#LAMBMETRICS for the day
Drysdale & English Leicester Flocks
Born today: 4
Total Lambs Born: 69
Drysdale lambs (live total): 33
English Leicester lambs (live total): 23
English Leicester X lambs (live total): 8
Total Sets of Twins born: 22
Total Sets of Triplets born: 1
Total ewe lambs: 37
Total ram lambs: 32
Ewes lambed /76: 45 (59.2 %)
Lamb % : 142 % [live]
Assisted/Dystocias: 7
Losses: 5 [lamb]; 0 [ewe]
Notable Midwifery tales:
Choices. Every day is full of them. Sometimes we make the right ones and sometimes we don’t. The aim is to try and make more of the former….!
This morning it was Pebbles’ turn to go broody. She’s the daughter of a silver English Leicester ewe and her twin is silver also. Pebbles, however, is only heterozygote for the black genes (ie. she carries the gene but only has the one so doesn’t express the colour). This year she was mated to the silver ram so…. fingers crossed…. 50/50 chance!
So, she made her “nest” area and I was keeping an eye on her for when she’d pop out some nice black ELs for me. 😀 Did the chores and …. still no lambs. Then comes the pondering. I wonder how long she’s been “on the go”? Should I intervene? Should I just leave her? Do I just want to intervene to get it all over and done with. Maybe she isn’t ready. Maybe the lambs aren’t presented right.
I weigh things up and decide to investigate. She’s a very quiet ewe but she wasn’t overly impressed with being tipped on her side so I could glove up and do an examination! With glove on I quickly ascertain that there is a head in basically the right position but… legs…?!?! Black nose…. But I am at the wrong angle for manipulation and extraction and I’m using my left hand to keep the ewe prone so it’s time to Call the (Assistant) Midwife.
Turns out that the first lamb had the head in the right place, one front leg neatly folded and the other front leg right back. Silly boy! Thankfully, Pebbles is pretty “roomy” so I can coax the shoulders out and get that lad out before he is too distressed.
She scanned as carrying twins so no mucking about – often the one stuck behind gets stressed when there is a traffic jam. In goes the gloved hand again and finds feet, no head, pull and…. this one is fully breech (back feet first). Good thing it didn’t get stuck around the ribs and then she has twins in front of her to distract her from the indignity of being assisted.
Both lambs doing well. In the shed and Pebbles is smirking at me for missing the 5-second perfect photo opportunity she offered me. Oh well, will just have to make do!!
