The midwinter weeks leading up to lambing are usually pretty relaxed. We feed the sheep. They eat and gestate. We go snowshoeing, skirt fleeces, catch up on projects, and enjoy the calm before the storm. They eat and gestate.
It was an unpleasant feeling to watch a ewe rush past with a pink grapefruit sized mass of tissue protruding from her vagina. Actually, it was her vagina, prolapsed. It isn’t a common condition, but old sheep, fat sheep, and sheep with lots of fetuses are all susceptible to prolapse. Old sheep have weak muscles around their pelvic floor. Fat sheep are carrying extra weight and that puts more pressure on the pelvic floor. And sheep with multiple lambs also have more internal pressure. As their pregnancy progresses and their fetuses grow, there is less and less room. For some ewes, the only space available is where there vagina should be. At a certain point, the vagina just pops right out of the body.
As horrendous as that sounds, a vaginal prolapse is usually repairable. All the shepherd has to do is to push the vagina back inside where it belongs and then prevent the ewe from pushing it back out again. If the prolapse is new, it just needs gentle pressure to return it to the proper place. But if the vagina has been out for awhile, it may need to be cleaned. If it has been out so long that it has swollen, it will need to be shrunk. The longer the prolapse continues the harder it is to fix.
Once the prolapse is back in place, we have to find a way to keep it there. The best technique we’ve found involves four pieces of baling twine and some fancy knot work. First, we restrain the ewe, to keep her from wandering off. Then we tie the baling twine pieces together, center them on her shoulders at the back of her neck, cross them across her breastbone, run the two ends under her armpits, cross them again over her back, run the ends under her hind leg pits, along side her tail, and along her spine to tie tightly to the original twine across her shoulders. The twine needs to be tight enough to keep her back slightly arched so that she can’t use her abdominal muscles to push. Then we tie short pieces of twine above and below her vaginal opening to keep the prolapse in place.
Amazingly, ewes with prolapses generally lamb just fine, producing healthy babies. The ewe who prolapsed last week is young, slender, and probably only has a single fetus. Why does she have a prolapse? And why three weeks before she could possibly lamb?
When he found her, Dave reinserted her vagina and trussed her up with twine. When we sheared, we removed the twine and she immediately prolapsed again. We replaced the prolapse and trussed her up again. Four days later, she prolapsed through her harness. We reinserted the prolapse and tightened the twine pieces. She seems to be doing well, but in a small back corner of my mind that looks after troublesome problems that I really can’t do anything about, the questions remain – why is she does she have a prolapse and why now?
Just happened to one of my ewes yesterday, my first experience with it. Every year I encounter one more thing I've never experienced before and I ask my self the same question, Why and why now. Thanks for the post, I really enjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteHappened to us too! First time mama, we think she was too fat. We got a webbing truss and a prolapse paddle, and all was good until her rectum prolapsed too. A trip to the vet, some sutures and we decided to induce. She had twins, somewhat smaller than the rest of our lambs. Now the question is - do we put the truss back on, or will that disrupt milk production?
ReplyDeleteI am a new shepherdess and unknown to me the ewe that I believe is the oldest in the herd of 16 that I bought is in labor (i think). She was apart from the rest of the ewes this morning and her rectum and vagina were prolapsed. We now have her in the barn in a stall but I don't know if she is in labor, if I should keep pushing her prolapses in? Do I just leave her? Please help.
ReplyDeleteIf there is no water bag showing she is just prolapsing. Put her prolapse in and use a prolapse bar to prevent her from doing it again. She will be able to lamb with the bar in place, or remove bar when the water bag appears.
DeleteProlapses are so scarey. You have to put them back in and then try to find a way to hold them in place - as many times as necessary until the ewe lambs. Our ewe had a prolapse retainer in for three months, even after she lambed successfully. I won't breed her again. I don't need the extra stress during lambing.
ReplyDeleteOur sheep has just had two lambs both dead and she prolapsed ive put a retainer in but will be getting rid of her shortly. I too dont need the hassle.#
ReplyDeleteWe have had several prolapses over the past 3 years, all lead to still born lambs, and ewes did not last very long with it. could you provide pictures/videos of the baler twin truss setup? We have Suffolk, Jacob, Kahtadin, and Hampshire ewes, bred to Suffolk, and Dorset rams. Right now, a ewe on her 3rd birth, has a small grapefruit size prolapse that goes in and out on its own. goes in, when she lays down, and she strains pretty bad. not due for another 3 weeks as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that this reply is probably not going to help your ewe. We will try to take photo of our retainer system, but it won't be easy. I reread the description and the only changes I can think of are that after the twines go between the hind legs and the body of the ewe (in her hind leg pits) the twines should come up, on either side of her tail, and along side her spine until they reach the twine at the back of her neck. Then you should tie the two ends of the twine to the piece running across the back of her neck, tightly, so she stands with sort of an arched back. Then tie a short piece of twine above her vagina between the two pieces of twine that run on either side of her vagina and a short piece of twine below her vagina between the side pieces. Good luck.
DeleteJust had my first ewe lamb prolapse...luckily I had purchased a prolapse harness from Premier 1 sheep supplies years before...just in case. It worked great...and is only $18. I think I really got it to fill out the necessary amount for free shipping :) Sooo glad I did now. Wanted to pass that on to your blog followers...this is a handy device and is working quite well.
ReplyDeleteJust happened to one of my ewes, too. She's two years old, first time pregnancy, and I found a prolapse as big as a rugby ball. The vet came and pushed it back in, and stitched the vagina closed. Advised a truss as well. No idea when she's due to lamb - at least another week, I think. I can't believe we'll end up with a live ewe and lamb. After 14 years of keeping a small flock of Cotswolds, this is the first time anything like this has happened.
ReplyDeleteWe have just had our third prolapse this lambing season and we have only been lambing just over a week. This is the ewes second time lambing. One ewe survived through to birth but the other delivered a stillborn and then died herself. Now just looking after the third. Not much fun!!
ReplyDelete