[Penninehillbilly]

Found a ewe and lamb down field, lamb not right, can't seem to use its front legs properly,  ending up walking on its hind legs. Lamb dry, umbilical cord dry.

So brought them in tonight, in doing so realised she isn't the mother, I was puzzled, had thought she was too early, in my book not due for another couple of weeks,. She IS mothering it, feeding it and talking to it. Just been down and identified the real mother, she had been no-where near this afternoon. She will be hard to catch so it will have to wait till morning so we can get a pen to herd them into.
Where should I go from here, planning on  catching her first thing in the morning, with the lamb a bit disabled, (hoping it will straighten up And get some movement), is she likley to accept it?
I'm guessing it won't have had colostrum, too late now?
Will the dam just dry up if she doesn't accept it? Or risk mastitis
Will it affect to foster mum's lambing and colostrum?
TIA

[shep53]

You need to kick out the pincher now as the lamb will stimulate milk and this may cause  mastitis / problems with colostrum when she gives birth . catch the mother  and restrain her halter /dog coller / head crate and give the lamb a chance they recover very fast at this age from all sorts .  If you want for what ever reason to let the mother go empty then back pressure will get rid of the milk in under a week

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks Shep, had an interesting morning.
Eventually rounded up enough hurdles and pallets to make a catching pen, typical they all came in, so they all got their 2nd Dectomax jab, a few days late.
Tried to turn foster mum (Gemma) out and keep real mum in pen, Gemma trying to knock gate down to get to lamb, real mum not much udder and didn't want to know.
Brought lamb over to house, it took a bottle easily, went back out and Gemma had jumped the fence + barn wire top! And in house field, currently penned with the mum.
Friend just been over, one look and commented back legs longer than front, I was so busy thinking something wrong at shoulder, never saw that! He also commented as long as she looked happy to keep on and see how she does. She does look content in a sheltered spot in the sun.
Looks like a bottle baby.

[Penninehillbilly]

Stood In cage

[Penninehillbilly]

Walking on back feet

[shep53]

Lamb looks healthy so give it time . Pinchers are normally more determined than actual mothers and can chase away a mother especially young ones or take away one of a pair of twins

[Penninehillbilly]

Same friend compared the 2 (still penned together) sheep on his way home, thinks Gemma IS the mother, because she has a hollow, near Her hips, with goats I've always thought that was as the kids got bigger, they drop a bit? I'm confused now, but at the same time, if it cannot walk right, should I be leaving it out with her?
And if it isn't hers, how would that her own lambing?
If it IS hers, she is tame enough to keep inside at nights.
But she looked normal under the tail, not puffy or swollen? Whereas the other one is swollen.

[shep53]

The real mother should have a small amount of blood some where on the tail a normal looking vulva ( not pink and swollen ) and an udder full of milk getting more swollen since the lamb has not suckled . Since Gemma jumped a fence she doesn't sound heavily in lamb ?? . As a final test stand over the ewe facing her tail and join your hand under her stomach just in front of the udder and pull up , you should feel a lamb or not

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks Shep, Realised she didn't jump the fence, clever little B must have remembered the gateway way down the bottom of the field I'd brought them through previous night, I'd pulled and tied the stock fence back across, but she pushed under it, did it another twice before i saw her coming up the field instead of across. Sheep hurdle cured that little trick. .
No blood on either of them, her vulva not pink and swollen, but sure she's not due for at least 2 wk, but the other one is, as to standing over them facing the tails, my legs aren't long enough and I don't fancy being taken for a ride round the field, (texel or a big texel x, acquired as a lamb).
I can't really leave the lamb on anyway, I'm giving it a week to see if its front legs develop more movement, obviously can't walk round much. It will be difficult though, she's quite a little character.
Main concern now is mastitis, if Gemma is not the mother, then I don't want to be milking her out?
She does look to have a full udder,  but wouldn't that be in response to the lamb taking her milk?
I'll have another look at her in the morning, if I could be sure she had lambed, I could probably get a lamb for her.

[Penninehillbilly]

This morning Gemma had some bloody discharge. It doesn't make sense with the dates, but I have to assume she is the mother after all.
Put the lamb back out with her, it wasn't moving much in the dog crate it was in, so hoping if it exercises it's front legs more it will manage.
Other ewe which was scanned in lamb, I've just been checking dates, hasn't been with a tup since Oct 23rd. Unless she sneaked out and back one night! Think I'd better have a wander round fields, must have lost it somewhere.  . Should have checked that date sooner.

[kanisha]

you wrote the lamb is Walking on its back legs but in the second picture its supporting its weight on its front legs the spine at the point of the hips looks excessively curved.


? schamallenberg ? spinal or hip problem. is it Worth getting a vet to check out the anatomy sometimes these things are relatively easy to put right in Young lambs....

[Penninehillbilly]

Just a quick update,
Brought them both in overnight when forecast low temperatures, but now out all the time, lamb has much more mobility, quite happily follows mum about, not as active as her half siblings, but they are little black maniacs, (Balwen × Shetland, /Swaley and possibly zwarble there, depending on whether it was my tup or neighbours tip who got in).?

[shep53]