[Muddy Wellies]

Advice please wonderful people!
I have a heavily pregnant ewe who has twice in the past few hours had a small prolapse showing, but then it's resolved itself.
She's so heavy with lambs tday she's waddling!
I've brought her in
Is she likely to have problems with the birth?
What do I need to do or be prepared for?

Reluctant to call neighbours for help as I'm recovering from "the" virus and don't want to risk passing it on - hopefully I'm not infectious by now, but without testing, who knows?

I will find out how the local vet's lambing shed is working in lockdown, but again, I don't want to take the virus there if I can avoid it

Thanks!

[RCTman]

Have you got a prolapse spoon that you could use , she should lamb past that with no problems as long as everything else is ok, and that will help stop a full blown prolapse.

[RCTman]

Have a read of :similar topics : below, some good advice may be had there to help you.

[Muddy Wellies]

Just spoke to the vet - really helpful
In case anyone else hs the same problem, here's what the vet advised:

* Inject Metacam (sorry - can't remember recommended dose. I don't have any so me brain switched off!))
* Keep the area clean
* The danger is that the vagina can be bruised or scratched while it is out, and possibly torn.
* If the prolapse doesn't go back in itself, with well-lubed hands, use flat of hand or fist to gently ease the vagina back in
* If it's due to heavy pregnancy, there can also be problems passing urine
* If she hasn't lambed by morning, one of the vets could come out and place a harness of her to hold everything in place. Normally this would be a two person job, with the farmer holding the ewe steady, but in viral circumstances, the vets are doing procedures like this single-handedly where possible, and with this it is possible

I'll let you know what happens...

[Muddy Wellies]

Have you got a prolapse spoon that you could use , she should lamb past that with no problems as long as everything else is ok, and that will help stop a full blown prolapse.

I hadn't heard of a spoon before - looked at the other threads you mentioned (they hadn't come up on a "search" but were there after your reply - mystery!) and several people talked about using a spoon, and have now looked it up and seen what thye look like. Clever! I'll see if I can get one somewhere tomorrow

Diolch!

[cambee]

In our first ever years lambing our ewes were chased by a dog when heavily pregnant and 2 prolapsed. The vet came out and showed us how to get them back in and we put on prolapse harnesses. Both ewes went full term and lambed fine, one with triplets. We have used the prolapse harness 3 times since then on various sheep so in my view it’s a good piece of kit to have in. One more thing though. If they prolapse one year, they’re likely to do so again. Of those first 2 ewes, one was 6 so we didn’t lamb her again. The other was a shearling so we tried her again the next year and she did prolapse again. We put her in the harness and she lambed twins fine but we culled her after that. I think proper farmers would cull after the first time.

[bj_cardiff]

If she's prolapsed once and you've seen it it will probably happen again and has probably happened several times without you seeing. One min it can be there and the next gone! I would put a harness on asap. You don't need a vet to fit it (or two people) as its quite easy. The danger is she will prolapse and think she's in labour and start to push.

I just checked and there are instructional vids on Youtube

[twizzel]

As above- you don’t need a vet to put a harness on. Most country stores will sell them and they are normally fairly self explanatory to fit. Cull her after this lambing, don’t breed her again.

[harmony]

Do you know when she is due to lamb? I have helped at a neighbours lamb shed for the last couple of years. 100's of sheep. Each year maybe 2/3 need a harness. Each year 2/3 are like your ewe where a small prolapse comes and goes and they don't harness them. If you thought she was close to lambing you might not want to catch, restrain and fit a harness.

[Muddy Wellies]

Thanks everyone - really helpful to hear all your experiences

I have her in the shed and despite escaping once and having to drive her back in I've not seen her prolapse this morning.

Vet agrees with you Harmony to just watch her as she's very close to lambing. Might end up being a quick trip to the vet's lambing shed (which is still in operation thank goodness!) if she prolapses during lambing

I've been trying to find videos on youtube of how to help ewe with prolapse lamb - even my strong stomach got a tad queasy! But couldn't find anything helpful - I just want to know how to ease a lamb past the prolapse without doing more damage.

[bj_cardiff]

You won't be able to lamb a ewe past a prolapse. If she has a prolapse she won't be able to wee or pass anything at all. If the prolapse is exposed to the air for too long it can dry out, become black, the flesh will die. The longer the prolapse is out the harder it will be to get back in as well.

I don't understand your vets advice to be honest - prolapse harnesses sit outside the ewe and they can lamb with them on. Advising you not to fit one seems bizare as they are simple to fit and once fitted stay on without having to worry about the ewe every five mins. Having 100's of sheep lambing in a shed with an experienced sheperd will usually mean someone is watching the sheep most of the time and can step in quickly if needed.

A harness will cost around £15 and can be washed and reused after use. I have 2 in case of emergencies.

[shep53]

Personally if the prolapse if pink ,the size of an orange and goes in when the ewe stands then i don't worry about it  , if it gets redder and stays out then i put a harness on  and while most ewes can and do lamb past a harness  the lamb can and does get stuck in the harness ,so i remove it as soon as lambing starts .  Not sure what you mean when you say past a prolapse - in a prolapse the cervix which is the entrance to the womb is pushed out but when lambing commences the cervix opens and lambing proceeds as normal.in most cases once the prolapse is pushed back and the ewe empties her bladder then it doesn't happen again once a harness /spoon /stitch is used

[Backinwellies]

why on earth would a vet be needed to put on a harness ?  …. as simple (!  ) as putting on a raddle harness …..  once on it stops the 'popping out'  and ewe can (but may not) lamb with it on. …. just remove when she starts lambing (a simple click!) .

[cambee]

why on earth would a vet be needed to put on a harness ?  …. as simple (!  ) as putting on a raddle harness …..

If that comment was aimed at me we called the vet to deal with a prolapse on our first ever lambing season and to show us how to push it back in and not to show us how to put on a harness which btw we didn’t possess when the vet came and went to purchase afterwards then put on ourselves. Not sure that your comment is particularly helpful!

[bj_cardiff]

If that comment was aimed at me we called the vet to deal with a prolapse on our first ever lambing season and to show us how to push it back in and not to show us how to put on a harness which btw we didn’t possess when the vet came and went to purchase afterwards then put on ourselves. Not sure that your comment is particularly helpful!

I don't think that comment was aimed at anyone - I also took a ewe to the vets when I experienced my first prolapse. The vet struggled but did get it back in and fitted the harness then. I think this circumstance is different, this prolapse hasn't got to the stage where it won't go back in. If I had brought a harness at the early stages of the prolapse rather than waiting to see if it stayed in on its own I would of saved myself an emergency vet trip!