Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth
Thanks everyone for the advice. Next time I help the ewe. Jerry - Original Message - From: Bonnie Chandler jbchand...@verizon.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 2:47 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth Another thing you can do is if it is too weak to drink milk on its own you should get something warm into it, either milk some colostrum from the mother and tube feed it or use one of those lamb picker-uppers like Nutridrench. You can also dry it with a hair dryer and/or put it under a heat lamp to help it get warm faster. If it was weak to start with, it is less able to deal with being cold. My sheep don't mind my helping at all, even the ones that are quite shy. Right after lambing they become very amenable and don't try to run away. Bonnie - Original Message - From: The Wintermutes winterm...@earthlink.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info; crbear...@copper.net Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 8:44 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth I agree with Cecil, delivery should have been faster. Most of my sheep deliver their lambs without my presence. But if I am around and they go into labor I assist (unless my help is very obviously not needed). They usually do not like my being there but to bad! When I see hooves I move in and pull the lamb gently out and downward. Then I clean the nose off well and leave as quickly as possible. If there is are twins/triplets they should be coming out within 30 minutes or so. Usually the twins/triplets do not need help once the first lamb has been born. There are always exceptions. There are also going to be lambs that just are not going to survive. For example, if your lamb was very small it might have been pre-mature with underdeveloped lungs. If you have a ewe laying down straining for any length of time after the water bag has broken it is time to reach into the ewe and help the lamb out. This is where it gets complicated: Is it a breach, is that a nose, is that a tail, do these two hooves go to the same lamb, I have a head but where are the legs??? Mark If the lamb was struggling in the birth canal for an hour that is too long. Assistance was required. My ewes will have triplets in less than 30 minutes. I would think the lamb died from stress/exhaustion. Sorry. Cecil in OKla blueberryfarm wrote: I watched a young ewe give birth to her first lamb a couple of days ago. It took her over an hour. To my inexperienced eye, everything seemed to go OK: ewe pushing hard, head first birth, momma licking all the mucus from her lamb, lamb struggling to get up, but then less and less struggling and finally death. The little ewe lived about 45 minutes after birth and never made it to her feet. Is there something I could/should have done? Did I miss some clue? Should I have lifted her to her feet? I watched the whole affair from about 100 feet with binoculars. Relative with my experience with dogs, it all seemed quite normal. All my other lambs have been born without complications and out of my sight. I would appreciate any suggestions. Jerry Pearl River County in south Mississippi ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.1/1961 - Release Date: 02/19/09 18:45:00 ___ 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
Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth
My vet is also a good friend and lives nearby. He stood by and waited about 20 minutes for a ewe to lamb as the lamb was hanging halfway out and telling me that if I kept helping them, I would always be helping them. I told him that was just a lazy ass vet school story and pulled the lamb and grabbed the net one that was behind it. The first one took a few days to get over the stress. The second one bounced up within an hour... Just my $0.02 Cecil in OKla blueberryfarm wrote: Thanks everyone for the advice. Next time I help the ewe. Jerry - Original Message - From: Bonnie Chandler jbchand...@verizon.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 2:47 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth Another thing you can do is if it is too weak to drink milk on its own you should get something warm into it, either milk some colostrum from the mother and tube feed it or use one of those lamb picker-uppers like Nutridrench. You can also dry it with a hair dryer and/or put it under a heat lamp to help it get warm faster. If it was weak to start with, it is less able to deal with being cold. My sheep don't mind my helping at all, even the ones that are quite shy. Right after lambing they become very amenable and don't try to run away. Bonnie - Original Message - From: The Wintermutes winterm...@earthlink.net To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info; crbear...@copper.net Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 8:44 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth I agree with Cecil, delivery should have been faster. Most of my sheep deliver their lambs without my presence. But if I am around and they go into labor I assist (unless my help is very obviously not needed). They usually do not like my being there but to bad! When I see hooves I move in and pull the lamb gently out and downward. Then I clean the nose off well and leave as quickly as possible. If there is are twins/triplets they should be coming out within 30 minutes or so. Usually the twins/triplets do not need help once the first lamb has been born. There are always exceptions. There are also going to be lambs that just are not going to survive. For example, if your lamb was very small it might have been pre-mature with underdeveloped lungs. If you have a ewe laying down straining for any length of time after the water bag has broken it is time to reach into the ewe and help the lamb out. This is where it gets complicated: Is it a breach, is that a nose, is that a tail, do these two hooves go to the same lamb, I have a head but where are the legs??? Mark If the lamb was struggling in the birth canal for an hour that is too long. Assistance was required. My ewes will have triplets in less than 30 minutes. I would think the lamb died from stress/exhaustion. Sorry. Cecil in OKla blueberryfarm wrote: I watched a young ewe give birth to her first lamb a couple of days ago. It took her over an hour. To my inexperienced eye, everything seemed to go OK: ewe pushing hard, head first birth, momma licking all the mucus from her lamb, lamb struggling to get up, but then less and less struggling and finally death. The little ewe lived about 45 minutes after birth and never made it to her feet. Is there something I could/should have done? Did I miss some clue? Should I have lifted her to her feet? I watched the whole affair from about 100 feet with binoculars. Relative with my experience with dogs, it all seemed quite normal. All my other lambs have been born without complications and out of my sight. I would appreciate any suggestions. Jerry Pearl River County in south Mississippi ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.1/1961 - Release Date: 02/19/09 18:45:00 ___ 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 ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth
If the lamb was struggling in the birth canal for an hour that is too long. Assistance was required. My ewes will have triplets in less than 30 minutes. I would think the lamb died from stress/exhaustion. Sorry. Cecil in OKla blueberryfarm wrote: I watched a young ewe give birth to her first lamb a couple of days ago. It took her over an hour. To my inexperienced eye, everything seemed to go OK: ewe pushing hard, head first birth, momma licking all the mucus from her lamb, lamb struggling to get up, but then less and less struggling and finally death. The little ewe lived about 45 minutes after birth and never made it to her feet. Is there something I could/should have done? Did I miss some clue? Should I have lifted her to her feet? I watched the whole affair from about 100 feet with binoculars. Relative with my experience with dogs, it all seemed quite normal. All my other lambs have been born without complications and out of my sight. I would appreciate any suggestions. Jerry Pearl River County in south Mississippi ___ 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
[Blackbelly] lamb died right after birth
I watched a young ewe give birth to her first lamb a couple of days ago. It took her over an hour. To my inexperienced eye, everything seemed to go OK: ewe pushing hard, head first birth, momma licking all the mucus from her lamb, lamb struggling to get up, but then less and less struggling and finally death. The little ewe lived about 45 minutes after birth and never made it to her feet. Is there something I could/should have done? Did I miss some clue? Should I have lifted her to her feet? I watched the whole affair from about 100 feet with binoculars. Relative with my experience with dogs, it all seemed quite normal. All my other lambs have been born without complications and out of my sight. I would appreciate any suggestions. Jerry Pearl River County in south Mississippi ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info