[Moleskins]

Went up to feed the sheep today and one was obviously in distress, at first I thought she'd lambed early and lost it, when I went round to have a look for signs I found a large vaginal prolapse. Managed, after a lot of pushing and shoving to get it back in and went for a harness which I've fitted. Once she's lambed and reared it ( assuming we get that far ) she'll go. In the meantime, any advice or experience you would like to share would be appreciated.
FYI She's a mule / texel cross which I've had from her being a lamb, she's now 4 yrs old. Condition score is 2 to 3  and she scanned for a single lamb. She has passed water ( all over my hand ) and did nearly pop the prolapse out again whilst I was fitting the harness, due to trying to wee because she was stressed.

[jaykay]

You've done what's needed, obviously you have to keep a very close eye on her when due to lamb, cos of the harness.
I usually jag mine with penicillin afterwards, just in case muck went back in with it that could cause an infection.

I'm always sort of torn when they wee all down your arm, partly for relief that they're ok now 

[feldar]

Back in December we had both a full prolapse and a vaginal one see thread- Christmas night prolapse.
Both ewes are doing fine now . With the vaginal one she lambed ok, but we had to lamb her, we didn't leave her to it, the prolapse shrunk back she had had a harness on anyway but unfortunately she wasn't up to rearing the lambs so we fostered them.
The full prolapse ewe is fine and is rearing her lamb.
Have some sugar on hand and a spoon in case the vaginal one goes into a full but usually they shrink back once lamby is out.
Like you, both our ewes will go once we've finished lambing

[Fleecewife]

As a matter of interest did any or all of these ewes have very shortly docked tails?  Just asking because that is one of the quoted reasons for prolapse so wondered if it's true. 

[feldar]

No not in my case. The tails are docked but are not overshort. the vaginal prolapse was an older ewe, who has bred us many a good lamb in the past and the full prolapse was quite a young ewe, third lambing i think with not an overly big lamb.

[SallyintNorth]

Well we've just re-fixed a prolapse today. 

We always use sugar to shrink the thing before popping it back in and usually find that a spoon does the trick to keep it in place.  I prefer the spoon because they can lamb through it - it will pop out and the lamb(s) will pass no bother, whereas with other solutions - sewing, pins - you must be on hand when they lamb and take out the stitching.

The one we did yesterday managed to pop her spoon and prolapsed again today, so now she's pinned.

Yes, I know I will get a warm arm when I push it back in, and like jaykay have to think that is a positive thing as it means the ewe is now feeling more comfortable - and, importantly, I've got it back in right.

And yes, we always give them a shot of antibiotic.

This ewe could well be carrying twins but isn't fat, condition score 2.5+.  She's a 3-crop texel-out-of-a-mule, due to lamb from 9th March.  The tup was a charollais so I wouldn't expect huge lambs.  And no, her tail is not docked too short, it covers her modesty plus a bit. 

Like most commercial farmers, BH will have this girl away after she's reared her lamb(s) (hoping that all goes well with the birth, but it more often does than not with prolapses.)  However, I am told by another farmer that there is no evidence that a ewe which prolapses one year will do it again, and she keeps on her ewes which prolapse, logs their numbers, and says that none of them has ever done it again.

We get one or two, maybe three, prolapses a year lambing 220 - 300 commercial ewes, so I guess that's about 1%.  On the moorland farm we got maybe 2% in the mules and hardly any at all in the Swales. 

[feldar]

That's interesting Sally, cause our vet's advice is always to get rid of offenders and we do move them on, once bitten twice shy. I wonder if we've got rid of ewes that would never prolapse again! probably
But it's like the mastitis issue, we usually get rid of them too. yet one ewe we had slipped through the net this year and we were expecting problems with her, but no mastitis! she was clean as a whistle this year.

[SallyintNorth]

Ah, mastitis.  Well, I agree that with prompt treatment (antibiotics and daily or preferably twice daily stripping) you can resolve mastitis in ewes, and if she has no hard lumps in her udder when you check them before tupping, she'll milk.  But... BH says their milk is 'like water' after they've had mastitis, and I have to say he was proved right with a favourite ewe of mine. She had twins and could barely rear the one - this a mule who had successfully reared triplets, twice.  It's still really hard to send them on when they seem recovered, though 

[Moleskins]

My ewe doesn't have a particularly short tail. Can I ask - the sugar, what form do you use it in and what does it do?
Also what's  the consensus of opinion on using jelly to help a prolapse back in, I didn't have any with me so didn't, would it have helped or would it just have made things impossibly slippery? 

[SallyintNorth]

Sprinkle the sugar on the swollen prolapse, it will shrink like magic so that it's much easier to put back in.

Lubricant is good, no it won't be too slippery.  My preference is with but I have done them without.

BH lifts them up by the back legs so that gravity is helping, I tend to do them standing up (that's the ewe, I'm usually on my knees) if I can.  Both methods seem to work.

[Moleskins]

Just  a thought on the prolapse issue, honey is known to have anti bacterial qualities and this is, as far as I know, because it makes the wound it's applied to too sugary for bacteria to survive.
So once this sugar coated prolapse is pushed back in, the area will be sugary and will this have a secondary effect of helping to reduce any possible infection?
And a final thought, who would ever look at a prolapse and think " I know just the thing to put on that ................. some sugar "
 

[Mammyshaz]

Great theory moleskin.

Prolapses generate inflamed tissue. The sugar applied causes osmosis so the excess fluid is drawn out of the tissue thus shrinking it and (hopefully) making it smaller and easier to insert back into position.
( this is a small mammal version anyway.. I don' t have a clue with livestock but would imagine same applies)
It needs a good few minutes to get a good effect but works really well in dogs, cats etc. lube after this time will help to slide tissue back.

Manuka honey is used  in vet and human treatments for wound infection so ? can it be used as a lube? I don,t know. And how safe is it in sheep?
It will be no use to cause shrinking of tissue tho, I would stick to sugar granules for this.

How's she doing now. Hope everything is well with her.