[Hillview Farm]

Sorry for another post! I promise that this will be one of the last as the last ewe Lambed last night.

Ewe Lambed yesterday twins. The second lamb took forever to get going. It wouldn't breath very well and had a lot of fluid on the lungs. After ten mins she started to breathe fairly well but raspy. Gave it colostrum via stomach tube as it was weak. Went back a few hours later and it was very cold and lethargic so took her home and wrapper her up under the heat lamp and tubed colostrum again. Over night she perked up and got on her feet for the first time. Lamb is up and about, had a massive wee but her mouth is still cold but not her body or ears, no sucking and her breathing slightly laboured and raspy. Gave her spectam at birth and kick start.


What else can I do? Any tips?

[Ladygrey]

Maybe it would be worth giving it some pen and strep? once a day for three days

maybe not the correct thing to do but thats what I would do incase its picked up a viral form of pneumonia or some sort of infection when inhaling gunk soon after birth, keeping it dry would help it and getting it upand about sucking off mum soon as possible would also probly benefit it

someone else may have better suggestions

good luck 

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Yeah I'm with ladyG,


   I use Betamox LA which is IM injection every 48 hours. Give spectam again for a belt and braces approach. The wee is a good sign as it suggests that she is not dehydrated. Keep her warm, lamp,heat pad, covered hot water bottle or in the cat basket by the radiator if you take my approach. If she is over 24 hours now then she will have lost her ability to absorb any antibodies in the colostrum. If it was colostrum substitute it wouldn't have antibodies in it anyway so you can swap her onto milk substitute as its easier to suckle. Try and get her to suck even though it can be difficult and keep going with the meds and warm milk until she turns a corner.

[Marches Farmer]

Was she born backwards?  They can start to breathe whilst still surrounded by birth fluids if not whipped out very quickly and held upside down to drain out.

[Hillview Farm]

Unsure if she was breeches as I was lambing another Ewe at the time and suddenly notices it. As soon as I saw the ewe get up and the lamb I ran in and swung it, straw up nose and rub etc.

She's quite happily toddling around the house, talking to me and wagging her tail like mad when near me but just won't suck.

Just given her some betamox and will leave her a little while to get hungry and see if that will get her sucking!


Thanks all

[Hillview Farm]

Brilliant picture buffy!

Forget to say the colostrum was fresh from mother and looked very good quality!


And just to add, she's just tried butting me for food and drunk about 30 ml from the bottle so fingers crossed!

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Hillview, keep trying with the sucking especially when she comes by and wags her tail. You could try....,


dipping your finger in warm milk and getting her to suck that,
stroking her rump from the base of her tail towards her hips when offering her milk,
standing along side her or sitting her next to you,
pointing the bottle between your lower legs as if you had an udder hanging from your knees,
Putting her in a pen with her mum or other lambs at feeding times and using the sound and excitement of others feeding to encourage her to get the hang of it.


Good luck, it can be terribly frustrating when they cant seem to get the hang of it.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Oh thats great, 30 mls is good. I'm sure she will be fine now. The little lamb in my cat basket is Pixie she was the smallest of 3 orphan triplets whos mum had to be euthanised. She had digestive problems and a shakey start. Her sisters Elfine and Tinkerbell are huge big chunky bottle fed things. Pixie is taking her time.....Well wouldnt you if you got to snooze in the cat basket, wake up and bleat for milk, have a snack, potter round the kitchen to find the most inconvenient place to wee, then totter back and climb into the cat basket and wait until someone covers you up.


Someone once tried to tell that me sheep were stupid.....Yeah right

[verdifish]

Giving pen and strep to anything viral is pointless unless it has a raised temp which would indicate a secondary infection !

[Hillview Farm]

She's still looking for food but will not accept a teat. Tried two different types.

Looking very hallow and hasn't done a poo yet! Definitely has a hole though

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Stick with it, warm milk when she is hungry not in between.
 She has taken 30 mls so is probably not hungry just yet. Lets be positive. She will drink from the teat because she has drunk from the teat.


Lambs nudge, nuzzle, mouth and suck when they are full of milk. Some of it is just instinctive behaviour. If you reach to caress her head like you would a dog her instinct may make her nudge and wag. My bottle feds sometimes nudge after guzzling lots of milk. I offer them the bottle and the are clearly too full but nudging, wagging and mouthing is just something they do.


She is probably just seeking a bit of reassurance from her foster mum. If she is in the kitchen she may follow you around until you sit with her and settle her down. When Pixie was very new I used to hold her after a feed and she fell asleep quickly then place her in the basket with my hand on her till she settled and then left her to sleep.


She is going to look like a hunched, wretched cold lamb for a couple of days but if she is not wailing the house down, she's not starving to death. She will only need a feed every 2 - 4 hours but she will worry if she thinks she is on her own her instinct will tell her to shout for mum. So you could put her back with her family after a feed and then pop back in a couple of hours if that's convenient.

[Hillview Farm]

It's odd she looks empty but when sit her on her bottom like if you was going to band a ram lambs balls her stomach appears full.

Thank you very much buffy. Your making me feel much better about it all. Sadly the farm is ten mins from home and it's all round easier to keep her at home as her temp seems to be very unstable and I don't have electric at the farm.

We have come to the decision that if the ewe doesn't have her back then that's fine and we shall rear her. Not ideal but I'm not giving up on her

My elderly rabbit has taken a shine to her too!

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Sounds like she is better at home with you then. She is full if she looks full. You will know hen she isn't. Keep an eye out for the poos ( if only to avoid stepping in it) but it will come through in its own time. Gently wiping her bottom with a warm wet cloth might stimulate her to go. Her mum would lick her but I'm guessing you wont want to do that 


This one is the toughest cos its the first and you will no doubt decide on a number of occasions that she isnt thriving but it's just about keeping her warm, clean, fed, comforted and hydrated until you can get her to turn a corner. It may take 3 days or 3 weeks before you feel confident that she is going to be a big healthy lambie girl but honestly they go from looking like something which needs a bullet to some thing that needs a saddle! How long that takes depends on if she has a tummy problem or not but as she got mums colostrum that shouldnt be an issue for your girl.


You will be such an old hand at this next year....in the mean time enjoy your lambie -you are doing just fine.


Must dash, time for another bottle feed!

[Hillview Farm]

 

And the poo has begun!

[Anke]

And the poo has begun!

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