Lambing

Lambing today started with two stillborn rotten lambs. This was evident as I pulled the first leg and it came off the lambs body, with the head also falling off the other. It was important to get these lambs out of the ewe as quickly as possible, to prevent any risk of infection that she may have been open to by carrying the rotten lambs. The ewe was cleaned up, and I injected her with 10ml of Penicillin, which would help to attack any bacteria in the uterus and again therefore reduce the risk of infection spreading.
Second on the agenda was a ewe with a severe prolapse. With the help of the Shepard, the ewe was caught and taken to the nearby sheds, where I filled a large bucket with water. This was used to clean the uterus, as it had been outside the body for a period of time, and therefore had mud and dirt on it. This had to be thoroughly cleaned before the uterus was put back inside the ewe, once more preventing infection. The Shepard held the ewe by the back legs so that she was upright, with the uterus pointing upwards. This allowed gravity to play a part in helping the uterus back into the body.
By applying firm pressure to the uterus, I was able to push it back into the ewe, ensuring that it was inside far enough. However, unfortunately, she kept pushing and so the Shepard decided that the vaginal opening should be stitched, simply to prevent the uterus from coming out once more. This was done in a way that allowed the stitch to hold as much flesh as possible to ensure that the vaginal opening did not tear.
During the stitching, the Shepard pointed out that it was important not to pull the stitch too tight, as the ewe would not be able to urinate. So if this measure must be taken, the opening after stitching should still be able to fit two fingers into for this reason.
This particular ewe was not ready to lamb, but would be in the next few days. Therefore the Shepard kept her in a enclosure with other ill and 'difficult' ewes, so that she could be identified easier than if she was in the flock. This is important, as the stitch must be removed before lambing, otherwise the lining around the vagina would tear in labour, and this would cause all sorts of problems for the ewe.

Next, on the rounds we noticed that a ewe with twins who I had delivered the previous evening, had a lamb that was extremely thin and emaciated. Both lambs and the ewe were taken back up to the farmhouse, where the Shepard tried to get the thinner lamb to suckle, however it was clear that the mother was not producing enough milk to feed both lambs.
Each lamb, when just born, can drink up to 400ml of milk but these two were not getting anywhere near this due to the ewes lack of milk. I therefore measured up some dried milk powder specifically for lambs, ensuring that the instructions of two heaped spoonfuls to 1/2 a litre was followed closely. The powder was mixed with warm water, so that as far as possible it resembled the ewes own milk. The mixture was then fed into a syringe with a long tube, which was fed down each lambs throat, and allowed to run through. Immediately, a difference in the body shape could be seen. A sign of how important milk is in the first few weeks and months of a lambs life. However, unfortunately this did not solve the problem of the ewe not producing enough milk for both lambs.
Later in the day a ewe with a single lamb, with what felt like a good supply of milk went into labour. The smaller lamb from the ewe who was not producing enough milk was separated from its mother and I gave it a thorough wash in a large bucket of water. This is done for two reasons. The first is to remove all scent and trace of its real mother and its twin from its coat, so the adoptive mother believes that it is its own, and does not reject the lamb. The second is to ensure that the blood and mucus from the delivery of the adoptive mother, sticks to the lambs coat, again making the ewe think that this is indeed her lamb. As I delivered the ewes own lamb, I ensured the the smaller lamb was covered all over with the scent of the delivered lamb, by rubbing it all over the other lambs body. The two lambs were then left to bond with the ewe, who fortunately accepted the lamb.

I dealt with today also, a ewe which was giving birth head first, as opposed to the front feet. This was noticed, again on the rounds when a ewe was spotted with the lambs head hanging out of the vagina. The Shepard told me, that although the head was clear, that the lamb would have died if it had not been dealt with within half a day, as it would simply have suffocated, due to not being able to breathe sufficiently.
When the ewe was safely into the lambing pen, the Shepard told me how to get a ewe onto its side ready for the lambing. This is done by tilting the head upwards and turning it back towards the ewes rear end. At the same time the rear end is pushed, so that the ewe falls onto her side. At this point, it is important to kneel beside the ewe, so that if she attempts to get up, you are in a position to prevent her from doing so, until you have finished the lambing.
This particular lambing was slightly different from a normal delivery, as I mentioned, as the legs did not come out first. This meant that since the head was visible, I had to work with what was there and put my hand behind the head, ensuring that the lamb was not throttled. By pulling firmly on the head, I was able to work the shoulders clear, making sure that the legs were following in a way that would enable me to bring the lamb out. Once the front legs were clear, the rest of the delivery continued as normal. When the lamb was clear from the ewe, I pulled away the lining and mucus from its face, and ensured that it gave its first cough before leaving, as this signals its first successful breath.

Today I learnt a great many things, including, not to hold a lamb up against your own body, as this puts the lambs scent onto you, and can confuse a ewe.
I also learnt of the importance of the bond between the ewe and her lamb, and that this, wherever possible, must be maintained. The Shepard, also showed me how to skin a dead lamb, so that this could be used, as a means of disguising a lamb as a ewes own. The skin is placed over the lamb that we want to be accepted by a ewe who has just lost the lamb, and this works just as effectively as the way that I mentioned previously.

I also learnt of the importance of maintaining health and safety during the lambing period. Since farmers and Shepard's are not able to bury any dead livestock, the bodies must be bagged, and sent to, in this farms case, Durham, where they can be disposed of responsibly by incineration.
The Shepard that I worked with told me that a useful thing to do during the lambing season, is to place some dead lambs on the perimeter fence, so that any foxes present in the area, take off and eat, the dead lambs, and do not enter the lambing field to worry the sheep and take off the living lambs.

The Shepard told me that a sheep's gestation period is approximately 6 months, with 75% of foetus growth taking place in the last 6 weeks of this. Therefore this period is the most important of the gestation period, and a time that the most care must be taken to ensure that the ewes are not exposed to any outside factors that could significantly affect the growth and development of the lambs.
Working with a man who has so much experience with sheep and lambing over the years, has enabled me to learn a great deal about these animals and the lambing process, and these are all lessons that I will use when lambing again in the future.

Today I was lambing at Shipley in Northumberland.
I learnt that at present, the farmer is attempting to control Jaagsiekte, a disease which is present in some of the flock, due to the entire flock not being completely culled when it appeared. As a result, lambs born from the infected ewes, had the disease, which does not tend to show its symptoms until the sheep is 2-4 years of age. It is thought to be contagious from nose to nose contact, and so it is important that sheep with the disease are kept seperate from the flock which are clean.
Jaagsiekte is a chronic disease of the lungs, with the name coming from Afrikaans, meaning 'Chasing Sickness'. During end-stage disease, animals exude a foamy white fluid from the nose which is thought to be the mode of transmission between animals. Fluid accumulates in the respiratory tract and the disease ultimately causes death. However, for farmers this is problem, as there is not as yet a vaccine for this disease, and is something that therefore needs to be very carefully monitored, to prevent the spread throughout a flock.

I experienced what a great feeling it is to bring a young animal into the world, when delivering my first lamb, and is a feeling that I will never forget.
As the ewe pushed, I pulled first the right front leg, until the head appeared, and then pulled the other front leg. At this stage it is important to pull the legs down towards the teats to ensure that the lamb comes out smoothly.
When the lamb is free, it is important to gently pull away the membranes from the lambs face, to ensure that it can breathe. Another important process, shown to me by the Shepard, is to ensure that the nostrils are not blocked, by pushing a short piece of straw into each nostril in turn, simply to clear any mucus from the airways.
At this point the Shepard who I was working with liked to check that the ewe had plenty of milk to supply the lambs. This was done, by gently feeling her abdomen, and squeezing each teat in turn to ensure that milk was not blocked inside.
The lambs were then sprayed with a naval spray, making sure that a good covering was applied to the naval and this ensures that the umbilical cord and surrounding area dries quickly, preventing the risk of infection.
Finally, the lamb is put back with the ewe as quick as possible, to ensure that it is not rejected by the mother, which is a serious problem encountered during the lambing season.

Another job that I had today, was checking the slightly older lambs, making sure that they were getting a good supply of milk. This is done in the same way as with the ewe, gently feeling her abdomen.
It is also important to check that the lambs have not got inturned eyelashes as these can cause blindness if left, and must be dealt with as quickly as possible.

I also helped to construct shelters for the lambs in the field, from large hay bales. This is important, so that lambs are not exposed to the strong winds that blow across the Northumberland moors. These can potentially cause lambs to become very cold and suffer from hypothermia and even death, which is obviously something that we want to avoid as far as possible.
Preparing the large barns for the lambing ewes is also a essential process, laying hay, to make sure that the ground is comfortable for the ewes. However a large problem that is facing farmers in the region is the quailty of the hay due to last years very wet weather, making rolling out the hay within the barns a very a long and tiring process.

For a first day lambing I learnt a great deal, and it enabled me to see what a real team effort lambing is-somthing I hope to participate in a lot more in the coming days and weeks on such a lovely family farm.

Today I witnessed the importance of consults in giving an image of what the animal is suffering from, with skilled veterinary procedures to back up what was initially thought in consults.

An owner brought in a 8 year old cat, who was breathing awkwardly. A closer examination by the vet, listening to the chest, revealed that there was fluid in the cavity between the lungs and the ribcage.
On X-ray it was clear that there was a large amount of fluid in this area, due to the X-ray showing up a cloudy, milky white shade, when we should have, in a normal animal seen the black background where the X-rays had not been absorbed.
The vet carefully shaved away the fur on the cats right hand flank and I sterilised the area. The vet then inserted a catheter and drew the liquid out of the cat.

This showed me that with good diagnostic skills one is able to narrow down the causes of a behaviour and treat it, and this is I feel something that will come with practise.

Unfortunately, the next week the cat came back with the same problem, as a result of there being no way to prevent the build up of fluid without intensive surgery, which the vet did not feel that the cat, under its current condition would be able to cope with. The owner made that hard decision, and decided to put the cat to sleep, in the belief that this was the kindest action to take.
This is an essential part of the veterinary profession. Having the skills to tell a owner the full story, what the effects could be and what you feel is the best decision under the circumstances.
One thing I was told by the vet was "Don't be stubborn and feel that you can save the animal, when you know in your heart that it will not be helping the animals quality of life. There are times when it is best to just let go."
If i do become a vet this is a message that I will carry with me throughout my career. Putting the quality of the animals life first.

Adder Bite

During the late summer of last year, a young Lurcher came into the practise, with what the vet diagnosed as a adder bite. The owner reported noticing that the dog was not 'right' and thought she could have been bitten while she was working the previous evening.
Quite why I wondered, the owner had not reported to the vet immediately, although perhaps the seriousness of the problem was not realised at this point.
The vet I was working with, spoke honestly with the owner and said that there was no guarantee that, seeing the bite had been left so long untreated, that the leg would be able to be saved.

On a closer examination, it was clear that the bitch was holding her right hind leg off the ground, and the area around the bite was extremely swollen and red. I was asked to sterilise the bite, to remove any dirt or blood, which could have further infected the animal.
The young dog was then put on a drip, to increase the cells volume, so that any toxins would be flushed out, by being passed to the liver and the kidneys, eventually leaving with the urine.
I was asked to monitor the dog throughout the morning, looking specifically to see how she was responding to the drip, and to ensure that she was not deteriorating any further.

Every half an hour to an hour, myself and a vet nurse would gently but firmly massage the wound to ensure that the toxins were pushed down towards the foot. This was essential in ensuring that the toxins did not spread to the rest of the body.

Later in the afternoon the improvements in herself were marked, and she was a lot more willing to get up and move around, even using the leg, albeit tentatively.

The vet, showing such an important skill in this profession, kept in contact with the owner throughout the day, and informed him of any developments.
It was decided to keep the dog in overnight on a drip, just to make sure all the toxins had been removed from the body.

The next morning she was ready to go home, a remarkably quick recovery for such a serious wound, and I think that adders are something that owners should be aware of, particularly during this time of year, regardless of where they are.

This young Lurcher was extremely lucky to have kept her leg, as adder bites can be known to be fatal within 24 hours.
A real team effort was clear, as vets and nurses worked together, clearly with the dogs best interests at heart.