[kanisha]

I have a ewe that has started lambing earlier today but progress is very slow. she is dilating but very slowly lamb isn't presented and waters haven't broken. I called the vet for his advice he suggested caesar. at this stage i am not keen to rush in but wanted to consider use of a drug to continue diation of cervix and move pregnancy on. he has gven clenbuterol can anyone give me any experience fo this drug or what i can expect and if indeed its indicated in this situation. to be honest hes an old farm vet whos used to large cows not little tiny sheep and I am now wondering what the hell hes done to my sheep.

[ellisr]

Information I can find on clenbuterol, is for leaner meat produstion or when animal has a ceasarian and it is used as a relaxant.

[kanisha]

I read that it is used to delay lambing to ensure that ewes lamb during the day; I am not sure what the vets game is but right now I am spitting feathers!!!  anyone any dvice so that I can discuss rationally with him here we go from here???

[ellisr]

This is from the Merck Veterinary Manual.

Oxytocin is used to promote milk letdown, to treat agalactia, as an adjunctive treatment of mastitis, and to cause contraction of the uterus either to induce (or supplement) labor or to enhance postpartum uterine contraction and expulsion of uterine fluid or fetal membranes. It is administered parenterally (IV, IM, or SC). Oxytocin may be given intranasally but absorption can be erratic. Uterine relaxation is caused by ?2 -mimetic agents, such as clenbuterol. Such agents have been used for postponing parturition (to reduce obstetrical complications in heifers) and for facilitating obstetrical manipulations in large domestic animals. Clenbuterol use in animals is illegal in the USA.

[VSS]

You could try giving her come calcium - we have used this to help open up ewes who are very slow. It might help and certainly won't do any harm.

[colliewoman]

Where I used to help on my friends farm a ewe of hers was given oxytocin as she started then stopped, started then stopped..... rinse and repeat....
It did the trick there for sure.
My veterinary herbal suggests Strong ivy leaf tea for a long drawn out labour to help things along, surely it couldn't hurt to offer her some fresh leaves? you never know?

[kanisha]

thanks VSS will do so I have some on hand. Oxytocin is not indicated as the cervix isn't fully dilated.

I understood there was an hormonal injection oestradiol? which could move the labour on? I fear we are now in the realms of an oxytocin injection tomorrow for a true induced labour with a high risk of a still birth and one extremely angry owner!
will definately add some ivy too thank you

[feldar]

Have you tried to gently massaging the vagina open? we sometimes insert fingers and with plenty of lubricant rotating fingers around the opening this will help to open it up. if you have a case of ringwomb then no amount of massaging will open her and she will need a C section

[Haylo-peapod]

How is the ewe doing now and how long has she been in labour for?
I had a ewe the other day that was in labour for around 5 hours before she started pushing (i.e. still no nose & feet).
In her situation everything turned out to be absolutely fine.
I hope you get a happy outcome.

[Fleecewife]

I too hope you have a happy outcome. One reason for a slow or non-progressing labour could be a mal-presentation as the nose and toes normally help to open things up.  I too thought of ringwomb but I have no experience of that.

[kanisha]

Hi labour was progressing through out the morning just very slowly. she had been pushing albeit it intermittantly for five and a half hours by the time the vet examined her. in that time I had seen her progress from zero dilation to more than halfway and had massaged the cervix. I was hoping just for an injection to move the process along a little faster so that the ewe could lamb before she became exhausted; the ewe is now up and about not in labour but I just feel things have been put on hold not moved forward and tomorrow she will have an artificial labour with forced contractions and probably a dead lamb. .... still fuming.

re mal presentation yes its always a possibility but i don't see a way of determining that without opting straight away for a caeser and I was hoping to avoid that as things were moving just slowly.

[kanisha]

Yep thought so .

If the cervix does not relax with manual massage, the ewe may need an injection of ECP (Estradial Cypionate) to relax the cervix, followed by an injection of Oxytocin to induce contractions.

[feldar]

Oh bum, this all sounds like it's going to get real expensive! hope everything goes ok

[kanisha]

thanks for your good wishes everyone a little calmer now but very sad I just managed to deliver a before term but well developed foetus ( it was presenting transversely)  deformed limbs and parrot mouthed suspect schmallenberg.... sh*t my only hope out of this I may possibly ( if she gets over her ordeal )still have the ewe

[feldar]

That's a shame Kanisha, we found after ours had delivered deformed lambs they had a very bad metritus and brown watery discharge which we had to give a course of antibiotics for.
Hope your ewe improves. we lost a couple of ewes to lambs which died inside and the toxins killed them. Even antibiotics and steroids couldn't save them.