Firstly apologies for the length of this post but for me it is an experience I won't forget and there are no real questions, well perhaps one at the end. I Wondered whether any other folk have had an experience similar??
Well as per the title of the post, what a night!!!
It all started when we went to put our six lambs and mums away for the night at about 7-30 (we have had two stray dogs marauding around and they killed 5 hens and two Guinea fowl
a few days ago so are erring on the side of caution) and had two sets in when I noticed one of the other ewe's that was due to lamb soon running around with the head of a lamb showing. Oh bu***r I thought I need to catch her and get her in as the lamb looked a little blue in the face and I could see it's little tongue sticking out and this was very swollen.
I called for my wife as I needed help to try to catch her, all the other ewe's were running around and the one I was after was running with them. We try, especially with the first time mum's, to watch for signs and get them indoors but this ewe was, by our reckoning, a couple of days early. Twenty minutes later we managed to corner her and she went into one of the field shelters, I managed to get in with her and concerned that the stress could have damaged mum and lamb I attempted to pull the lamb out (please bear in mind I have never aided a birth before) it wouldn't budge, My wife said shall I get some rope?? and I suggested not but to get some warm water and towels (well that's what they do when a birth occurs on the telly!!) then I put my hand in and found it's feet and pulled them as hard as I could and I felt the lamb move a little. I pulled some more and all of a sudden the little thing popped out and landed softly on the ground. I looked but couldn't see any movement. My wife had returned with the towels etc. so I rubbed and rubbed to try to stimulate life and low and behold a murmur and the little girl was away, I cleared the thick & sticky membrane from around her head and nose and it took about ten to fifteen minutes before she was properly conscious and making any noise, apart from a little whimper now and again. Her tongue was still very swollen making it hard for her to close her mouth. Slowly she rallied and after maybe half an hour she was much better. In the interim I checked mum and all was well apart from a total lack of interest in her newborn lamb, and in fact before I had finished checking her she shot out of the shelter and joined the other sheep.
After a time we moved the now named Poppy (well after some help she just 'popped' out) into a shelter nearer the house and needed to get mum and ensure there wasn't another one due and everything was well. We caught her again, after an age, and got her near the shelter where by now poppy was bleating. There was not a sound from mum. By this time I had managed to read a bit in a book of what was needed so I checked mum over and did the deed to see if there was another due but this proved not to be. We introduced mum and Poppy but she had and indeed has no interest whatsoever, we had to keep putting Poppy onto the teat but mum kept butting her away
What do I do, I was worried and needed help but who could I call??? This is where the Accidental Smallholder came to the fore. I looked for details on a mothers lack of interest in her lamb but couldn't find anything but I saw 'thewoolyshepherds' web address and it had a phone number. I called and a friendly voice answered (this was 10pm here 9pm in the UK) it was Mr. Woolyshepherd, I was soon passed over to Val who gave me all of the advice I needed and I want to say through this forum Val THANK YOU SO MUCH for your helpful advice, it was a great help to have my probably very naive questions answered. Truly, were it not for this forum I would have been scuppered!!
A heat lamp was duly installed and Poppy soon settled but mum still didn't want to know her. Eleven o'clock passed and I watched and offered Poppy to mum to feed but had to hold mum and latch Poppy on, this is still the case. At one thirty the same scenario and again at four o'clock and seven thirty this morning. I am going to make a holding crate today and try mum out in it, hopefully it will be the answer. If not then it seems that hand rearing will be the order of the day.
Now my question, is it possible that Poppy may be blind or partially sighted as a result of the delayed birth & maybe starving of oxygen?? The reason I ask is everytime we offer her up to mum she cannot determine where the teat is and even goes to mums head in search of the teat, she appears not to be able to see anything and although she bleats mum does not utter any sound. When I talk she acknowledges and comes toward the sound but if something be in the way she stumbles into or over it, I cannot help wondering if she may have a problem with her sight. Anybody any thoughts on this??
Thanks for taking the time to read this sharing in my experience
Andy
p.s. thankfully Poppy appears to be doing well
Topic: What a night!!! (Read 11837 times)
