Help needed ASAP

[RedBrush Farm]

Sheep went into labor sat. Water bag ruptured.... No presentation at all. Called vet. Had me give shot to go into labor. Every time I checked, she was not dilating. Vet did not want to do c-section. Gave more shots yesterday and told us to check for dilation and if she did, go in and try to pull lamb. If nothing by Sunday, cull her. Checked her a little while ago, and she is dilating. My question is... How far should I go to "find" the lamb without hurting the ewe and how hard can I push to get inside? These are hard questions and there may not be an easy answer... I would just like to save her if possible..... We are terribly upset and just want to do the right thing.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Slowly work your hand inside. You may need to work the cervix a bit to get it to stretch it more. Go until you find a lamb. I can usually get up to my elbow. Try to find the two front feet and the nose. Two back feet are equally acceptable. Tips of toes pointing up will be front feet, toes point down are back feet. If you get front feet, you will need to make sure the head is there too. It's extremely hard to get the lamb out with its head turned back. If you are able to get the lamb out, make sure you go back in to check for another.

Is the ewe currently actively in labor? Pushing? Are you sure she actually passed a water bag on Saturday? If she was able to deliver a water bag then she should have been at least partially dilated.

I will warn you, at this point, the lamb is most likely dead. Why did the vet not want to do a c-section?

Make sure you scrub up well before going in and, if you are able to save the ewe, dose her up with antibiotics - especially if the lamb is dead!

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[RedBrush Farm]

Thank you for your reply. The vet felt the cost of the c-section would outweigh the value of the ewe. We only have one large animal vet in our area and he said he would need $500.00 to do the procedure and she probably would not live anyway...... At 9am sat morning, I saw a long string of bloody "stuff" hanging out of her and it had a little bit of water/liquid in the bottom of it. She had been in a jug for about 12 hours as she had separated herself from the others an we were expecting bad weather. I have only worked with cattle before this last year.... It looked kind of like afterbirth, but I knew she had not had a lamb. She is 5 years old and had several successful births before we got her.... We ran into town expecting a lamb when we got home. We were gone about an hour. We got home and she was standing up eating hay. She never went into third stage labor that we saw. At 3 pm we checked her and her cervix was as small as my first finger. That was when we called the vet..... We gave oxytocin shot and she strained a little but nothing came... She has had a little bloody discharge but otherwise acts as if she is fine. I just don't know how to help her.... It's so frustrating.

 

[bonbean01]

Something is very wrong here...is there another vet you can contact....or...other sheep people in your area to consult???

 

[RedBrush Farm]

I am actively searching now. There are several "goat" folks, but not sheep people. We have has sheep a little less than a year..... Feeling so helpless.... Will a ewe ever "pass" something vaginally when they are not in labor yet? I don't want to put her down if she has not truly went into labor.

 

[bonbean01]

Feel so badly for you and wish I had good advice...and by all means call experienced goat people...goats and sheep at birthing are not really different...where are you??? Anywhere close to me? I'm in Northeast Mississippi.

 

[purplequeenvt]

An experienced goat person should be able to help with sheep birthing problems.

My best guess is that the lamb is in a wacky position. Can you get the vet to come out and examine her?

 

[bonbean01]

X 2!!!! an experienced goat person is good...a vet out...better!!! Please keep us updated...for some reason I truly care about every sheep and lamb...just how I was drawn I guess. Hoping for the best!!!!

If I had a vet saying just to cull her...I would have flames coming out of my ears...seriously!!!!

 

[RedBrush Farm]

I am going to call him in the morning. I was thinking about calling a gentleman that lives fairly close who has goats and get his opinion. Thanks for your input. I really appreciate someone talking to me... She has always had twins and looks absolutely huge. I'm afraid there is 3 in there....

 

[bonbean01]

Please don't wait for morning...call the gentleman with goat experience !!!! Not sure about your area, but here...all us livestock people are open and willing to calls for help at all hours of the day and night.