1. SUSAN SCHOENIAN (Shāy-nē-ŭn)
Sheep & Goat Specialist
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
sschoen@umd.edu – www.sheepandgoat.com
SMALL RUMINANT PROGRAM

2. Jan 13 I. Late Gestation
Jan 20 II. Vaccinations
Feb 3 III. Parturition
Feb 10 IV. Neonatal Care
Feb 17 V. Lactation
Feb 24 VI. Weaning

3. The act or process of giving birth
Lambing and kidding

4.  Breeding date
 Marking harness
 Rattle paint
 Hand mating
 Observation
 Dates of male
introduction and
removal.
 Date(s) of
“accidental”
exposure.
You won’t know if you never
remove males or don’t write
anything down.
One week less than
5 months and I
might be pushing
out babies. You
better be ready!

5. Shorter
 Sheep
 Meat breeds
 Prolific breeds
 Female offspring
 Multiple births
 Lighter offspring
 Goats
 Late-maturing breeds
 Male offspring
 Single births
 Heavier offspring
Longer
It takes more
time to make
a big boy!

6. BEHAVIOR
 Separation
 Isolation
 Acting more territorial
 Restlessness
 Nervousness
 Tail twitching
 Frequent urination
 Pawing the ground
 Getting up and down
 Reduced appetite
 Udder filling up
 Engorged teats
 Vaginal discharge
 Relaxation of muscles
in hip area
 Belly drops
 Sides cave in
 Swollen vulva
PHYSICAL

7. 1) Preparation
2) Expulsion
3) Cleaning

8.  Rhythmic contractions
 Cervix dilates
 Fetus positions itself
 Mucous discharge

9.  Rupture of the
water bag
 Fetus is expelled.
 Repeated for
each offspring
 Ewe or doe may
give birth lying
down or standing
up.
 Some females
want to be left
alone for birthing.

10.  In the “dive” position
 Head resting on fore legs
 Sole of the hooves rests downwards
 Widest part of the fetus is the hips
 Backwards (not breech) is also “normal”

11.  Once forceful straining begins and
the water sac breaks, delivery
should normally take place within
45 to 60 minutes.
 Once the front legs are visible,
delivery should normally take
place within 30 to 45 minutes.
 Subsequent offspring are normally
delivered within 30 minutes of each
other.
 Prolonged delivery beyond these
times may indicate birthing
difficulty.

12.  If the female has made no
progress after 45 to 60
minutes of hard straining
(and the water sac has
broke).
 If female has been in
distress for 2 or 3 hours
without progress, even if
nothing is visible at vulva.

13.  Catch and confine female
Lay female down
 Can lay her on her back or hoist her.
 Wash hands, arms, and female’s vulva
 Wear gloves or OB sleeves
Short fingernails, no rings
 Apply copious lubricant
 Lubricant jelly
 Obstetrical lubricant
 Bland soap and water
 Shortening

14.  Examine for dilation of cervix
 Bunch fingers and thumb
into a cone shape to enter
 She may need more time
 Determine presentation
 Correct position
 Apply traction
 After care

15.  Be clean
 Be gentle
 Be calm
 Be patient
 Call veterinarian (or
experienced shepherd) if you
have not made progress after
a half hour.
 Check for more offspring.
 Give long-acting antibiotic to
prevent uterine infections.

16.  May need to revive baby
 Clear airway
 Clear mucous from nose
 Insert piece of straw or hay into
baby’s nose
 Raise front leg to expand chest
cavity
 Hang baby by hind legs and swing
in circle.
 Blow air into lungs
 Put baby in front of mom’s nose
 Have mom lick babies unless she’s
too exhausted.

17.  Put mom and babies in a small
pen together (jug).
 Clip (if necessary) and
disinfect navels
 Remove wax plug from teat
 Check milk supply
 Observe to make sure babies
nurse.
Let mom take care of her babies.

18.  Afterbirth (placenta) is
expelled from the body
 Uterine involution
(uterus returns to normal)
 Complete involution
takes more than a month

19.  Red, liver-like mass with
strawberry-like lumps and
whitish cords.
 Is separate for each
offspring.
 Is usually expelled 30
minutes to 1 hour after last
baby is born.

20.  It’s her natural instinct
 Protection from predators
 Contains oxytocin
 Helps with milk let down
 Uterine involution
 Some people eat it

21.  Biosecurity
 Scrapie is transmitted via
infected placenta.
 Abortive diseases are
spread via infected
placenta.
 Sanitation
 You don’t want to
attract wild animals and
scavengers.
 Is highly indigestible
USDA APHIS NAHMS, 2003

22.  Pregnancy toxemia
 Milk fever
 Abortion
 Vaginal prolapse
 Dystocia
 Ringwomb
 Retained placenta
 Uterine prolapse
 Agalactia
 Rejection

23.  What is it?
 Low blood glucose caused
by insufficient intake of
energy during late
pregnancy and breakdown
of fat into toxic ketone
bodies.
 Who’s most susceptible?
 Females carrying multiple
fetuses
 Fat females
 Thin females
 Old females
 Timid females

24.  Symptoms
 Lags behind
 Depression
 Neurological symptoms
 Salivating
 Rear legs splayed out
 Lack of appetite
 Recumbency
 Death
 Treatment
 Oral propylene glycol
 IV dextrose
 Other Tx
 Calcium borogluconate
 Vitamin B-complex
 Remove fetuses
 [Rx] Induce parturition
 [Vx] Caesarian section
If pregnancy toxemia is suspected, you
need to evaluate your feeding program.

25.  What is it?
 Low blood calcium
 Symptoms
 Overlap with
pregnancy toxemia
 Treatment
 Oral calcium
 Sub-Q calcium
 IV calcium If milk fever is suspected, you need to
evaluate your feeding program.

26.  Causes
 Toxins
 Trauma
 Unviable offspring
 Stress
 Disease
 Chlamydia (Enzootic)
 Campylobacter (Vibrio)
 Toxoplasmosis
 Salmonella
 Symptoms
 Birth of stillborn, weak, or
premature babies.
 Female may be sick for several
days before she aborts late in her
pregnancy (or not).

27.  Control
 Isolate aborting ewes
 Dispose of fetuses, placenta, and
fluids.
 Administer antibiotics to
remaining females.
 Work with diagnostic vet to
determine cause.
 Prevention
 Aborting females develop
immunity
 Feed or inject antibiotics
 Vaccinate
 Control cat population
 Feed ionophoreYoung females are most susceptible to
infectious causes of abortion.

28.  Usually occurs during last
month of pregnancy
 More common in ewes than
does
 Extent of prolapse varies.

29.  Multiple fetuses
 Increased rumen fill
 Poor quality forage
 Phytoestrogenic forages
 Short tail docks
 Gravity
 Overcrowding
 Lack of exercise
 Obesity
 intra-abdominal fat
 Previous history
 40% chance of re-occurring
 Genetic predisposition Image source: NADIS UK

30.  [Rx] Pain relief
 Clean vagina
[Use mild soap]
 Replace vagina
 Keep vagina in
 Spoon/bearing retainer
 Prolapse harness
 Prolapse truss
 Purse-string suture
[must remove sutures before lambing]
 Parturition usually corrects
problem
 Cull ewe and her offspring

31.  Causes
 Fetal malpresentation
 Failure of cervix to dilate
 Incomplete cervical
dilation.
 Fetal-maternal size
mismatch
 Vaginal prolapse

32.  Causes/contributing factors
 Age
 Young and old
 Obesity
 Oversized fetuses
 Overfeeding
 Small pelvic area
 Breeds and males that sire
large offspring
 Lack of exercise
 Multiple births

33. • Push lamb or kid slightly back into womb
• Cup hoof in your palm
• Extend legs
• A small baby can be pulled with one leg back
• Babies can survive a long time with their head sticking out.
Wash head before putting it back inside female
Elbow lock One leg
back
Both legs
back
Swollen head

34. • Tight - copious lubricant, firm pressure, pull skin over head, extend legs one at
a time
• Head back - push back, turn head
• Breech - deliver backwards, cup fetlocks, extend rear legs forward , deliver
quickly
• Simultaneous - figure out what belongs to who
• “Nasty” problems: dead, deformed, and decomposed babies
Head back Breech SimultaneousTight birth

35.  Cause (mostly unknown)
 Abortion
 Premature birth
 Genotype of fetus
 Treatment
 Partial dilation
 Manually stimulate cervix
 [Rx] Oxytocin
 “True” ringwomb
 [Vx] Caesarian section →

36.  Treatment
 Give a gentle tug.
 Do not forcibly pull out!
 Give antibiotics to
prevent uterine infection.
 Calcium borogluconate
 [Rx] Oxytocin or
Prostaglandin (PGF2α)

37.  Abortion
 Stillbirths
 Premature birth
 Uterine infection
 Difficult/prolonged birth
 Assisted delivery
 Dead baby still in uterus
 Nutritional deficiencies
 Exhaustion
 Stress

38.  Uterus is turned inside out
and pushed through the
birth canal.
 May occur immediately
after parturition or several
days later.
 Is life threatening.
Image source: NADIS UK

39.  Uterine infection
 Retained placenta
 Difficult/prolonged birth
 Assisted delivery
 Nutritional deficiencies
 Obesity
 Genetics
Image source: NADIS UK

40.  Protect uterus (before treatment)
 [Rx] Epidural
 Cleanse uterus
 Sugar may reduce swelling
 Elevate hindquarters
 Replace uterus
 Pour 5 gallons of water into replaced uterus
 Purse string suture (optional)
 [Rx] Oxytocin
 Calcium borogluconate
 Systemic antibiotics

41.  Causes
 Hormonal
 Nutritional
 Difficult birthing
 Stress
 Disease
 Mastitis
 OPP / CAE
 Treatment
 [Rx] Oxytocin
 Tube feed babies colostrum
 Cross foster or bottle-feed
babies

42.  “Rookie” mother
 High-strung mother
 Over-bonding with first baby
 Slow arrival of second baby
 Separation
 Painful or sensitive
udder or teat(s)
 Baby has sharp teeth
 Babies got swapped
 Abandonment
 She can’t count
 Racism →

43.  Put dam in pen with babies.
 Put baby in front of dam’s
nose
 Try to “fool” dam with
different odors
 Manually hold dam for
nursing
 Put dam in a head stanchion
 Rear baby(ies) artificially
 Give away babies

44. Most ewes and does lamb and kid on
their own without any need for
assistance or intervention.
Don’t be eager to intervene if
everything is progressing normally,
even if it’s taking longer than the
book says.
If you have a lot of problems, you
need to look at your entire program:
feeding, breeding, management, etc.

45. Susan Schoenian
sschoen@umd.edu
www.sheepandgoat.com
Thank you for
your attention.
Questions?
SMALL RUMINANT PROGRAM