I wish it did.

We have a ewe who has a retained palcenta. she seems okay-eating well, no fever, but she won't nurse her lamb unless we hold her there to do it. she seems protective and'talks' to her all the time-licks her etc. I am getting pretty good at milking her. (never thought I would ever milk a sheep!)

The hard part? The lamb-she is tiny-and I think maybe she was too early, hence the problems we are having. she wants to eat sometimes-she poops normally and pees too. But she is so sleepy and just seems weak. she weighed in at 6.5 pounds at birth-I have seen her nurse several times, and have helped her nurse too. I have offered her a bottle a couple of times. I just don't know what else to do.

I am afraid she won't make it-and I can't do anything about it. That sucks.

Well we dreamaed of doing this-thehomesteading thing-the gardensand animals and such-but wow-I can't beleive some of the things we have had to deal with. Maybe we shouldn't do this after all.

Yet I know that we should. Do I sound crazy? I am beginning to feel like I am. In anycase, this has been one of the toughest weeks ever-I had to assist our first ever lambing-big time(-though the pay off istwo rambunctious lambs bouncing all over the place), we are muddling through with the goats-though we may sell a couple of them, we had to sell our two calves becaue husband lost his job, and now this lamb/ewe. Just a rough week.

Ay ideas on the lamb or the ewe? Otherwise I guess we will just have one of those rotten experiences-not a new one, we lost three out of 11 pups in December, but nonetheless not a favorite time either. I so want this little ewe lamb to make it-she is so gorgeous-jet black with a silver saddle-covered in ringlets-a spinners dream! It just must not be meant to be. :(

Sarah

-- sarah (heartsongacres@juno.com), March 22, 2001

Answers

Response to Does it get easier?

Hang in there. We have all been there. Every time I have a bad experience with animals, whether it's a calf that doesn't make it, wild dogs killing my chickens or whatever. I always think, "I am done, no more of this." Then I think, "what will I do now. What would I do with my spare time? How could I live with out the excited wag of a tail or that wet nose nuzzling me?" Sounds like the lamb is nursing, give it time. How long has the ewe retained her placenta? She still may dispel it on her own. If not, she does need the attention of a vet. If you can't afford that, just call one, most are good about giving advice over a phone. As long as that lamb is nursing, don't worry. Things do get better. Jean

-- Jean in Ky. (dandrea@duo-county.com), March 22, 2001.

Sarah: Have you tried giving the lamb and the ewe Nutridrench? Kind of like Geritol, but it gives them a boost. Please do check with a vet or someone close by who can help out. Don't give up, we all have those experiences, unfortunately. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), March 22, 2001.

Sarah,

Been there. Our vet told us to give pennicillin to the ewe and if she doesn't expel the cleanings (placenta, etc.) in five days from birth someone will have to manually pull them out (gently). It is best to have a vet do this. Once the cleanings are expelled, she will allow her lamb to nurse. In the meantime, keep milking her and feeding it to the lamb. Good luck! JoAnn

-- JoAnn (jonehls@excite.com), March 22, 2001.

Oh Sarah, my heart goes out to you! I've been there this year too. After losing four ewes to abortion and having three prolapse, on rectally and vaginally, the first part of February I was ready to call it quits too. Then we began to lamb, and everything worked out ok so far. You mentioned that your lamb weighed 6.5 at birth. Several of mine were only 7+#'s so I'm wondering if she is really that small. As long as she is nursing and doesn't cry all the time she'll be ok. Nutridrench is a good idea and if she is really dumpy you might try a shot of Vitamin B and Selium. After my abortion experience every lamb got these shots right after birth. I figured it couldn't hurt and might give them an added boost. Ended up that the ewes aborted because of a uterine bacterial infection so I was ready for a bunch of sickly lambs and any animal on the place gets a shot of LA200 (antibiotic) if they look dumpy. Maybe to much but I feel much better about it. Needless to say I've been washing everything in the barn to head off any chance of a bacterial infection in the lambs. I have a friend who has better than 80 ewes lambing this year. After my experience with 15 I'm really glad I'm not her.

You should contact a vet about the retained placenta. I don't think that clears itself up. I think you can give a shot that makes the uterus contract but really don't know for sure. She may need to be cleaned out. Your vet will know. Does the ewe smell bad. They tell me that is the most obvious sign of a major problem with the retained placenta.

Good luck and hang in there, like I thought when I found the last dead ewe, "things just can't possible get any worse!"

One other question, how long have you been at this? Sounds like you might have jumped in to deep to soon. If that's the case scaling back (letting the calves go, etc.)may be a good idea. Good Luck!!

-- Betsy K (betsyk@pathwaynet.com), March 22, 2001.

Sarah, Yes!!!! Thankfully it gets easier. First let me offer thoughts on your problem. Why do you think she has a retained placenta? Does she act unwell? I have a ewe who I never seem to see her afterbirth. She just expells and eats it without me ever knowing. Monitor the fever, check for smell, if either exists get a vet! We constantly battle with how much it is worth spending on a ewe and I would guess this would be a time we would call!

If your ewe doesn't nurse, it doesnt mean her placenta was retained (I could not tell by your post if that was what you were referring). I have a gorgeous purebred ewe who on her first live birth would not even consider letting the baby near her We spent two weeks going out and holding her so her single lamb could nurse. Finally, one day we were late and I think she became so uncomfortable she wanted him to nurse. It was true motherly love after that!!! The next time she lambed she had twins and she only would let one nurse. We had to hold her for the other. If you have the time and come make the effort, it is likely she will accept the baby.

Finally as to whether it gets better..... Our first lambing experience was with a donated Suffolk cross ewe, three gorgeous triplets - all died. Our next experience was with our pure bred ewe. She lambed before we expected in sub zero temperatures in WI - we found the frozen solid carcass! I was heartbroken and never wanted to try this again. IT's 3 years later and our sheep, while not making tons of money are earning their keep! We have found that for our small scale, raising market lambs, selling them live and delivering them to the butcher is profitable. As for that donated Suffolk ewe, we got lovely triplets for the next two years and twins this year. I respect the opinion of other posters but our view on vaccinating is different. We no longer do it (we did at first). I wouldn't advise anyone to follow us, simply to learn more about vaccines and make their own choice.

I hope you save your little lamb. We got up all hours of the night to keep ours nursed, the first time they nurse on their own it will all be worth it. Kim

-- kim (fleece@eritter.net), March 22, 2001.

Well the ewe is fine-and she must have pased the placenta-she is acting normal.

the lamb however died last night. :( She was just too weak I think- we couldn't keep her warm enough (even though it is nice and warm here now) and she couldn't eat. We did keep up the bottle feeding- though she would take just a suck or two.

Now we have to make sure the ewe dries up...since the lamb nursed so little (I milked her a couple of times-3-4, didn't get much except once, though at that time the lamb was trying to nurse or would nurse with our assistance) We cut out grain and feed only hay and pasture now? Will it be okay to supplement with a little feed in addition to pasture until the entire pature is in better shape(it was burned recently.)

Things will get better-we had a huge ram lamb born last night-he is doing great-bouncing around and eating well. Now if we could get some ewe lambs...:)

Sarah

-- Sarah (heartsongacres@juno.com), March 23, 2001.

First of all.... NO you DON'T sound crazy!!! We all go through periods like this sometimes... its hard to NOT have some bad experiences when first starting out!! I have been very lucky in that I can start a lot slower than most folks. Just a few dogs, rabbits, etc. Also have a lot of help from the folks here, and some neighbors. And... spent summers growing up on the farm, so I have lots of people to call on!

I don't know a lot about sheep, but my niece says that you are doing just fine... She's raised them before. Is the ewe a first time mother? Will the lamb take the bottle, or does it just turn away and look for Mom? She said that if the lamb takes the bottle, maybe you should just milk the ewe and keep the lamb in a warm dry place..... Suggested in the house, as that's what she did, but realizes that might not be the best solution for you. She said to keep it warm, and it should be ok.

Hope this helps -

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 26, 2001.