Lambing help any advice really appreciated

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clarejones

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Hi we have 3 shrophire ewes due to lamb any day now(first time in lamb) and we know that one of them is having triplets the other two are having twins. I am experieced in foaling but not in lambing any advice would be really appreciated, will the ewe have enough colostrum for her triplets? Should we bottle feed any of them and when should we intervene am i right in thinking if she hasn't produced a lamb within 90mins then intervene? Also how long should we expect to wait for each lamb to be born? I am getting soooooo nervous now
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I have a little experience with sheep/lambs.

AFAIK the ewe should manage her trips but it's not ideal so keep an eye to make sure that all have suckled and then watch their weights over the next few days. If you start bottle feeding without it being absolutely necessary you make a rod for your own back. Bottle lambs may be cute but not every two hours through the night.

90 minutes sounds a very long time to me. Can you phone your vet up for a chat and to warn them that assistance might be needed?

This year we had to intervene in the twin births but the triplets popped out whilst I whizzed home to grab a cup of coffee and wash the guck off my arms - not necessarily in that order!

Good luck - and get a good book!
 
gosh, i did some lambing aaaages ago before i had to deal with foalings. it was a lot lot easier with lambs, but i am no expert. umm, i know that when any of the flock had triplets, the farmer would take one immediately and pair it with a single lamb so that mum had two, he didn't like a ewe with 3 lambs if he could help it, so following that logic, i guess you might need to supplementary feed them?
if one's down and straining and nothing happens, it's not difficult to stick a hand in and check that you can feel a nose etc and not a bum... a lot easier to turn lambs than foals too, obv! the ones i helped with (i did about 2 weeks of lambing, so delivered lots) didn't seem to take long to be born. i had a crash course in clearing out mouths etc etc... i know one died because someone (don't think it was me, not one of the ewes/lambs i helped) hadn't cleared its nose and mouth out enough, which was daft because it's easy and quick. the farmer also had some wonder-stuff in a bottle to put in the mouth of a lamb that looked half-dead at birth, it galvanised them into action, amazing turnaround.
i'd have a look on other forums or have a quick chat with your vet if no-one else on here has any info, tbh. very best of luck.
 
you can always supplement the triplets with ewe milk replacer - I spent a few seasons lambing - its actually not that difficult to have a quick check that everything is right - is there a nose (feel for the mouth!) and two feet with the joints bending down (front legs rather than back). Good luck!
 
Hi, my OH grew up lambing and have asked him what he thinks. He says although naturally should be able to do it on their own, first timers can really struggle especially if really fat. Obviously they should be coming front legs first and once you can feel the legs pull them out supporting the back of the head. It's rare that they take more than 40 mins for the first lamb so if longer then check everything is ok. They should only really take 10 or so minutes between lambs, but obviously time can really vary. As soon as the baby is ok make sure the mother licks it clean or she may reject it. Really the ewe should produce enough milk to sustain all three but the runt usually gets bullied out and the mother tends to not care
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so one may need supplementing.
 
Ditto what the others say.

I would maybe get some colostrum and lamb milk just to be on the safe side, you can usually buy them, then, if you don`t use them, just return to the shop for a refund. There is nothing more agonising than to need these things and you don`t have them to hand

The supplement Kerilli is thinking of is called Re-energize made by Osmonds (used to be called Twin Lamb) and is great stuff.
 
just to say it's fine for them to come out backwards - puppies and kittens and lambs and other multiples come out in all directions - breech is different - if it's in breech it's coming bum first and will have trouble, but if it's back legs then its easy - in fact easier than front sometimes as they dont tend to get the head stuck back or a front leg folded down in front of the pelvis - the main probs with coming front. lambing is quite easy most of the time - if you do have to put a hand in then loads and loads of lube and ideally gloves - also, the farmers i worked with always gave them a shot of antibiotics if they'd put a hand in and i do the same with puppies and kittens if i have to interfere. check for a head and 2 front legs or 2 back legs and do make sure they belong to the same lamb! sometimes esp with trips/quads you can get 2 legs, but from different lambs! most problematic one is 2 heads though - not easy to sort that one out!
 
thanks for all your advice i have been out and got some colostrum and ewe milk replacer now all i can do is wait. One of the ewes who is carrying triplets looks like she has dropped alot and her teats have come down and look very large she certainly has a big udder will let you know the outcome
 
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