[maddy]

Last year I had 2 large single lambs born to ryeland shearlings who were stuck and I had to get help.  One didnt make it.

I am now petrified that the same thing will happen this year as I have another 2 shearlings to lamb.

What can I do to ensure that this doesn't happen again.  My other ryeland shearling who had twins  lambed perfectly.  I didn't get them scanned.

This will be my second year of lambing so am a nervous novice.  I am going to try to find a farmer who I can perhaps shadow which I know will give me more confidence but it is finding someone who will let me.

[Rosemary]

If you can get them scanned, it will help you make the best decision.

Most lamb growth, as opposed to development, takes place in the last third of pregnancy - so feeding in the last 50 days or so impacts on the size of the lamb. Ewes expecting singles don't need any hard feed (unless they they are elderly or have some other problem affecting condition) - ours get hay and access to a licky bucket. Twin bearing ewes probably need supplementation to prevent metabolic disorders like twin lamb disease.

We had a similar experience two years ago - one cesaerean and one pull. Fortunately, both ewes and both lambs survived. Last year, I didn't feed the single bearing ewes however much they told me they were starving 

[SteveHants]

You will get the odd ewe who has problems, it is a fact of life. If they have plenty of grass, I wouldn't feed even twin-bearing ewes unless I was a hill farmer.


 

[bizzielizzie66]

Finding someone to scan a few ewes is nigh on impossible - or so I found anyway.  Ryelands seem very good-doers - and if they don't like the "licky bucket" you worry their supplementation isn't high enough. I know how you feel. Last season so many big farmers had small lambs from really poor ewes as quality of forage was awful due to washed out summer  - while my Ryeland ewes were positively blooming. It's a fine line. This year things should be better - good grass now and good forage over winter and a licky bucket should be all you need.

[ZaktheLad]

Single lambs are so much larger than twins and with a shearling that has not lambed before this can sometimes be an issue due to tightness.  An experienced ewe will be much looser and far more elastic to enable a large single lamb to exit.   

It is worth remembering that in the vast majority of cases, there will be no issues and as long as the lamb is coming in the correct position it is best to interfere as little as possible.  If you do need to help out, vast quantities of lubrication works wonders but if you are not confident then it is best to call upon either a local friendly farmer or the vet rather than risk loosing a lamb.  A ewe that has been continually struggling to lamb after the bag has appeared with no progress being made or where a lambs head has appeared but no legs needs help and with the latter, it would probably be best for you to watch someone more experienced to do this so that you will know what to do the next time.

Lambing is all about experience and learning as you go along.  Things can and do go wrong, but the majority of births will be straightforward.  The best course of action is to keep calm, have lots of patience, be prepared with a good lambing kit and do not interfer too much.  If in doubt call the vet or someone to help out.   There might be a lambing course in your area - worth going if there is.

Lambing is probably one of the most worrying parts of keeping sheep - I have kept sheep for over 25 years and still find lambing nervewracking!  However it is also the most rewarding and exciting too!   

If you have a friendly local farmer it would be a good idea to see if they wouldn't mind helping you out - most will be happy to help and it will give you some piece of mind that you have backup should you need it. 

[SallyintNorth]

I absolutely echo the "don't feed" advice.

If you're worried about supplementation, you can give them minerals and vitamins by drench, so you know they've had it.  And put out treacle or a treacle lick, or sprinkle treacle or molasses on their hay, so they can get the sugars they need in the last 6 weeks.

Depending on when you lamb, would you have time to help a local farmer with his / her lambing?  You'd learn loads, and having helped out there would never feel awkward or embarrassed asking them for help with your sheep.

If you were to have similar problems again, you could for another year consider using a smaller breed tup for your shearlings.  A lot of Beltex and Texel farmers hereabouts use a Shetland on their first-timers, and say they rarely if ever have to assist.  Also the lively little lambs know what to do even if the mother doesn't, so there are less post-natal complications too.

We used a Shetland on two commercial Charollais X hoggs last year, as an experiment, and were very happy with the outcome.  We would certainly use a Shetland again if we were tupping hoggs.  (Generally we don't tup hoggs here.)  And we're using one of the tup lambs from that liaison to tup a few of the smaller shearlings this time, hoping for slightly smaller lambs but that will nonetheless grow on well.  Oh, and nice fleeces too 

[Bionic]

I would like to scan this time round as one of mine certainly had too much feed last time (got the dates wrong ) and as a consequence she had a very big ram lamb and OH has to assist. It was our first year so we didn't have a clue really but he did manage to get the lamb out.


I realise it would be virtually impossible to get someone out to scan 5 ewes but I am going to ask the local farmer who he uses and see if the man will come to me at the same time so that it isn't so much effort for him. 

[SallyintNorth]

Or even better, Sally, would you be able to take your girls up to where they are scanning your local farmer's?  Most of the time is setting up the gear, so running another 5 through at the end would probably be no problem 

[Bionic]

Definitely be able to do that Sally. It's only 1/4 mile up the road. I know the farmers would walk theirs that distance but I'm not confident enough to do that so mine will probably go for a little ride 

[mowhaugh]

Whereabouts in the country are you, maddy?  Can you find a lambing course near you?  In Scotland, SRUC run excellent ones going through correct techniques for dealing with problems, using a simulator and dead lambs for practise - a bit gross, but as close to the real thing as you will get.

Of course, you will still lose some lambs, but it is good to know you did everything you could.