2022 Lambing Season Wrap Up

Marigold’s first lambing season was thrilling and exciting. There were so many highs - healthy ewes having healthy lambs. And so many beautiful coats. It’s always fun seeing what the lambs might look like. Some are identical to their mama’s and others have colors from the ram or recessive traits pop up. 

All photos by High Mountain Creative

Marigold had 25 ewes lamb this season. Twenty of them had lambed for 1-3 years, and five were first timers. I had some records on a majority of the twenty in regards to how many lambs that had previously had. There were a handful who had triplets in the past, so I was prepared for some triplets. But I definitely wasn’t expecting seven sets of triplets! I also had a very high rate of twins and only three singles. There are fifty lambs romping around!

Three of the twenty five ewes needed my help during their labor. And surprisingly, until this season, I had never intervened with a ewe’s labor. I had coworkers intervene a few times in previous years, but I had never. The first intervention this season was pretty simple. The ewe had one lamb and there were signs of a second one. However, after 2 hours, I realized I needed to intervene and help. I quickly discovered the lamb was backwards, feet coming out first. This presentation oftens makes it harder for the ewe to deliver unassisted (however some other ewe’s did lamb on their own with lambs coming out feet first!). An ideal presentation is for the lamb to come out front feet and head first. My cousins and sister were around for the first intervention, so I had moral support (and my cousin held the ewe) as I assisted in pulling the lamb out. 

A few days later, my shepherdess skills were put to the test again. It was around 11:30 pm, and a ewe had one healthy lamb on the ground but the second lamb had its head out and one foot out. And as I mentioned just a moment ago, the ideal presentation is head and two hooves, not one! The ewe didn’t want me helping at first, and I struggled to hold her against the barn wall while also feeling inside for the second front hoof. The ewe settled down after a bit, but I still couldn’t find the second foot. The sac had popped around the lambs head, so it was breathing and therefore, couldn’t be pushed back into the ewe to reposition. I now needed to get the lamb out. The ewe had a small pelvis and this lamb was pretty good sized. I honestly didn’t think the lamb was going to make it. The ewe was stressed and kept sitting, standing, sitting standing, meanwhile this lamb had its head hanging out. It slowly stopped showing signs of alertness, and I mustered up the confidence to just pull this very stuck lamb. Complete disclosure, it took a bit to muster up confidence. I had never dealt with a stuck lamb and it wasn’t easy to pull it out. It was late, I was exhausted, and I felt overwhelmed and emotional by tackling this solo. The ewe and I were both sitting on the ground, stressed and exhausted. I started to worry about the ewe (though in retrospect, she was really fine. I was just in an emotional and tired state), and was like okay, I need to get this lamb out fast. I ended up pulling the one exposed hoof and gripping the lamb’s rib cage to pull her out, timed with the mama’s contractions. I pulled her out, and the mama just laid there. She was completely exhausted. I quickly started rubbing the lamb to stimulate it and she began to perk up. I was relieved. And after a few long moments, the mama was tending to her second lamb.

My last intervention happened to be the last ewe to go into labor. And long story short with this one - she had triplets but her first lamb was breeched (butt first!). The lamb's feet were up by its head. This lamb had been stuck for quite some time, and in hindsight, I should have intervened earlier. In the past, I had only intervened or watched someone intervene after the water bag had emerged. With this ewe, her first lamb was so stuck that the water bag hadn’t appeared. Though, she eventually gave signs of really needing help so I stepped in. I had more confidence in assisting a stuck lamb now, but dang, stuck lambs are sure tricky to get out. The mama was exhausted and again we were both sitting on the ground. I slowly pulled the lamb out by gripping its hip bones. When I pulled the lamb out, it was unfortunately a stillborn and had very likely died in the complicated labor. I was bummed. For sure. It was my last ewe to lamb and I started regretting not helping sooner. The ewe was still clearly exhausted so I decided to check if she had a second lamb. The second lamb was positioned correctly, but I thought it was best if I helped get it out. I pulled the lamb out by its front feet, along with the ewe’s contractions. Pulling out a properly positioned lamb is a breeze compared to a stuck one. The lamb came out alive. Mama was still exhausted and not standing up. I put the lamb by its mama’s face and she immediately started licking it dry. I figured I might as well check for a third lamb. Sure enough, there was a third. He was properly positioned and came out alive. The moment the third lamb emerged from the ewe, she stood up, instantly feeling better. She started tending to her third lamb and cared for both so well. 

But dang, what an end to Marigold’s first lambing season. Though it was a huge bummer to lose this full sized lamb, things happen, and overall, it was a super successful lambing season.  

I gained stronger shepherdess skills and confidence this season, and I’m already looking forward to lambing season in 2023!