"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Friday, February 6, 2009

Sheep Midwifery, And Good Friends

~I am holding a lamb prior to Hubby tagging her ear and banding her tail. ~
~I checked out my sheep while I drank my morning coffee and saw Naomi acting strangely.She was pushing against the shelter panels.~
~Oh, she was going to have her lamb! I watched as she pushed out some birth matter, then eagerly awaited the gushing out of a new lamb. I waited, and waited, and watched Naomi have big contractions, pace around, baa, lay down and roll and baa some more. Hmmm, this went on for awhile. Oh no, I was home alone and I knew I needed help. Someone to help me catch Naomi and check her out. ~I am so blessed to have some of the best friends and neighbors. I called Lanny ( from It's the Dirt) and even though she is sick, she rushed over with her daughters Bet ( from Paddle In the Pond) and Anna ( Terriers and Tabbies ) ! Bet and Anna helped me corner and catch Naomi who could run pretty fast in spite of her distress. I held Naomi while Bet carefully checked out Naomi's interior nursery and she discovered the big lamb was breech. Bet manipulated the lamb's feet into a good position and carefully pulled her out. She was big for a Jacob lamb. Then Anna suctioned the excess mucous out of the nostrils and mouth with one of those little suction thingys , grabbed the lamb by the back legs and swung her around her ( Anna's ) head. This action helps force the mucous out of the lungs and mouth and nose, allowing the lamb to breathe. This works well as long as you don't let the slippery lamb fly out of your hands. I usually wrap a towel around the legs before I do this. This action also works for distressed newborn puppies and goats. ~Naomi was pretty tired and at first ignored her lamb. Oh no, I am going to be gone for the weekend and Hubby doesn't need to deal with a bottle baby. I left Naomi alone with her lamb for awhile and when I checked back, she was cleaning her lamb off.
~The little lamb is a noisy girl, but she was not up and around. I squirted some nutritional supplement into her mouth and stood her up. ~
~She wobbled and wavered, but remained standing! Tonight Mom and lamb are doing well!~ ~I am so grateful this happened while I was home, that I have such great friends , that THEY were home too and willing and able to rush over and help. In the 17 + years I have kept Jacob sheep, I have only had to assist 3 or 4 ewes with lambing. I would have been very sad to have lost Naomi due to lambing problems. She is one of my favorite ewes. "There are numerous breeds of multiple horned sheep throughout the world. Of the eighteen breeds mentioned by A.R.Werner in 'An Enquiry Into The Origins of the Piebald or Jacob Sheep', thirteen of them are known to have the polycerate ( multi horned) trait. Many of the spotted , horned breeds of Europe had become extinct by the turn of the 20th century."JACOB SHEEP IN AMERICA by Ingrid Painter Blessings: good friends, healthy lambs and ewes

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad Naomi and baby are doing well. What wonderful neighbors/friends you have! Will Anna and Bet be naming the new sheep?

Jennifer said...

Glad mother and baby are doing well. What a blessing to have such good friends that are also neighbors. Congratulations on the new lamb, she is a beauty!

Anonymous said...

Glad Mother and baby are doing well! It's a good thing you were home and have good friend's to help you out. We've had to only assist a couple does and ewes when we were raising sheep.

Anonymous said...

Whitney loved your photos from today and yesterday! Lambs are among her favorite animals. Although, the VERY first thing she said was that she thought your sheep looked like goats. :-)

A. Joy said...

Wow! Big puffy baby! Well, you don't need to get the Wii Fit if you work lamb swinging into your fitness regime.

LindaSue said...

Those girls across the road from you are just plain special aren't they? Wonderful to have someone to call when you have an urgent need. Really glad it all turned out OK - only breech I had with the goats - she was able to deliver by me pulling on the hind legs timed with her pushes - wasn't pretty but it worked. You have the prettiest lambs - oh my those speckles.

Mary Humphrey said...

Oh, what a blessing! Both the friend and the lamb. Are you tired, yet, Kathy? Such joy. :)

Anonymous said...

It looks like you are having some very big babies! I am so glad that you have a very nice neighbor that was able to come over and help you out and that there was a happy ending! Naomi is a beautiful girl :)

Thistle Cove Farm said...

How absolutely wonderful you were able to capture this! What a gift and blessing!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad your little lamb is doing well! You have had quite an exciting lambing season, haven't you? Have a blessed weekend!

Eggs In My Pocket said...

You are all such brave souls! So glad your friends knew what to do. The little lamb is preious. Blessings,Kathleen

KathyB. said...

Yes, I am so thankful for my good friends and neighbors. I am also thankful all my lambs have been healthy thus far and Shannon fr. Kenleigh Acres, I have been surprised at how big my lambs are especially since I do NOT grain my sheep. They get plenty of alfalfa and grass hay, but no grain! So far no twins either, a surprise too.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is quite the story and yes thank goodness you were there. And thank goodness for the friends. My word, and it was all so worth it looking at that beautiful, precous baby.

Connie said...

Hurray! Miracles and blessings every direction you look. :)