Well, we’re wrapping up our Lambing Help series…today with a pretty serious topic–when to call in reinforcements. Just like the rest of this series, this is pretty subjective. I think the biggest factor in calling the vet is not so much what’s going on with the animal as how experienced you are as the farmer. Our first couple years the vet was out here two or three times a year. Now? Maybe once year, more like once every two years. Thinking back, I believe they’ve only been out there twice in the last three years for the sheep. One pregnancy toxemia case in 2011, and a few weeks ago with a pre-lambing toxemia case–which we recognized immediately because of the previous case.
There’s two factors in that. One is that our management has improved so we have less problems. I’ve been talking about that throughout the series. Better management and the right livestock for your management system make a world of different.
The second part of that is that we’ve learned so much over the years! We’ve learned how to spot problems earlier and we’ve learned how to treat basic things ourselves. For example, that hard labor case we had a few weeks ago…in the early years I would have wanted to call the vet because something was clearly not right. We’ve learned to wait, and watch, and give things time to work themselves out. Another case would be pulling a lamb. If the lamb was showing it’s feet, as I described last week, I wouldn’t call the vet right away because we’re pretty confident that we can catch her and help in that case.
So we’ve talked about when “normal” turns into something we have to help with…but when does it turn into a vet call?
Well, for starters, we’ve never pulled a lamb that wasn’t showing. The two times we called the vet for a lambing was when the ewe was laying down, laboring hard, and making no progress. No feet sticking out, no water sack or birth sack, just a ewe in clear, distressed labor. In one case she was actually laying in our backyard and BAAAAAing with each contraction. It’s the only time I’ve ever heard a ewe make a sound during labor!
The vet came out, we penned her up, and the vet pulled the lambs. One was huge, and stillborn. And because it was coming first and couldn’t get out, nothing was happening. The second lamb was very small, but made it. I don’t mean to be gross here, but this is real life–the vet had to reach up inside the ewe to get a hold of the lamb. I don’t feel qualified for that. {smile}
The second lambing vet call we made was similar. The first lamb came out fine, but the ewe was clearly still in labor and there was no second lamb in sight. If I remember correctly, the lamb was trying to come out nose first rather than feet first and our vet had to reposition the lamb inside the ewe and pull it out. That ewe also ended up with a possibly retained afterbirth and the vet removed that too before the night was over.
Mr. Fix-It is more livestock experienced than I am, so he’s braver about these things. For me, I wouldn’t want to put my hands inside an animal for the first time without supervision by a vet or experienced farmer, so I would call a vet for any no-show labor case that moved outside our “normal” labor parameters. We haven’t actually had one of these in more than 5 years.
However, being more confident myself these days, now I would use that call to learn everything I could to do it myself next time.
We would also call the vet for any retained afterbirth. If we couldn’t find it in the field within 2 hours of the last lamb, or saw it only partially passed from the ewe after two hours of showing, we would pen the ewe and call the vet. The vet explained the complications of a retained afterbirth and the dangers of pulling it ourselves during that second case we had and I wouldn’t mess with that myself.
We would call the vet for a lamb that was showing, but didn’t pull easily, or a lamb that was showing but clearly in the wrong position (such as upside-down feet). This is a problem that has to be corrected by pushing the lamb back inside the ewe and reaching inside the ewe to reposition. Again, we’ve never done this and I would prefer to learn how at the hands of the vet.
We would call the vet if the ewe wasn’t up, mothering. We have never had a ewe with complications after the lambs were out–health wise. Nothing outside of a lamb rejection. A ewe that didn’t recover (almost immediately–they are so tough!) from labor would be a vet call.
In general…we would call the vet the first time we experienced a complication–for the hands-on experience. For example, we’ve never had a prolapsed uterus. If that happened, we would likely call the vet and learn from them to handle it ourselves next time.
I think the key when you call the vet is to make sure you learn everything possible from them while they are here. When you think about the cost of calling them, weigh that against all the information and experience you can gain from them coming out as well. Always ask what they are giving the animal, and what that medicine is supposed to do. Ask why they use a particular technique. Ask them to show you how to do it. Ask about alternative treatments. Ask about something you read or saw online. Pick their brains! Always talk about why. Don’t get so caught up in treating the problem that you don’t stop for a few minutes to ask the vet why this might have happened and discuss future prevention. Vet calls are expensive–get as much out of each one as you can!
I’ve written a post about general health and wellness that includes a FREE PRINTABLE for When to Call the Vet that you might want to check out! But as I’ve said throughout all these posts…Good management and healthy animals mean that all these issues are the exception, not the rule.
And if you’re looking for more specific information, here’s our very favorite sheep books–the ones we keep close by all year long!
I’d love to hear some of your animal stories! Feel free to share, or share a link in the comments to your own post about farm baby adventures!!
Be sure to visit the rest of the Lambing Help series to read about some of our more colorful lambing season adventures!
- Part 1: What Does Normal Look Like?
- Part 2: Common Problems We’ve Faced.
- Part 3: When to Call the Vet.
