Signs of lambing

• A few weeks before lambing the ewe will “bag up”. You’ll see her udder swelling.
• Nearer lambing her vulva will swell and you may see some mucous discharge.
• The ewe will separate from the flock if there is room to find a quiet area.
• She will prepare a birth site by smelling the ground, pawing the ground with her front feet, and going round and round.
• She’ll get up and down a lot as birth pains start to build up.
• A small “water bag” will appear protruding from the vulva. This is the bag the lamb is in and is quite normal.
  A prolapse is a large red organ - this is the vagina and uterus turned inside out. This needs very great care to put back and needs a retainer to hold it in.
• The water bag will burst and then you should see front feet and a nose.
• If you don’t see front feet and nose - things are not normal and some manipulation may be needed.
• The ewe will smell the ground a lot where her waters have burst.
• She’ll then soon lie down and push the lamb out.
• She may get up and down during these pushes and look round smelling the ground - almost looking for the lamb.
• With the final push the lamb will be delivered and the membranes over the lamb should rupture.
• The ewe will stand up and turn round to lick the lamb - and hopefully chew the membranes from the lambs nose so it does not suffocate.
• The ewe eating the afterbirth is quite normal.
• The cord will break when the ewe turns round. Stretching the cord helps to stop any bleeding.
• Don’t break the cord until the lamb starts to breathe.
• The afterbirth will be pushed out soon after the lamb. If it does not, don’t worry about it unless the ewe becomes sick.