Lambing is the name of the process for when your ewes give birth to their young. We have touched on this topic in our nutritional blog for sheep. The lambing process is generally quite safe for your sheep but as with things in the natural world, there can be complications.
We will be looking at the overall lambing process and how to deliver your lambs. Then we will be looking at how to make sure that your ewe is at the lowest risk of infection if you have to interfere.
Lambing Season
As shown in our sheep breeding article, the gestation period for sheep is about 5 months. The specific lambing season will vary depending on your market and your climate. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is usually in mid to late Spring.
Typically, between March and May. In the Southern Hemisphere you would be looking at inverting this, looking at mid to late Winter and would be usually best in November or December. Do keep in mind that these are very general guidelines, you will need to look at the nutritional needs of your ewes to make sure that the lambs produced are healthy.
You can refer to our nutritional blog for sheep to see what sorts of nutrients are needed by ewes.
Lambing Process
As stated before, this process is generally ok for your ewes to undergo. Sheep have been domesticated for thousands of years and have been bred to the point that they are efficient breeders.
However, it does help to understand what the signs are that your sheep is expecting to go into labour. And what to do if something were to become complicated.
Phase 1
This stage can last between 12 and 24 hours. You will first notice behavioural changes. Your ewe will more than likely stop feeding or will reduce the amount of feeding. She will also probably start avoiding other members of the flock. Your ewe will search for a sheltered spot, either in the field or the barn.
Your ewe will be restless, going between lying and standing. She will paw at the ground and constantly sniffing her spot, more than likely making sure that it’s sanitary. With this in mind, it’s always a good idea for sheep that are kept in the barn during the lambing season to have their straw cleaned regularly.
The cervix and the birth canal are becoming dilated in preparation for the lamb. There will be a clear discharge from the vulva of your ewe and once this part of the process is complete, the contractions should start more frequently. At the end of this phase, your ewe’s cervix should be fully dilated, and the next phase is ready to begin.
Phase 2
It is during this phase that your lamb will be born. You will know that you are in phase 2 when you see an allanto-chorion (water bag). This is the amniotic sack of the lamb. It is similar to when a female human’s water’s break. Each lamb will have their own water bag.
Therefore, if you have multiple lambs being born, you should expect multiple water bags. When this water bag appears, it should rupture, and this will release the liquid. Sometimes however, your ewe may need to stand up in order for it to rupture.
Once the water bag has ruptured, the forelimbs and the tip of the snout of the lamb should be felt in the birth canal. The time for birthing lambs can vary greatly but for ewes delivering multiple lambs is usually 10 minutes to an hour. However, if it goes beyond an hour, you should consider intervening.
Phase 3
This is the final stage of the process and this is where all of the afterbirth is expelled along with the placenta. Your ewe’s instinct will be to eat it in order to protect her lamb from predators. However, if she doesn’t do this, you will need to remove it. This is to stop disease spreading in your barn if it was a barn birth or to attract local predators if it was a field birth.
This process can be as quick as 30 minutes after birth or it can be as long as 6 hours. If it has been over 24 hours since and there has been no sign of the placenta. You will need to investigate as this can lead to lethal infection in your ewe.
How to deliver a lamb
In this case we are going to assume that your lamb is in the normal position and that there are no serious complications. Your ewe just needs a little more encouragement.
This usually is needed if the lamb is a little big for your ewe. Normally it takes 5-10 minutes for a suitable sized lamb to be born and so if it starts to stretch to 30 minutes, it may be a good idea to assist.
First thing to make sure is that you are sanitary. You need to make sure that your hands have been washed with warm soapy water. Next you will need to get disposable plastic sterile gloves. These precautions are necessary for all assisted births. If your ewe gets an infection in her womb, it can lead to poor milk production or even death.
You will need to restrain your ewe on her side and from there you will be able to assist her. When you can see the legs of the lamb and you can touch the muzzle in the vulva of the ewe, you should now start thinking about extending each of the lamb’s forelimbs.
You will need to gently grab a forelimb with your thumb and index finger. As the ewe strains, pull with her. By doing this, the forelimb you are pulling should start to fully extend out of the vulva. When the elbow is straight, there is often a popping sound and you know that limb is now fully extended.
You will need to repeat this with the other forelimb. You will then grab both forelimbs and gently pull in tandem with the ewe straining. At this stage the poll (top of the skull) of the lamb should be seen,
You will now need to gently ease the lamb out from both the forelimbs and its poll in tandem with the strains of the ewe. Over the next 30 seconds or so you will need to pull the lamb out downward and around. It is important that you do not exude force, gravity should be doing the work here. If you pull too fast or much here, you run the risk of damaging both lamb and ewe. This can lead to bone damage in lambs or a prolapsed vulva in ewes.
Once the lamb is born, it should be left alone for a couple of minutes with umbilical cords attached. It can take up to 30 seconds for the lamb to take its first deep breath. There is no point in grabbing the lamb by its hindlimbs as any mucus or fluids expelled will be from the lamb’s stomach and not its lungs.
After the lamb is delivered it is common practice to check if there is another lamb present. This is down by pressing gently right in front of the udder. This should tell you if there is another lamb to be birthed.
Deciding if it is a good idea to assist with this deliver is currently a controversial topic. The argument against is because it hugely increases infection chances for your ewe. However, leaving the lamb inside at that point does increase the chances of your lamb being birthed inside the womb. This will cause the lamb to drown. If ever in doubt, get veterinary assistance immediately.
Metritis
This is a condition that can befall ewes if your assistant birthing methods are unsanitary. There can be several causes; delivering dead lambs, prolapsed wombs or if there was an infection that caused death or malformation of your lamb.
Common signs are; little interest in her lambs. Lying on her stomach with her limbs splayed out. Poor appetite and poor milk production. The vulva is swollen and there is a ruddy brown discharge around the woolly end of the tail. Getting your vet involved at this point is recommended as this can cause complications.