For those of you waiting to see the new baby lamb born today . . . the tide turned for the worst. At dusk, I discovered that she still had not given birth, and I was home alone, no help, so thank goodness the dogs are trained to deliver her to my feet. Skeeter and Lucy pushed the herd to me, crowded them so close that I was able to reach down and grab the ewes hind legs to lay her down. George, the lead livestock guardian dog kept trying to intervene, because he did not like me stressing her, but his respect for me kept him from being aggressive toward me. He worried over her and tried several times to come in between me and the ewe, with me trying to keep her from slamming herself on the ground and not letting her run off. I suspected she was in trouble with a possible breach baby. Finally, I pushed George away, firmly told him to get, a command which he understood from earlier training when he would try to hang out at the house, which is a huge no-no for a livestock guard dog. Now, I had to perform a one-handed breach delivery, and hold a flailing, frantic 170-lb ewe down with the other hand. Fortunately, she was weakened and exhausted from all of her efforts while in labor all day, so I was able to put my hand in, untangle the lambs hind legs, and pull it out. I already knew that it would be dead. Tomorrow I will catch her again and give her antibiotics. Another long day on the farm.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 00:34:27 +0000
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