[Bramblecot]

Due to start lambing 20 ewes on Tuesday/Weds.  They are outside but with access to an open barn.

One of the shearling first-timers did not come up to be fed at lunchtime .  I found her in the barn standing over a dead but perfectly formed small ewe lamb (about 2lb guess), which was cold but no rigor, and was born today either 2 days or 19 days early.  By the raddle colour I thought she had 19 days to go.  The ewe seems fine, but quiet, has a very small udder and a little milk.  She has eaten a few ewe nuts.  She appears to have passed the placenta and I cannot feel another lamb.

Would you advise that I get her another lamb from a neighbour (my first ewe should still have 2 days to lamb), or allow her to dry up naturally?  Would you remove her from the flock and put her with last years ewe lambs?

As always, she is my favourite of that batch

[ScotsGirl]

Difficult cos she might not accept a replacement. If she is pining and calling then you could try getting another, skin the dead one and tie onto new one. She might take it.

[JMB]

One of our ewes lost one last year. She lambed outdoors so she went around bleating for a couple of days and looking for it, which was upsetting for us both, but then she was back to normal. I was advised to leave her with the others and that she would dry up naturally, which she did and she was fine.
Horrible at the time though. Sorry for both of you.

J xxxx

[Hazelwood Flock]

Oh dear 
Only try a foster if the ewe has lots of milk. If she's not very milky I would let her dry up. One of mine had a dead twin which had been dead a day or so inside so quite a smelly job lambing her, so not being sure if she would get over the bad lambing I let her dry up. She is fine now and dried up perfectly, hopefully she'll get in lamb again. If you need a hand shout! 

[Bramblecot]

Hi HF,

First problem with any of the Shetlands - that will teach me to be complacent .  I  would have thought that at 19 days early, the lamb would have been smaller and less well formed.   Another steep learning curve .  May pop in tomorrow at G's.

[Hazelwood Flock]

These things like to sneak up and bite you on the bum!
The lamb could be that premature, they are fully formed at that gestation but do all their 'growing' in the last 8 weeks before birth. If you had that shocker of a thunderstorm we had here yesterday that would be enough to trigger an upset! Just keep an eye on the others, if you get any more keep the product and take it to the vet for testing...just in case. Hope the weather improves for you 

[wellies]

oh so sorry to hear of your bad start. Hopefully it will get better from now on    We had a week premature perfectly formed dead lamb and it was upsetting. I did foster on to the mum as she was full of milk. She took to the lamb very well, both adore each other now. We have had another ewe who lost her lamb at 5 days old and we have let her dry up. We put her on to sparse grazing with limited hay and she dried up well with no problems at all. Best of luck with the rest of your flock   

[Anke]

I wouldn't foster onto a first-timer, especially as she seems to have little milk. I would put her in with the lambs from last year, once she has dried up. Keep checking the udder though that she doesn't get mastitis, although if she only has a little it is unlikely.
 
Yes feed only some hay as Wellies says and she will be fine in no time.

[Mammyshaz]

An upsetting start for you    Hopefully your other girls will sail through with little lambs bouncing around before you know it.   

[in the hills]

We had the same happen last year to our favourite Soay ewe.


She looked for her lamb for a couple of days and had plenty of milk. We were tempted to get her a lamb but a couple of local farmers thought we may have trouble in that all the lambs available locally were from commercials .... they thought she may not be able to produce enough milk to feed them and that she may not take so readily to accepting a lamb due to the feisty nature of her breed.


We left her with the other ewes and after a couple of days she was fine and milk dried up with no problems.


Sorry 

[MrsJ]

Sorry to hear your news.  We've not had to deal with that sort of problem but no doubt we will at some stage.  Try to look forward to the others arriving and hope they are all healthy.

[Pedwardine]

Oh bless. Poor thing. She will recover from it. Just think of weaning time, all that crying from both parties and then "Ooh look, GRASS" and all is well. Distressing at the time though. Sorry you and she had to go through it