LEICESTER EWES AND LAMBS. 161 



pets must be brought up on cow's milk, which, although not so 

 good for them as that of their mothers, -will keep them alive, and 

 they very soon begliL to thrive upon it. The method of feeding 

 them has been described, and after a short time they will learn 

 to drink out of a milk-pail. In bad weather it is advisable to 

 place the lambs under cover between meal-times, but in good 

 weather they may be put into a grass paddock during the day, 

 and under shelter at night until the nights become warm. 



The most usual cause for the occurrence of pet lambs is, that 

 ewes frequently bear trins. On the farm of Holburn Grange 

 near Eelford the enterprising tenant was so much burdened last 

 season, by the large number of trins, that he found it necessary 

 to take one of every three for pets. The unusual loss of ewes 

 by udder-clap also caused many orphans to be thrown upon his 

 hands. As his return of lambs is rather singular, we may quote 

 his figures. From a flock of twelve score and thirteen three- 

 part bred ewes he weaned twenty-two score and nine lambs. 

 Another gentleman took one score of draft ewes to Yorkshire 

 last year and weaned thirty-nine lambs, one ewe having trins, 

 two single lambs, and the remainder twins. 



Inversion of tpie Uterus. 



After a severe case of lambing, when great straining con- 

 tinues, inversion of the uterus frequently takes place. It is 

 caused by a violent spasmodic action of the womb, which turns 

 inside out and protrudes. As this is one of the mishaps to 

 which ewes are very susceptible at lambing time, the lamber 

 experiences considerable difficulty in properly treating the 

 affected sheep ; and however simple the treatment may seem on 

 paper, yet in practice this complaint is by no means easy to 

 cure. Whenever it is noticed the shepherd must without delay 

 proceed to replace the inverted uterus. This operation should 

 be performed thus. The ewe should be placed on her back, her 

 hindquarters raised, and the hands having first been lubricated 

 with oil or lard, the womb should be gently restored to its 

 natural position. This is, however, difficult to manage, as the 

 ewe will press so hard that until she becomes exhausted, no 

 success will be attained. By ])atience and perseverance how- 

 ever, the desired result is usually effected, and then the aim of 

 the attendant must be to retain the uterus in its proper situa- 

 tion. There are many methods which may be tried with some 

 degree of success, such as pinning the bearing with a stick, piece 

 of leather, or metallic wire, &c. All these modes are useful, but 

 tliey cause suppuration and renewed pressing on the part of the 

 ewe. By forming a sort of net over the part with string, and 

 fixing it to the wool of the ewe, this mishap is prevented from 



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