One Week In

Lambing started last Sunday evening and here it is Saturday night already.  Wow, that week was a blur.  Lamb count currently stands at 35 from 18 ewes.  Two pairs of twins this morning, a single and a set of triplets in the afternoon and another pair of twins at chore time.

Brand spanking new twins from Ginny

 

"Mom, what are they doing out there?"

Chloe was keeping us all company

 

Fiesta's triplets love to sleep in a pile.

 

Bacardi had a pair of twins

 

Good old Gem had a great big 17 lb single ram lamb.   She loooooves her baby.

 

This lamb has a bit of a problem which I hope I can correct - contracted tendons in the ankles of his front legs.  I've seen this before although very infrequently and it's been in big ram lambs.  Maybe it's due to not having enough room in there to stretch out more.  Anyway, he can't plant his feet sole-down as he should.  This is as extended as his hooves will go - not even a straight line down from his cannon bone. 

 



The result is that he walks on the front of his ankles, not his hoof.  It would certainly spell doom before long if this were a National Geographic special.

It doesn't seem painful at this point and hasn't stopped him from nursing but he wouldn't be able to function like that for long.  He's a lovely big lamb with black and white marbling in his fleece so I hope to be able to fix him.

So, we'll attempt to splint his ankles with support behind his fetlocks so that his ankles can't fold.  His weight on the joints as he gets around should stretch those tendons gently with every step.  I'll change the apparatus every day as (hopefully) progress is made and the soles start to impact the ground.  The good part about being this young and flexible is that there's hope the condition can be corrected.

Each brace is a thin piece of wood about the thickness and width of a ruler.  These are 5 inches long - cut to fit the back of his front legs so that he can bend his knees without interference but the ankle is kept from folding.  It's well padded with a heavy duty paper towel folded around it and a roll of paper to fit the notch behind his ankle.  Super low cost, but functional.

With the brace taped in place his toes will just touch the ground when he stands, thereby putting a bit of weight on the joint to stretch it in the direction it's supposed to go.

They look clunky but they are light weight and easily replaced if they get wet and dirty.  Not too likely as he'll be penned with mom till improvement happens, but they'll need adjustment every day anyway.  I would have preferred to use vet wrap to secure them but I didn't have any close at hand. 

He has to hold his front legs forward which is awkward, but the ankles are staying un-flexed.  He's penned where nobody can hurt or harass him the next few days while gravity helps him do his PT.

The oldest lambs have started going into mixing pens.  They start playing and hopping around instantly when given more room.  These little ones were trying to climb on this ewe but kept sliding off.

   

I sure wish I could harness that energy!