SHEEP. 



is vvpU. Much unoasinpss is poner- 

 ally apparent ; slie will rcjicatcdly lio 

 down, aiul rise airaiii with scciihitj; 

 distress. Il'lhis occurs when driving 

 Iicr to Ibid, he must be very cautious 

 and gentle in ur{,nng her. These 

 symptoms ought to be continued for 

 two or three hours, or even more, be- 

 fore he feels impc^ratively called on 

 to interfere, exce|)t the lam!) is in 

 such a position as to warrant fears 

 of losing it. In cold weather partic- 

 ularly, the labour is likely to be pro- 

 tracted. Should the ewe appear ex- 

 hausted, and gradually sinking under 

 lier labour, it will be right to give 

 her some oatmeal gruel, with a little 

 linseed, in the proportion of a spoon- 

 ful of the latter to two of the former. 

 When the ewe feels tbat she is una- 

 ble of herself to expel the lamb, she 

 will quietly submit to the sheplierd's 

 assistance. In giving her this assist- 

 ance, his first duty is to ascertain 

 whether the presentation is natural. 

 The natural presentation is with the 

 muzzle foremost, and a foot on each 

 side of it. Should all be right in this 

 respect, he must proceed to disen- 

 gage the lamb, first very gently draw- 

 ing down the legs, and with all pos- 

 sible tenderness smoothing and facil- 

 itating the passing of the head with 

 his fingers, rather than forcibly ex- 

 tricating it, the particular attention 

 of the shepherd being given to these 

 points. This may be effected by pass- 

 ing the finger up the rectum, until 

 he feels the back of the lamb's head, 

 and then urging it forward at the 

 same time that he gently pulls the 

 legs. Sometimes the head is suf- 

 ficieritly advanced, but the legs are 

 too backward. In this case the head 

 must be gently pushed back, and the 

 hand being well oiled, must be intro- 

 duced into the vagina, and applied to 

 the legs so as to place them in their 

 natural position, equal with the head. 

 Should the fore feet, on the other 

 hand, protrude, they must in like 

 manner be returned, and the same 

 assistance given to advance the head. 

 If the hinder quarters present them- 

 selves first, the hand must be ap- 

 plied to get hold of both the hind legs 

 706 



together, and draw them gently hut 

 firmly : the lamb may often he easily 

 removed in this po.sition. It is no 

 uncommon occurrence to find the 

 head of the lamb protruding, and much 

 swollen ; but still, by patience and 

 gentle manii)ulalion. it may often be 

 gradually brought forward ; or evea 

 nature, not unduly interfered with, 

 will complete her work if the pelvis 

 is not very much deformed. Should, 

 however, the strength of the mother 

 be rapidly wasting, the head may be 

 taken away ; and then, the operator 

 pushing back the lamb, may intro- 

 duce his hand, and laying hold of the 

 fore legs, effect the delivery. It also 

 often happens that the legs are thrust 

 out to the shoulder, and from the 

 throes of the ewe, it is not possible 

 to replace them so as to get up the 

 head of the lamb. By partially skin- 

 ning the legs, you may disunite them 

 from the shoulder-joint ; there will 

 then be room for the introduction of 

 the hand, and by laying hold of the 

 head you can deliver the ewe. A 

 single season of practice will do more 

 than volumes of writing to prepare 

 the farmer for the preceding and some 

 other cases of difficult labour. Bu': 

 let him bear in mind that, as a gen- 

 eral rule, the foetus should, if possible, 

 be placed in its natural position pre- 

 viously to any attempt to extricate 

 it by force. When force must be 

 used, it should be as gentle as is con- 

 sistent with the object of delivery. 

 I need scarcely observe that the ewe 

 must be the object of careful nursing 

 and care, until she is completely re- 

 stored.' 



" Abortion. — Though not so com- 

 mon as in cows, this disease, as it 

 may be termed, sometimes occurs 

 very extensively, and becomes of se- 

 rious consequence to the sheep-own- 

 er, disarranging all his plans, as well 

 as occasioning a severe pecuniary 

 loss. It may occur at all periods of 

 pregnancy, but is most frequent when 

 the ewe is about half gone. The 

 causes of abortion are various: sud- 

 den fright, jumping over hedges or 

 ditches, being worried with dogs, and 

 the too free use of salt, have all been 



