First lambs of 2020!

Monday, 2:45am: I'm staring at my phone on the bedside table, watching Laura Longtail, who seems to be searching for something. Weird.

2:48am: Ok, something isn't right. Did she have a baby and it wandered off to the run outside? Ack. Too cold. Have to go investigate.

3:00am: After a thorough investigation with a flashlight, I realize there is no baby. Laura Longtail is trailing amniotic fluid sack but no baby. Weird.

3:30am: I'm going to have to go in and find out what's going on. I call Brad out because this is a sheep, not a sweet goat. He holds her which sounds simple but requires Brad strength. No babies in the birth canal. Interesting. I've never been in further than that. Carefully I inch further and find...legs? A leg? No, wait, that's a hoof of a large lamb. I feel around (so much more room in the uterus compared to the birth canal!) and find what feel like a lot of legs and no head. Well damn. We let Laura Longtail go and talk about it.

I decide to go in one more time to see if I can decipher which legs are which. I find two legs and a body that go together and a head that doesn't feel like it goes to that body. Jesus. Time for the vet.

4:30am Our sheep vet is sick but I'm lucky enough to call a random large animal vet and...he answers the phone! OMG! I explain the situation and he agrees to come out. Brad and I decide to wait inside where it's warm.

5:00am The vet arrives and gets right down to business. He examines Laura Longtail and says, "Yeah, I see what you mean. There are a lot of legs in here." He and Brad roll Laura Longtail on her back and then over to the other side. He goes in again and pulls out a nice sized ram lamb—back legs first. Checks to see if he's breathing, thinks not, picks him up by his back legs and hands him to me, "Swing him." But as soon as I have a hold of him, he twitches, YAY!!! I clear his face with a towel and lay him in front of mom who, even while being held down, begins licking him. Little ram lamb struggles to his chest, shakes his head, and sneezes. Excellent!

The vet goes back in, pulls out, in the correct position of front legs and nose on top of them, a little ewe lamb. So cute and tiny! Like her brother she comes to life immediately, wriggling around. I get her face cleared and put her next to her brother. Poor Laura Longtail is licking furiously but still being held down. The vet's arm is too big to explore further in, so I double check that she's done. Yes, she is. A shot of oxytocin and a shot of antibiotics since we were all up in her business :-) and Laura Longtail pops to her feet and begins the job of cleaning her lambs in earnest.

Whew. All is well and I learned something new, roll the ewe if babies are tangled! The vet described the boy as coming out back legs first with his sister's head between his legs which was gumming up the works. They were just stuck in that position. Once mom was rolled over, the girl's body scooched inward a smidge, allowing the boy to be pulled out.

Never a dull moment.

Love to all from the Mother Ranch,

Julia

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