CARE DURING PARTURITION 251 



Care During Parturition. — It is easy to tell when the time for 

 giving birth to the lamb has arrived. The ewe becomes uneasy and 

 paces about or turns around a great deal. She is very likely to paw 

 at the bedding with her fore feet and if she is possessed of a great 

 deal of mother instinct, she looks about and bleats for her lamb. In 

 advance of any of these indications, however, the physical appear- 

 ance of the ewe often shows that the time of parturition is very 

 near, for she is usually abnormally sunken in front of the hips and 

 on the rump at either side of the spine. 



When the ewe is of the right conformation, vigorous, and in 

 good condition as a result of proper care, she seldom has difficulty 

 in lambing unless the lamb is not in proper position for birth. Dur- 

 ing the first stages of labor she should not be disturbed, but she 

 should be helped if she labors hard and shows little progress after the 

 normal lapse of time. Or if she quits laboring for a longer period 

 than the normal intermission between the recurrence of labor pains 

 an examination should be made to see whether the lamb is alive 

 and in normal position. If it is in normal position the fore feet are 

 coming first and the nose is placed down snug on the fore legs. 

 Occasionally the head is back over the shoulders, or one leg is back, or 

 the body is doubled up with the back coming first. If possible the 

 shepherd should insert his hand, push the lamb back and get it 

 into normal position. Before this is done the shepherd should 

 take proper precautions to guard against the infection of either the 

 ewe or himself by trimming his nails close and bathing his hand and 

 arm in disinfectant. He should also grease them with vaseline to 

 make the entrance easier. It is usually easier to introduce the hand 

 if the head of the ewe is lower than her rump. In case the pressure of 

 her labor is too great to permit the introduction of the hand it is 

 advisable to elevate her rear parts high enough to cause the lamb to 

 fall back into the womb. If this takes place it will then be compara- 

 tively easy to introduce the hand. After the lamb is placed in 

 normal position birth will probably be effected without further diffi- 

 culty. If it is found that the breech is coming first it may not be 

 necessary to put the lamb in normal position, as it is often possible 

 to safely deliver it when it is in this position by getting hold of the 

 hind legs and pulling steadily outward and downward toward the 

 udder (Fig. 171). 



Frequently ewes have trouble in lambing because the lamb is too 

 large to pass through the parts. If the attendant can get the fore 



