[toaster]

my five year old Shetland ewe is in lamb to a texel cross ram


She has grown very large (she had a huge single lamb last year but looked like she had at least three in there!) We are working on her lambing at the end of the month as the first time we saw her standing for the ram was bonfire night


I found her with a prolapse this morning and after only some mild swearing managed to get it back in and a spoon and harness fitted (first time I had seen a prolapse but followed telephone and online instructions and made sure all was 'ironed out' properly inside once inserted)


this evening she has a milky white discharge, could an infection come on that soon and should I be phoning the vet for antibiotics as a matter of urgency?


could I be mistaking the mucus plug for discharge and she actually is imminent for lambing? I have been doing two hourly checks, she is up and eating ok


I have done some reading on here and understand that she shouldnt really be bred from again but my immediate worry is that she wont be able to lamb this lamb/s safely


should I be removing the spoon and leaving the harness on or vice versa? or leaving things as they are (the spoon was new and sterilised before use)


Any help would be appreciated thank you

[Sbom]

When putting back a prolapse I always give a LA antibiotic aswell as infection is likely due to the fact that the insides wereon the outside then put back inside!
Never used a spoon as they look right uncomfortable, only ever stitched or used a harness on its own which worked fine.  Much prefer the harness.
If she looks happy and settled it's unlikely she's lambing.
I'd lay off any hard feed now til she lambs, just make sure she has access to a high energy lick.

[toaster]

Thank you. I have no antibiotics for sheep here unfortunately, I kick myself, I should have phoned the vets for some before they closed today grrr!

[Me]

If you had prolapsed your vagina and had a lot of bruising and possible infection on those internal tissues I'm guessing (and its only a guess) you wouldn't want a spoon shoved up there pushing on the traumatised tissues of the vagina and cervix you are trying to retain. Maybe I'm too soft and my attempts at empathy are misplaced. I don't own a harness or a spoon - I put in a purse string suture and watch/cut the stitch to lamb but if that doesn't suit you I would prefer the harness idea with the spoon used as a last resort (as no technique works perfectly in all cases).

There is often a slight discharge and it is unlikely to cause a big problem that you've not been able to get antibiotics for her straight away.

[Beeducked]

Actually in humans if you prolapse your vagina the first line treatment is basically a spoon (well a ring pessary) which I would certainly prefer to someone stitching me up! All a bit different in humans as generally something that happen to older women rather than those about to give birth.


That being said a spoon is the most practical solution for me. A stitch is not something I could consider as I work during the day and OH not in the know enough to reliably spot a ewe in labour and cut the stitch. Also very swayed by the fact that the only time I have seen a stitch used my grandfather lost both the ewe and lambs. Not entirely rational but hard to get over. A ruptured uterus is not a nice death.

[SallyintNorth]

It's certainly preferable to give an antibiotic when replacing a prolapse - get her some as soon as you can.

I prefer the spoon and I'll tell you why.

When correctly inserted, the spoon seems to be extremely comfortable and stop her wanting to evert herself.  Stitches, pins, harnesses and other solutions only prevent her being able to evert herself - she may continue to feel uncomfortable and even continue to strain once they are in place. 

Yes, I'd assume that I would prefer to not have a hard plastic tongue inserted up my jaxie too, but you can see how much more comfortable they are once it's in place.

Personally I would absolutely not reduce her hard feed, if anything the reverse.

Firstly, it can be dangerous to suddenly change the nutritional levels of a heavily pregnant animal, particularly downwards.

Secondly, the prolapse is caused by there not being enough room inside for the food intake, her innards and the lambs.  Nutrition in hard food form takes up considerably less room than the same nutritional value in forage. 

If anything, split her cake ration in two and feed it to her in two feeds - but don't reduce the overall level.

[Beeducked]

I certainly think my ewe is far more settled and comfortable with the spoon in.

[Me]

When correctly inserted, the spoon seems to be extremely comfortable and stop her wanting to evert herself.  Stitches, pins, harnesses and other solutions only prevent her being able to evert herself - she may continue to feel uncomfortable and even continue to strain once they are in place. 

Yes, I'd assume that I would prefer to not have a hard plastic tongue inserted up my jaxie too, but you can see how much more comfortable they are once it's in place.

Dare I ask, what is a pin and how is it used?

[SallyintNorth]

When correctly inserted, the spoon seems to be extremely comfortable and stop her wanting to evert herself.  Stitches, pins, harnesses and other solutions only prevent her being able to evert herself - she may continue to feel uncomfortable and even continue to strain once they are in place. 

Yes, I'd assume that I would prefer to not have a hard plastic tongue inserted up my jaxie too, but you can see how much more comfortable they are once it's in place.

Dare I ask, what is a pin and how is it used?

Safety pins 

[Me]

OMG I would go mental if I saw that! I assume you have seen them put in across the vulva? (If anyone is reading this and planning to stitch please never stitch across!)

[SallyintNorth]

Yes I have seen it done.  It does work, and surprisingly does not seem to hurt, but boy! you better be there when she starts to lamb!   

[Me]

Stitching across is a ham fisted job. Bring back the spoons! It can keep things inside but can do more harm than good and she pushes with all her might and shreds her inards, every time you puncture the mucosal side you encourage pushing. So if there were say 8 stitches thats 16 punctures through the mucosa and another 16 through the skin and what happens is the ewe pushes and one of the stitches spreads and her insides are forced out through the weak point vs. doing it properly (which is no harder anyway) when the sutures poke through the skin at one point (can be tied in a bow to allow you to undo, check and re-do) and the mucosa not at all. The load is spread evenly as the suture forms a ring shape around the vulva. I do cattle the same way and have only had one fail - and that was in ewe! Re-stitched it and it was fine. I have always found them to behave normally with them in - though I have always given a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory at the same time.   

I can't believe people use safety pins...   <<< don't know where the paw came from??!

[carfarmer]

We used a harness the first time it happened even though we had a spoon at the ready.
It worked well and we had to use it the following year too but this time prolapse was not as bad (same ewe).
This year she lambed twins with no problem so don't give up on her if she's a good ewe.

[Hellybee]

We had a prolapse ewe, she lambed yesterday and had a swift visit to the vet to put all back in.  Previously for th last few days she had a small one so we put a spoon in. It was our first prolapse so our angel of a sheep friend showed us about tying the spoon into the fleece gently but with enough tension , the reasoning being that if she goes to lamb her spoon will with enough pressure will give.  The ewe is wobbly, had a stitch or two and is on daily pen and strep.  The lambs are down stairs dozing.

[toaster]

Thank you all for your help

The ewe has now had antibiotics and is still being kept in a stable

Can she now go back with the flock and if so should I keep the spoon and harness on or one or the other? Or neither?

Is the ewe likely to lamb ok?