1-31-16

Adam taking a quick swing with Louie before coming to the barn to check on sheep.

Jacob and Adam got haircuts this evening

Jared giving a pep talk to #514

This evening we noticed Ewe #514 was in labor.  We checked on her every 30 minutes.  Every hour or so I'd check to see if I could feel any lambs but I couldn't feel any.  Then, around 3am,  I noticed that her cervix was only slightly dilated. All that pushing and her cervix wasn't dilated!  We put her in a stall and I worked carefully on stretching her cervix.  I got it stretched enough so I could feel the lambs.  I felt a couple heads and a lot of legs but it was very tight!  Now that her cervix was dilated we stepped out and gave her some time deliver the lambs on her own.  She was pretty worn out but gave some good pushes.  We checked her again and still no progress!  I was trying not to panic as I tried to determine which hooves belonged to which lambs.  I really wanted to find hind feet because then I didn't have to worry about the head.  I pulled some hooves out but they were front feet (no head).  I pushed them back and felt again.  Suddenly the ewe started bleeding a lot!  Now I was even more panicked thinking that one of my favorite sheep was going to bleed to death.  I finally found two hind feet and pulled.  I handed the lamb to Jared so I could feel for the next lamb.  The ewe was just laying on her side and still bleeding a lot.  I wanted to at least save the lambs before they died with her.  I pulled the second lamb feet first (head back) and Jared started working on it.  Then I reached in and pulled the third lamb by its eye sockets (feet back).  All three lambs were alive!  We towel dried them and tube fed them each 4 oz of their mom's colostrum.  We put the lambs by the ewe who was still laying on her side.  She raised her head and licked her lambs.  The first two lambs were so spunky and quickly worked on standing.  The third (smallest) lamb became hypothermic so I took him inside to warm him up by the fire with a heated rice sock next to him.  Jared set up a heat lamb in another stall and moved the lambs in there.  The smallest lamb quickly warmed up and was standing.  Jared came in the house and I asked him if the ewe was gone yet.  I hated to think of her suffering.  He said no and we went to the barn to check on her.  Now it was around 6am.  We looked in on her and she was sitting up!  We checked on the lambs and they were doing great!  There were two boys and a girl. The girl weighed 13 lbs 7 oz.  And the boys were 11 lbs 4 oz and 8 lbs 8 oz.   We went back to the stall and were shocked to see ewe 514 was standing!  We couldn't believe it!  We gave her shot of antibiotics and walked her to the stall to be with her lambs.  We went inside to clean up.  I messaged my family and asked them to pray for her!   Jared left for work and I woke the boys for school.

#514 and her triplets