We Finally Have Lambs!

Here is a photo of our ewe, Lambie, with her new lambs - both girls. Lambie is the first ewe lamb we had - in 2003. The lambs are both white and were born about 30 minutes before this photo was taken. One is covered in meconium (newborn baby poop). In a trouble-free birth this doesn't happen but she had a little trouble coming into the world.

My wife called me at work to tell me Lambie was in labor and had some mucus hanging out. When I got here, I saw that the mucus was actually the broken water bag and I could see the lamb's nose but the ewe wasn't making any progress. It took a lot of work to get the lamb past the vulva. It got to the point where I was considering doing an episiotomy but a little more stretching with my fingers got the front legs out enough to get a grip and pull. I'm sure the ewe appreciates not being cut. She is now doing a good job cleaning the babies and they have both nursed.

tags: newborn, lamb, ewe