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Care of ewe that had a dead lamb?

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  • Care of ewe that had a dead lamb?

    I say dead lamb instead of 'stillborn' because we discovered it after it had been born. It was the ewe's first, and unplanned pregnancy and she was in labor with him (it was a ram lamb) for several hours. She wouldn't let us near her or otherwise I would have gone in and tried to pull him out.

    The problem now is, what is going to happen to the ewe now that she has the equivalent of a gallon milk jug dangling between her legs?

    Calling the vet isn't an option right now, as it's the middle of the night and frankly, our vet's 'emergency' service sucks, as we learned from previous experience.

    Poor little ewe! We didn't even know she was pregnant, as we keep the rams fenced off in their own area and the girls roam free. Another issue is that we only have two rams. One is her father and the other is her brother >< No idea if this had any effect on what happened, but I will say that this lamb was a HUGE newborn, compared to the other Shetland lambs I've seen.
    The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

  • #2
    Can you get near her/touch her?
    Do you know how to milk?
    Meeeeoooow.....
    Still missing you, Plaid

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    • #3
      I do know how to milk, but it'll be iffy getting near her. We could always get out one of the dogs and herd her into a pen or corner, but I'm not sure how much stress she can handle right now.
      The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

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      • #4
        Your going to have to do something before she gets sick. Can you call around to other farms to see if she could try being a surrogate?

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        • #5
          Quoth Aethian View Post
          Your going to have to do something before she gets sick. Can you call around to other farms to see if she could try being a surrogate?

          I really doubt if anyone needs a surrogate right now. There's one guy down the road that raises hair sheep, but his ewes always have flawless deliveries, usually with multiples.
          The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

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          • #6
            If I remember correctly, cow milk is bad for kittens but goat milk is actually pretty close to their mother's milk. Double check that to make sure, but perhaps you could offer to foster some orphaned kittens from a local shelter and have her be a surrogate for them. Not sure if your goat would tolerate cats or not, though. You may need to just figure out how to milk her yourself.

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