Sheep with prolapse...should I cull?

[blessedfarmgirl]

Hi everyone,
I am new to raising sheep, this is my family's first year. We have katahdin x gulf coast ewes and a katahdin ram. We kept the ram in with them all of last summer, and he's still with them now, the reason being that we don't have a place to keep him yet except with the ewes. So of course, we have surprise lambs! Our first ewe lambed 2 weeks ago with no assistance, the lamb is perfectly healthy and she has plenty of milk. The second ewe is huge for a first timer, she looks like she has twins in there. She started developing an udder around the same time as the first ewe, so I figured they'd lamb close to the same time. Well, its now been two weeks, and I kept expecting her to lamb any day, when suddenly yesterday we came out to do the evening chores and she had a vaginal prolapse. Thankfully I cleaned it off and got it back in relatively quickly, and she's doing fine now, but we are so disappointed. Every article on prolapses I have looked at since then have all said to cull the ewe and also cull her ewe lambs. We only have 6 ewes right now, and I'd hate to lose any of them. Also, I'd feel bad about selling a ewe that had had a prolapse, and I really don't want to butcher her. What do you recommend? Has anyone else had any experiences with prolapses, and if so, do they always recur when the ewe lambs again? Thanks in advance.

 

[Youngfarmer2019]

If you put a loose stitch thru the vulva it’ll keep her from prolapsing again, but keep an eye on her so you can take the stitch out when it’s time for her to lamb.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Vaginal prolapses are a very touchy subject. A lot of people will tell you to cull the ewe and everyone related to her.

My personal experience (20+ years of raising sheep) is that there are many reasons why a ewe could prolapse and only 1 of those reasons is a genetic predisposition.

I haven’t had any prolapses in a few years, but I have a ewe in my flock that prolapsed a couple years in a row and then never did it again. I also have had several of her daughters/granddaughters and none of them prolapses either.

Size of the ewe compared to size/number of lambs can be a factor as well as diet/nutrition. Do you keep a quality loose sheep specific mineral available to them? Selenium, vitamin E, calcium all play a part in a properly functioning muscles.

I wouldn’t necessarily cull without taking everything into consideration especially since you have a small flock. Just keep an eye on her with the understanding that she might repeat this performance again.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

@purplequeenvt I give them the producer's pride loose mineral free choice, so it may not be a deficiency. They have been getting bermuda grass hay all winter with occasional oats and some alfalfa. Thanks for your input. It's a relief to know to know that culling isn't mandatory! I think it may be a combination of her size, (she's a small framed ewe) being a first time mom, and she looks like she has twins in her. The prolapse has not recurred, hoping it'll stay in. I ordered a harness just in case.