Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
WHEN TO ASSIST WITH LAMBING
As a general rule, let the ewe go on her own until any of the following:
■
The lamb's one front leg and nose are both showing but the
other front leg is nowhere in sight
■
There are two right or two left legs showing (indicating twins who
are trying to come out at the same time)
■
The lamb is showing but the ewe isn't making progress
■
The ewe is obviously becoming weak and tired, and nothing
seems to be changing
■
She has been in obvious labor for a couple of hours with no sign
of change
If you do need to assist, prepare for the event in the following manner:
1.
Wash your hands and arms; we always washed well with warm, soapy
water fi rst, and then swabbed our hands and wrists with iodine if we
weren't using obstetrical gloves (which you can purchase from a farm-
supply store or from your veterinarian).
2.
Wash off the ewe.
3.
Lubricate one hand with an antiseptic lubricant or mineral oil (or cooking
oil if that is all you have) and slip it in gently.
4.
Try to determine the position of the lamb (during lambing season, keep
your fi ngernails short).
Actually, it's very helpful to have a mentor looking over your shoulder the
fi rst time you try this, though if there's nobody around to assist, you'll have
to go for it on your own. The fi rst step is to try to identify the lamb's legs and
their position. Make sure that the legs you're feeling all belong to the same
lamb. In twin births, it's easy to get their legs mixed up.
The front legs are muscular above the knees and bend at the knees in the
same way that the foot (pastern) joint bends, with the knuckle pointing for-
ward. The hind legs have a prominent tendon and bend the opposite way from
the back foot. The hind legs also have a sharper knuckle that points backward.
If you have a small lamb, catch it and feel the difference between its front and
back legs; the legs should be aligned so the tops of the legs are on top. If the
legs are bottom-side up, then the lamb is upside down in the womb and needs
to be turned.
