She is on her knees here, but when she stands, she is already up to her mom's tummy and higher. Nina is the last ewe to lamb. She was so huge, I was sure she would have triplets. I wonder if sheep can be diabetic in pregnancy, because she only had one lamb, but it was the biggest I have seen at birth by far. She could not get the baby out and tried and tried, stood, laid down, paced and tried again. If the mother tries so hard, the baby can go into distress and die. The contractions of the uterus are extremely strong and can literally squish the poo out of the baby. If the baby was still in the amniotic fluid and they 'breathe' the poo, it is aspirated into the lungs and can cause infection or in severe cases, death, Fortunately, the lamb's nose was protruding just enough to be in clean air, along with two huge hoofs. Finally, after several hours, I got the latex gloves and helped the mom to give birth. I had to pull very hard on those little legs, but the head was too big and simply would not pass, so then I opened the passageway with my fingers to move the head forward and pulled again, and she budged. Mom cried out. I cannot imagine the pain of giving birth to this huge baby. I bet she weighs over 10 pounds. The baby was tired from the stress and pressure and I was not sure she would make it, but coughed and sputtered and mom got up to start cleaning her. In a while, I checked back and the little one was mostly cleaned, and trying to nurse. I checked to be sure the wax plugs were free of the teats so the colostrum would flow. The baby is sired by the Cotswold ram and the mother is an E'st a Laine Merino. The coat of the baby is soft and curly and she has the typical Cotswold face and legs. She is a doll, a very big doll! Welcome to the world little lady!
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