The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: wonderwooly on December 10, 2013, 09:49:39 pm
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Hello there all
I have a bit of a problem; I have a ewe that is pregnant from a very early tup (by accident a young ram lamb got in). She is definitely in the third term but because it wasn’t the plan we don’t have precise dates.
She is in reasonable health apart the fact that last year, after birthing, she partially prolapsed. She has shown signs of prolapse through the summer (grapefruit sized) but seemed to have healed since August. Now today we saw the uterus out again after she had been running, and it went back in straight away.
The questions are:
If we don’t know the dates, can we do anything about the prolapse during her pregnancy?
When it comes to birthing, how do we manage it? How does the lamb come out of a prolapsed uterus?
Hoping that she survives, what should we do for her immediately afterwards and in the days following the birth?
What should we have to hand for the birth? Antibiotics? Hot water? Towels?
Any advice appreciated, thanks.
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GRIEF! Have absolutely no sound advice but wishing you and your girl lots of luck :fc:
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Advice? You probably don't want to hear it but this is my opinion;
Long term---any ewe that prolapses cull her asap
Short term---
keep her tight on food if possible, fat ewes prolapse easier
If she keeps prolapsing you may need to use a 'spoon' or to stitch up her vulva to keep it manageable
lambing--if you are lucky you will be there and can assist but it is not always easy
Either way , a bad lambing or stitching can require antibiotics
Good luck
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thanks yep good point, got some anti-bio on hand, she seems ok today, still
I am not looking forward to the actual birth at the moment.
may be a bit of dutch courage...
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cant you get the vet to put a stich in. we had it done last year on a ewe. if your around when its lambing just snip the stich but if not it can just tear out and then treat the ewe afterwards.
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We have used a prolapse harness in the past to very good effect. Mine haven't prolapsed again prior to birth and they will lamb through it. I leave them on for about a fortnight after lambing. A great investment in my opinion as when used I washed in a pillow case in the washing machine.
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I also favour a prolapse harness I find it kinder than a spoon or much kinder than a stitch , put it on now the ewe can if necessary lamb with it on ( better off ) and you can put it back on after the ewe has passed the afterbirth for as long as needed . You could try giving calcium borogluconate every week it sometimes helps as low calcium is associated with prolapses . What you are seeing is not the uterus but the vagina and maybe the cervix
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If she's popping out now it'll only get worse (sometimes within a day or so) as the lamb(s) grow bigger. Don't like ewe spoons - they can introduce infection. If you're new to all this I'd recommend consulting your vet. I agree with Tim W about culling - always done it in the past and haven't seen a prolapse for years now. Never found it to be a heritable trait, although some seem to think so. Watch you don't overfeed her.
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My vet advised to keep hay to a minimum and feed nuts if necessary as the extra bulk from hay increases likelihood of the prolapse. I have a ewe that had just a vaginal prolapse and lambed fine through it although scary to watch. She did have triplets so I think the extra weight was the cause.
For past two years she shows very slight signs of prolapsing but no problem. She is my favourite ewe otherwise I would cull. Some think harness makes them worse as they push against it but if all else fails I would use it.
It may be she is very close to lambing, a few weeks, so just keep an eye out and :fc: for positive result. I know someone whose ewe lambed twins with no problems after uterine prolapse if that eases your concern.
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We had a cow prolapse before calving last year. Vet came out and stitched her up twice to keep everything in. When she was calving we cut the stitches. Vet said don't put her back in calf... Well long story short she's still in the herd 11 mths on so 99% sure she's back in calf again, preparing for fun and games again this year :(
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Thanks for all the advice. Have ordered the harness on line. The vet recommended fitting the spoon from now until birth and said she could birth with it in. Doesn't sound ideal. We're still a bit unsure because she's not permanently prolapsed, just popped out once after running and we haven't seen it since. Now also have a stash of antibiotics and iodine and watching her carefully. More advice please, it's really helpful.
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Keep an eye on her when she's lying down too - the prolapse can get pushed out then and disappear as they stand. Main concern is that it gets dirty when out and infection might track down to the uterus. Might be worth fitting the harness anyway as a preventative. Take lots of time and remember that it will bed into the fleece and might need adjusting a couple of days later. The rectangle that fits over the vulva will get mucky from droppings but just clear it off if necessary. If she's a Down breed or cross you'll see distinct "hollows" appear in front of her pelvis as the lambs move into position for birth. Usually happens some hours before any other signs, so you'll know she's imminent.
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Hello everyone who sent through suggestions, well now...
she did prolapse, found in field and we thought it was all
over, but we were prepared with spoon and gloves and cold pre-boiled
water and lube and our very up for it friend who is a super home-birth (people) midwife
and support on phone by friendly vet and it all eventually went back in.
spoon held it in place. I didn't buy a harness on-line in time. But all was well-ish, and she was on high watch
and then we had a massive storm to boot and the river flooded that we need
to cross to get up to the sheep.. arr
was all a bit much, so anyway yesterday I got up to the field in the morning after
another storm, by land-rovering through the flood water, and couldn't find her
at first, immediately thought the worst, and then there she was with a wee female
lamb at foot barely 1/2hr old and no prolapse!! I couldn't believe my eyes.
she and lamb are still fine on the teat from the out set,
and the warm if wet winter is no doubt a relief for them.
so thanks to all who answered our message and a happy new years too
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a happy ending, welldone.
what actually is a spoon?
whats the future for the ewe?
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:love: thank goodness everything worked out OK :sheep:
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Congratulations! Lovely ending to the story ;D
One thing I should've mentioned is that if you are having to push a prolapse back in, first of course clean it properly and then, if it's larger than a large grapefruit, sprinkle sugar all over it and wait. The sugar makes it reduce in size - it's like magic. I've seen ones that are over a foot long shrink down to large grapefruit size - makes it much easier to replace. Some people think that the sugary environment helps reduce infection too - it certainly doesn't seem to do any harm. Our pre-lambing kit includes plain white sugar ;).
When pushing the prolapse back in, expect the ewe to wee as soon as you clear the bladder entrance! It will, of course, go up your arm ::). (I maybe shouldn't tell you, but there've been times when I've been replacing prolapses in bitter winds and glad of that warmth!)
As you've found, a ewe will lamb through a spoon no problem. And we haven't had problems with infection provided the ewe is attended to promptly and everything is made and kept spotlessly clean.
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:thumbsup: I love a happy ending ;D
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Awww, that's great news and very useful info from Sally
Thanks
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what actually is a spoon?
A ewe spoon is a flat, spoon-shaped piece of plastic with "horns". The spoon is placed into the vagina and the horns tied into the fleece each side of the tail. Any female member of the forum will wince at that and that's why I don't like 'em. I go for the prolapse harness, which holds a prolapse in from the outside.
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what actually is a spoon?
A ewe spoon is a flat, spoon-shaped piece of plastic with "horns". The spoon is placed into the vagina and the horns tied into the fleece each side of the tail. Any female member of the forum will wince at that and that's why I don't like 'em. I go for the prolapse harness, which holds a prolapse in from the outside.
thanks
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Any female member of the forum will wince at that and that's why I don't like 'em.
I know what you mean, MF, but I've seen so many ewes given relief from pressure and continue their pregnancy in apparently perfect comfort that I no longer have such feelings towards the spoon.
I did buy a prolapse harness to try on the moorland farm, but left before getting a chance to use it, so I can't comment on how they compare to a spoon.