3-28-12

This morning, around 12:30am, I went out to the barn to check on the ewes. I found that one of them had just delivered twins in the large stall. One of the twins was up and trying to nurse while the mom was licking it. The other was laying there in the straw and was very cold. Jared came out and we moved them into a lambing jug (stall). A lambing jug is where the ewe and lamb(s) can spend a few days to bond. The ewe was rejecting the small lamb. Its mouth felt very cold so we brought her in the house to warm up. We dried her off and lay her on some blankets/towels in a small dog cage. The dog cage was on top of the boys little table and in from of the corn burners blower. After awhile of warming I took her temperature which was 97 degrees (normal is 102-103). We tube fed her some colostrum.  She’s such a tiny thing, only 4 lbs. By the time Jared left for work this morning her temperature was around 100 degrees. She was trying to stand for me while I waited for Jared to warm up her second feeding of colostrum.The boys loved holding and petting her before school. Once her temperature was normal I took her away from the heat to see if she could maintain it. Eli and I went outside to feed the sheep and found a ewe had just delivered twins in the paddock. One was up on its feet but the other lay in the dirt and wasn’t breathing. I swung it by its hind legs to try to get any mucus out and water drained from her mouth and nose. I try to get her breathing but she didn’t make it. I picked up the other lamb and was hoping the mom would follow us into the barn. She didn’t but instead ran far away to where the other ewes were grazing. I grabbed a scoop of corn to feed them and ran in the house to get Norman. As soon as the ewe saw Norman she ran to protect her baby. I was able to back them into the large stall using Norman and then I shut the door. I dragged the lamb by its hind legs (that’s the only way the mom would follow us) to a stall. There I dried the lamb and clipped/dipped it umbilical in iodine. I also stripped the ewes teats. Then I decided to go inside to get the tiny lamb to try and graft it onto this mom. I submersed it in a bucket of warm water and rubbed it with the lamb that was just born. The mom started licking it right away with her the other lamb. I weighed the new lamb, which was 7lbs 4oz. I gave the ewe some warm molasses water and some hay. Eli was fussy as he came along with me. Vikki came over this afternoon and brought me a Tim Horton’s cappuccino. She also brought us dinner to have tonight from Pi’s! I drove down to get Adam off the bus. After lunch I tucked Eli in for a nap. Then I went outside to take care of sheep and cleaned up the barn. I didn’t know if the grafted lamb could even reach to nurse so I gave her a tube feeding. When Jared got home from work he held the mom while I helped her to nurse. She is barely tall enough to reach for nursing.