Lambing & calving is a difficult time, phone calls at 3am telling us you have been trying to lamb your sheep or calve your cow for 3 hours with no success may be the thing we dread the most, but why is this? We’ll explain in this piece why calling us sooner for a calving or lambing will likely end in better results for the animal, and for you.
Second stage labour in a sheep or a cow involves the expulsion of the foetus after the water bag has ruptured. The animal should, in most cases, be actively contracting to push the foetus out. In sheep, this can take up to an hour and in cattle it is not unusual to take several hours. If no progress has been made within 30-60 minutes of an animal entering second stage labour, it is sensible to check to see if the foetus is positioned correctly and if there is anything stopping the birth progressing as it should.
The most important part of intervening is to make sure that you are clean – put on clean rectal gloves or wash your hands and arms (with water AND soap!) and apply plenty of lubricant before putting a hand in the animal. Before starting to pull, decide what the presentation of the foetus is and how this needs to be corrected, if at all, to deliver the animal. If the animal is coming forward both front legs need to be stretched out with the head lying on top of the legs. If the animal is coming backwards, the back legs need to be straight and not getting caught on the pelvis. If you cannot get your hands all the way around the animal when It is coming into the pelvis, or you can’t seem to get the head and legs into the pelvis at the same time, the foetus may be too big for a back door delivery.
If you cannot decide what presentation the animal is in, or are not making any progress in correcting this after 10-15 minutes, it is best to give us a call so we can come and see what is going on. Equally, if you have corrected the presentation, or the presentation is normal, but after 10-15 minutes of trying to calve or lamb the animal you have made no progress, get in touch with us.
Why are we more likely to get a good lambing or calving outcome for you if called sooner rather than later?
For the cow or ewe – the mum will likely have less damage to her birthing tract and be less exhausted if we are called sooner. This means that hopefully, if vaginal delivery is possible, we can perform this without any further damage to her and she will heal better. If vaginal delivery is not
possible and we have to perform a caesarean section, the mum should be a better surgical candidate if she is less tired and sore, meaning we would hope to have a good outcome for her from the surgery.
For the baby – The baby is attached to the mum by the placenta. Once this connection has been broken the mum can no longer deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the baby, and it has to breathe for itself. This is why it is so important that once the connection is broken, the baby is delivered quickly – it cannot breathe for itself until it is outside of the body. This becomes especially important if the foetus is positioned coming backwards, as the connection between mum and baby breaks sooner. Another reason for loss of a lamb or calf during birth is that foetus get stressed during the birthing period. When stressed in birthing the foetus will produce meconium (the first muck), which can lead to an aspiration pneumonia if inhaled. If you seen brown liquid coming out of the mother it is important that the lamb or calf is delivered quickly.
For you – these animals cost money. For the price of a lamb or a calf at the moment, it is not worth losing the baby or babies if you can help it. Even if the baby has already died, we could help to save the mum and keep her alive for another calving or lambing season or get her sent off whilst in a good condition. Not only that, but your mental health is important! It is exhausting trying to lamb or calve things, especially if you are trying for hours with no success. It’s devastating to try so hard, even with the best intentions, and to lose animals. Sometimes it is best to admit that the plan isn’t going to plan and call for a second opinion – you are likely to end up with a better outcome this way.
If you have any concerns with lambing or calving this year please give us a call on 01746 713911 SOONER rather than later – we will always have a vet available who will be happy to come out and give a helping hand.
Written by Megan Burgess, Vet at Severn Edge Farm.
