This document provides an overview of lambing for students going on farm placements. It discusses the basics of lambing including attitude, appearance, daily routine, and common issues. The normal lambing process is outlined along with how to correct malpresentations. Problem lambings like breech births and twins are addressed. Ewe care including common diseases like pregnancy toxemia and hypocalcemia are also covered. The document aims to prepare students for lambing but notes the farmer's experience and emphasizes always listening to their guidance.

1. LAMBING LUNCH
Hannah Pegram, Rachel Davies,
Andrew Littlejohn, Amelia Lynch

2. Disclaimer
We aren’t here to replace your lectures, more
just share our experiences of things we have
picked up from our own lambing experience.
This is not complete but merely a brief overview
of things which may help you when you go
lambing
We’re also not here to scare/overwhelm you.
Lambing is a great experience to go and do and
it will help you a lot for husbandry etc.

3. Plan
• Attitude, appearance, the
basics and what to expect
• The normal lambing routine
• The problem lambings
• Ewe care and other odds and
ends
• Questions

4. The Basics
Attitude
• First impressions last
• Tough time of year for farmer
• ALWAYS respect your farmers
knowledge
• Appear enthusiastic even if you’re not
• Work hard! (and you might get well
paid!)

5. The Basics
What to take with you
• Wellies
• Waterproofs
• Warm clothes/boilersuit

6. The Basics
Your farm placement
• Breed of sheep
• Pedigree or commercial?
• How much is farmer expecting you to do?
• How many other students are there?
• Dayshift/Nightshift?

7. The Basics
The Farmer
• Will want you to be interested in him and his
farm
• Most will want to help teach you things
• Always listen to your farmer, nearly all will have a
lot more experience than you do
• Don’t tell him your confident to be left alone if
your not, he would much rather spend time to
help you than end up with dead lambs.
• He will usually help you if you ask

8. The Basics
Lambing as a job
• One of my favourite times of
year
• Hard work and long hours
• Stressful
• Great experience for animal
care and farm understanding
• Usually you will be well fed!
• May get paid if you’re good.

9. Daily Routine
• First check sheep
– Lamb anything needing
assistance
– Pen ewes and lambs and
check those in pens
– Iodine and Spectam
• Feeding, Watering and
Bedding
• Tea, biscuits and feeding
lambs
• Hypothermia
KEEP CHECKING!

10. Daily Routine
• Turning outside
– Nursery/straight outside?
– Are they ready?
– Turned in eyelids
– Tag with spray paint
– Tail docking
• Length is important
– Castration
• Check again
• LUNCHTIME!!
• Nightshift

11. GLOVES OR NO
GLOVES?

12. ANTIBIOTICS??

13. WHEN TO INTERVENE?
• Distressed
• Only head showing
• When presenting with only: - one leg
- tail
• The water-bag has been passed and she’s not
making progress in 30 minutes

14. HOW TO CORRECT
MALPRESENTATIONS

15. • REMEMBER:
CUP THE HOOF AT ANY POINT
WHEN BRINGING LEGS
FORWARD
Protects the uterus from
damage/perforation

16. BACKWARDS
•Never try to rotate the
lamb
•Straightforward assisted
lambing
•Get lamb out quickly

17. ONE LEG BACK
•Trace the leg down from
the neck, over the shoulder
to locate the hoof
•‘Cup’ the hoof and bring
forwards
•Push head back to increase
space

18. BOTH LEGS BACK
•Similar to one leg back
•Repel the head every
time
•Fix the more difficult leg
first - space

19. HEAD BACK
•Both feet presented,
lateral deviation of head
•Lambing ropes
•Use legs to push the
body back into the
uterus
•Head rope – behind
ears, around poll
•Straighten head
•Bring head and legs out
together

20. BREECH
•True = backwards lamb
with no legs presented, just
a tail at the pelvic inlet
•Extend hips, flexing all
distal joints
•Straighten both hind legs
(‘cupping’ hoof) – helps to
push the lamb forwards
first
•LUBE!
•Deliver as for backwards -
quickly

21. FOUR FRONT LEGS
•Identify which legs are
paired – push all back in
•Choose foremost leg,
trace back to
shoulder/head
•Find other leg by tracing
from the head
•2 legs and correct head
should be identified
•Deliver

22. TWINS FRONT BACK
•Deliver the lamb coming
forwards first
•Allows widening of the
passage
•Easier delivery of 2nd
lamb
•Work from the head and
locate both legs to
prevent

23. HUNG LAMBS
•Swollen head (tongue)
•Even if appears cold and dead it
can survive!
•Gentle repulsion of the head into
the vagina
•LUBE- LOTS OF IT!
•If possible locate a leg alongside
the head, bring the one leg
forward and deliver
•DON’T PUSH THE HEAD RIGHT
BACK INTO THE UTERINE BODY-
Risk suffocation or not being able
to retrieve legs/head again

24. TIPS!
• ALWAYS check for another lamb
• Don’t be afraid to ask the farmer
– most will be more than willing
to help. Make sure you have his
mobile number!
• Lots of lube!
• Know your joints!
• Repel
• Use ropes
• Traction
• Reposition ewe
• Cord attached, pull away

25. WHEN TO CALL THE VET
• Ringwomb – tight ring,
no lamb (cervix not
dilated)
• Dead and deformed
lambs
• Foetal oversize
• No progression

26. Periparturient Diseases
• Abortion
• Pregnancy toxaemia
• Hypocalcaemia
• Hypomagnesemia
• (Listeriosis)
• (Septicaemia)
• (Johne’s, OPA and the usual suspects etc.)

27. Abortion
You won’t have
much to do with
this – however, it
is a good to be
able to identify
aborting ewes
and products of
abortion

28. Hypocalcaemia
Hypomagnesaemia
Preg toxaemia
Lambing 6 weeks6 weeks
28

29. Don’t forget the ewes!
Nutrition is pivotal in keeping disease in sheep at bay
Ewes have a particularly high metabolic load in late pregnancy due to lamb growth
Pregnancy
Toxaemia

30. Energy requirements of a Ewe
Ewe’s appetite reduces by about 30% approaching
lambing

32. Pre lambing metabolic profile
• 2-4 weeks pre-lambing
• 5 ewes per group
• 10-15 if unscanned
• BCS
• Assessment of feeding ration
• ALB, UREA, BHB
• Visit fee + b/s + metabolic profile + interpretation

33. Late pregnancy
• In the last eight weeks of pregnancy, 70 per cent of foetal
growth takes place.
• Udder development and colostrum production
• It is vital to manage ewes well at this stage as low lamb
birth-weight and low colostrum intake are major causes of
lamb deaths in the first few days of life.
• During late pregnancy, a ewe’s energy and protein
requirements are increasing rapidly – more than doubling if
they are carrying two lambs.
• However, as the lambs grow, the ewe’s ability to eat bulk
reduces . Therefore, the nutrient density of the ration must
be increased gradually to allow ewes to consume enough to
keep pace with foetal growth.

34. Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb
disease, ovine ketosis)
• Clinical signs of pregnancy toxaemia (listed as the
disease progresses)
• Does not come to feed trough
• Isolated,
• Dull and depressed
• Blind
• “Star gazing”
• Head pressing
• Fine muscle tremors of the head
• Weakness and recumbency
• Death
Progression of disease relatively slow (2-16 days)

35. Treatment?
• Response to treatment is generally poor
• Pen sick ewe separately - offer palatable feeds to
promote appetite, and fresh water
• Drench with propylene glycol
• Intravenous glucose injection
• Glucocorticoid injection – to promote
gluconeogenesis
• Ewes with pregnancy toxaemia must be checked
at least twice daily for signs of abortion/lambing
because they may be too weak to expel the
foetuses/lambs.
• Failure to expel dead foetuses leads to them
becoming rotten, releasing poisons into the
ewe's system which leads to her death.

36. Pregnancy toxaemia-Ewes At
risk
• Late pregnancy
• Twins/triplets
• Older ewes
• Fat ewes/thin ewes
• Often a group problem
• Concurrent disease

37. Hypocalcaemia
Demand exceeds supply
Clinical signs:
•Depressed, weak unable to stand
•Rumenal stasis and bloat
•Reflux of ruminal contents with
green fluid around nostrils and
lower jaw
•Coma and death within 48-72 hrs

38. Treatment
• Slow IV administration of 20-40 mls of a 40%
calcium borogluconate solution given over 30
to 60 seconds. Eructation (Burping) is
observed 1-2 minutes after intravenous
calcium administration.
• Ewes will stand within 5 minutes of
intravenous injection, urinate and wander off
to rejoin the rest of the flock.
• The response to subcutaneous
administration of 60-80 mls of 40% calcium
borogluconate solution injected over the
thoracic wall behind the shoulder may take
up to four hours especially if the solution had
not been warmed to body temperature and
injected at one site.

39. Hypocalcaemia-Prevention
Avoid stress in late gestation
 transport
 dog worry
 change of feed
 (change of weather)
Diet!

40. Hypomagnesaemia/ Staggers
Risk factors:
• High levels of Potassium in grass
• Rapidly growing grass (gut transit)
• Cold/wet stressful weather
• Lactating ewes with twins

41. Hypomagnesaemia-Clinical
Signs
Mostly sudden death
• Anxiety, hyperaesthesia/tachycardia
• Unsteady gait, staggering
• Apparent blindness
• Nystagmus
• Recumbency (+ paddling)
• Opisthotonus
• Hypersalivation (frothing at mouth)

42. Hypomagnesaemia-Treatment
• 50 ml 25% MgSO4, SC multiple sites (skin
necrosis: not IV)
Often a poor response to treatment

43. Vaginal prolapses
– Common – may affect 1-2% ewes
in flock
– Last 4 weeks of pregnancy
– Extent of prolapse varies
– Urethral obstruction – urinary
retention and uraemia
– If uncorrected – infection and
necrosis; death
– Ewes often isolated from flock,
straining

44. Vaginal prolapse - treatment
Plastic retention devices & harnesses (farmer)
Surgical – call vet!

45. Fostering on lambs

46. Skinning

47. Pet Lambs!

48. The weird and wonderful

49. References:
• www.nadis.org.uk
• www.sheep101.info
• Coomefield veterinary hospital