First Time lambing, ewe seems iffy on one of the lambs?

[Henetk1100]

Hi all 😊

First time posting! Just looking for a bit of advice/others thoughts.

Our ewe Rosie lambed for the first time today. The first she had no issues, but the second one was stuck and the vet came out and helped us pull her. At first, Rosie was talking to her and seemed interested. Few hours in, though, and she’s definitely favoring the first born. She’s letting the second one nurse, and sniffs her - but she rarely “talks” to her like she does the first lamb and didn’t respond when second lamb was wandering and called for her. She also didn’t seem to clean her up quite as well.

Guess I’m just looking to see what others think on her chances of building a bond or rejecting, is this more common than I know of? For now, since she is not flat out rejecting her and still nursing, I’m not planning on intervening. The vet mentioned it isn’t uncommon for an ewe to struggle a bit with bonding if the birth had complications. I’m hoping it’s just going to be a bit of a slower bonding process due to that. But I don’t want to risk her potentially hurting the second one if she suddenly decides to reject her overnight.

Appreciate everyone’s thoughts and suggestions 😊

 

[Mini Horses]

Just keep watch. Ewe normally won't hurt but, be sure she's allowing to nurse. If so, it'll work out fine. Keeping the 3 in a smaller area for a few days will help them bond. 🙂

 

[Henetk1100]

Thank you!! That’s what I was hoping. Definitely will keep them in together. I appreciate it!

 

[Mini Horses]

Let us know how she does.🥰. We love pictures.

 

[Ridgetop]

If you have the afterbirth rub it on both lambs. Then remove the first one for an hour or two leaving only the second lamb with her. Then return the first one.

 

[Finnie]

From Indiana

 

[Baymule]

How is she doing this morning?

 

[Henetk1100]

Hi all!! Thanks so much for the suggestions. Really appreciate the help.

She definitely favors the first born, but she keeps an eye on the second one and always lets her nurse. She’s been recovering well, and we’ve had them all locked in together since birth and that seems to be helping a lot. The lambs also stay close to each other. So while she may play favorites, she’s still taking care of her, which I’m grateful for.

Our 3rd and final ewe lambed yesterday and that one needed to be pulled as well. He’s on the bigger side and the vet thinks his elbows locked in a bit and she just couldn’t get him out. But she took right to him and for now *knock on wood* everyone is doing well.

I’ll be honest… I’m glad lambing season is over for us LOL. It was my first time having ewes lamb and with two getting stuck, my nerves were a bit shot. Just grateful all is going well so far and we have 4 healthy babies.

Once I get these pictures resized so I can attach them, I’ll add here 😊

 

[Henetk1100]

Hi all! Sorry for the delay. Here is a “group pic” of all 4 lambs 😊 they are fast friends and often running around together.

 

[Henetk1100]

So everything has been going well but I did notice today our second ewe to give birth doesn’t seem like she’s letting her lamb nurse. She’s been great so far - he just turned two weeks old today. She was having some stomach issues that I figured out was coming from the feed she was on, so I took her off it and she’s getting alfalfa hay whenever she wants it. But she’s been nursing him great since birth.

But today I’ve noticed every time he tries to nurse she moves so he can’t. We locked them in together tonight so she can’t really move away from him. Is this normal as the lamb ages? These are my first not bottle fed so I’m just not sure if maybe it’s normal for her to not let him nurse quite as much? He looks good weight wise and has tons of energy.

TIA 😊