# Ewe Aborted :-(



## Bridgemoof (Sep 23, 2012)

I'm so bummed, my Cormo ewe Po aborted her fetus after about 3.5 months yesterday. She looked like she was showing signs of going into labor yesterday morning, and I was surprised because I thought she would be due in November. So I figured I miscalculated, and got pregnant the first time I saw her go into heat. But I guess I was on target with my estimate, because she aborted this baby a couple months early.

So sadly, the fetus came out dead and she was depressed and crying for her baby. So sad!  She seems a bit better this morning, and she was really hungry after all of that trauma. I took her temperature yesterday and it was normal. She still has some placenta hanging out of her, though. I'm not sure what to do about that. I won't try and pull it, but if it doesn't come out by this evening maybe something needs to be done. 

So now I have to wait at least a month I guess to breed her back to Dipsy again. 

I have no idea why she aborted  Too much food? Not enough food? Some kind of bacteria? Worms? WHo knows. I just hope it doesn't happen again. I DON'T like losing lambs! 

If anybody has any advice for this situation, I would appreciate it.


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## BrownSheep (Sep 23, 2012)

There really is a whole slew of reason why she could have aborted. Right now I would be concerned about  weather or not it was infectious.
Here's a good artical about infectious causes of abortion. --> http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/abortion.html
It also could have been a number of no infectious causes such as taking a hit to the abdomen from the other sheep. 
We lost a lamb At about the same gestation period last year. It was fairly awful and the ewe required assistance. 
 I hope the rest of your ewes go as planned

Leave the placenta don't pull it even if it's there tonight. She could be a little discharge-y for up to a month in my experience. I would also give her  one or two shots of penicillin.


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 23, 2012)

Thanks Brownsheep, that article is frightening. I don't know what it was, but if its contagious I'm in trouble. I don't think it's the cat thing, we only have one cat and he is an inside cat. There is another cat nearby, but he doesn't come around the sheep area.

We spoke with the vet and he told us to give her a dose of Oxytocin to help give her contractions to get rid of the rest of the placenta. He also told us to give her LA200.


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## bonbean01 (Sep 23, 2012)

I'm so sorry!!!  How sad for you and the Mama


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Sep 23, 2012)

She could've eaten something. I know around here we have lots of spruce and if a goat eats too much they abort, could it be similar to sheep?


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## RemudaOne (Sep 23, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the lamb. I hope it was just a fluke and nothing serious.

ETA: sounds like good advice from your vet. Be sure to really restrict her diet as well so she will dry up quickly and won't have any mastitis troubles.


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## GoatCrazyLady (Sep 23, 2012)

So sorry to hear that  What a bummer!


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## boothcreek (Sep 23, 2012)

one of my ewes aborted one of her triplets at roughly that stage when whiped out running downhill fullbore thru a thicket(talk about a faceplant). 
This spring a heifer of ours did it as well when she slipped on a batch of ice, but she carried the dead fetus til close to her due date before she finally expelled it. We could really match up the growth stage of the aborted calcified fetus with her slip and one week of being off in december.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Sep 23, 2012)

Sorry Bridgemoof.


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 24, 2012)

Can you believe Po's placenta is still hanging on? The oxytocin did nothing. We have it tied up with a string so she doesn't step on it and it doesn't drag on the ground. 

I guess we'll consult with the vet again today to see what he says. But he said that it can go up to 36 hours before it comes out. Other than that she is doing okay and is very hungry.

REMUDA, she didn't even have any milk that's why I was so surprised she was even going into labor. We ran to the store to get some colustrum in case she had a lamb and didn't have milk.  So I don't think mastisis will be a problem, right?

So how long do you think I should keep her away from Dipsy the ram? I am guessing she won't be ready until about a month. He actually looks depressed out there in the pasture with the other sheep, he misses his Po and LaLa.


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 24, 2012)

Ohh and I have  a VERY important question, could she still be carrying another lamb in there that might go to full term? I don't even know if there's such a thing as a partial abortion.  But now I'm worried that the oxycotin we gave her may have ruined her chance to be carrying another lamb.


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## Cornish Heritage (Sep 27, 2012)

> Ohh and I have  a VERY important question, could she still be carrying another lamb in there that might go to full term? I don't even know if there's such a thing as a partial abortion. hu But now I'm worried that the oxycotin we gave her may have ruined her chance to be carrying another lamb.


A little late to this conversation. Sorry for your loss but it does happen & I don't mean that casually. We had a couple abortions this past spring but everyone else lambed out fine. I don't think she will have any more lambs inside. 

I would put her back in with the ram now. She will only mate when she is ready so they might as well be together. If she is healthy then I wouldn't worry about it too much. She could have contracted Lepto which will kill unborn animals. The chances are though that she is now immune to it so should not get it again. 

Liz


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## RemudaOne (Sep 28, 2012)

Sorry I'm late responding, but no, she shouldn't have any problem with mastitis. How is she doing now, Bridge?


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## Bridgemoof (Sep 28, 2012)

She's doing much better, thanks everyone!  She had still had that placenta hanging on Monday, so we spoke with the vet and he said we could pull it out very slowly if it seemed like it would come out easily. So we did, and it came right out and didn't seem to  be attached to anything. It just dwindled into a string of nothing. She still has little bits coming out, but at first the stuff was bothering her, but now I think it's finished and she's feeling better/ She got LA200 for 4 days.

I'm not going to put her back with the ram for at least another week. I think that whole thing was probably pretty traumatic on her system and I think she needs to heal a bit first.

You know when I think back on the whole thing, the day before one of the Alpine goats had jumped the wire and was in with the sheep. When it came to feeding time, she was really pushing everyone away with her horns pretty aggressively. I wonder if she got Po. It's a possibility.


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