Spring Management of the Flock 185 



presentation or condition of the fetus, the ewe should 

 not be annoyed. She should be left quiet and un- 

 noticed until straining begins. 



Assistance in lambing. — Sufficient time should 

 be given to the ewe to give birth to her lamb before 

 an attempt is made to assist her. After straining 

 a few times, the water bag is expelled and becomes 

 ruptured, and the feet of the lamb then make their 

 appearance. In most instances, especially when the 

 presentation is right, a slight strain put upon these 

 will bring a prompt delivery. In applying force to 

 complete the delivery, carefulness should be observed 

 only to do so when the ewe strains. If care is not 

 taken to act in unison with the efforts of the ewe, 

 some of the internal parts are likely to be injured or 

 inflammation afterwards results. 



Natural presentation. — Normal presentation oc- 

 curs when the lamb makes its appearance with its 

 front feet slightly forward of the nose, with the head 

 between the fore legs. When in this position, it is 

 easy for the ewe to expel the fetus unless it is too 

 large. The lamb, when in a natural position, lies 

 upon its belly. 



Wrong presentations. — These may be due to 

 natural causes, though they are often the result of 

 accident. Insufficient accommodations at the feed- 

 ing trough, or any other condition that is likely to 

 cause the ewes to crush or push each other, will pro- 

 duce them. After a couple of hours have passed 



