Blackbelly Digest, Vol 8, Issue 36 Send Blackbelly mailing list submissions to blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.blackbellysheep.info/listinfo.cgi/blackbelly-blackbellysheep.i nfo or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to blackbelly-requ...@lists.blackbellysheep.info You can reach the person managing the list at blackbelly-ow...@lists.blackbellysheep.info When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Blackbelly digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Prolapse (Natasha) 2. Re: Prolapse (RAY DE SA) 3. Re: Prolapse (Natasha) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:14:01 -0700 From: Natasha <meadowskuv...@gmail.com> To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: [Blackbelly] Prolapse Message-ID: <calze0a1qnkdtrr19ssnfra+3ebn6oarhqzilstiq4tucsuw...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Greeting All! I am a pacing, nail biting wreck right now. We keep thinking one of our ewes is going to go but nothing - she's HUGE. My total life experience in lambing is watching one ewe deliver last year, the other did fine on her own without my seeing it. So. Yesterday one ewe was looking like she was having contractions every five minutes, she'd even baaa in pain occasionally. Her belly was tightening, she'd push, look miserable, make faces, the whole nine yards...I took a peek and thought I saw feet. Her water hadn't broken that I'd seen. When I looked closer it wasn't feet but a ping pong ball size veiny "thing". I'm thinking that it's her uterus. It comes in and out. A yearling ewe also has the same thing. This yearling looks so tight that she just might explode. I know she's not yet ready to go by looking at her bag and teats. Her vulva makes her look like a baboon in heat! I know I'm over thinking and worrying. We had our own Easter vigil watching these girls with nothing. How worried do I need to be with this mild prolapsing? I am assuming the pressure is so great that is why I can see it. This did not happen last year. Is this normal? Can I stop worrying? Any words of wisdom? Will they be okay? Back to being a nervous Nellie. Thanks for your thoughts and experience, Natasha ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:00:10 -0700 (PDT) From: RAY DE SA <ray.d...@sbcglobal.net> To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Prolapse Message-ID: <1334080810.17656.yahoomailclas...@web181313.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Hi Natasha, It's hard to say when to panic with these girls since they seem to like to keep you guessing. That being said, if it appears she is in labor or having contractions and nothing happens within 30 minutes to an hour, you should have her vet checked. I lost one ewe two years ago by waiting to long, and lost one this year that prolapsed after giving birth to a healthy lamb. The one from two years ago had twins in her that were too big for her even though it was not her first birth. I don't mean to add to your worry, but again, I would get her looked at. Good luck. Ray --- On Tue, 4/10/12, Natasha <meadowskuv...@gmail.com> wrote: From: Natasha <meadowskuv...@gmail.com> Subject: [Blackbelly] Prolapse To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 9:14 AM Greeting All! I am a pacing, nail biting wreck right now.? We keep thinking one of our ewes is going to go but nothing - she's HUGE.? My total life experience in lambing is watching one ewe deliver last year, the other did fine on her own without my seeing it.? So.? Yesterday one ewe was looking like she was having contractions every five minutes, she'd even baaa in pain occasionally.? Her belly was tightening, she'd push, look miserable, make faces, the whole nine yards...I took a peek and thought I saw feet.? Her water hadn't broken that I'd seen.? When I looked closer it wasn't feet but a ping pong ball size veiny "thing". I'm thinking that it's her uterus.? It comes in and out.? A yearling ewe also has the same thing.? This yearling looks so tight that she just might explode.? I know she's not yet ready to go by looking at her bag and teats.? Her vulva makes her look like a baboon in heat!? I know I'm over thinking and worrying.? We had our own Easter vigil watching these girls with nothing.? How worried do I need to be with this mild prolapsing?? I am assuming the pressure is so great that is why I can see it.? This did not happen last year.? Is this normal? Can I stop worrying?? Any words of wisdom?? Will they be okay? Back to being a nervous Nellie.? Thanks for your thoughts and experience, Natasha _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:54:43 -0700 From: Natasha <meadowskuv...@gmail.com> To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Prolapse Message-ID: <calze0a0lzfeydsxe4i00n8fbtodqgefweomzamncvzrolzn...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Thanks Ray, The woman who sold me the one ewe came out to look at her. She didn't think she was ready to lamb yet. She didn't know why she appeared to be having contractions yesterday - do sheep get Braxton Hicks? She didn't think her udder was big enough and it didn't look like she had dropped. Although last year, I couldn't tell if she had dropped or not. My ewe is happily eating and nothing is happening with her today. I haven't seen any prolapse today at all. My friend figures she's going to have triplets and she has also seen with her sheep slight prolapses a day or two before lambing. I guess I wait with bated breath and see what happens. That said, I have no hesitation to call the vet if I need to. She didn't think I needed to call the vet yet. I just don't have all the experience under my belt to know when to panic and when to mellow out. I would hate to lose her as she's such a lovely, friendly, gentle creature. Thanks for your reply. Natasha > It's hard to say when to panic with these girls since they seem to like to keep you guessing. ?That being said, if it appears she is in labor or having contractions and nothing happens within 30 minutes to an hour, you should have her vet checked. ?I lost one ewe two years ago by waiting to long, and lost one this year that prolapsed after giving birth to a healthy lamb. ?The one from two years ago had twins in her that were too big for her even though it was not her first birth. ?I don't mean to add to your worry, but again, I would get her looked at. ?Good luck. ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ This daily digest is from the Blackbelly mailing list. Visit this list's home page at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info/ End of Blackbelly Digest, Vol 8, Issue 36 ***************************************** _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
