Doing things the hard way

It has been a busy month on the farm! Time to play catch up on the news... A few weeks ago, I had an older ewe that I noticed was struggling to get up and down. She was moving slower in general but looked okay. She still had some energy and was eating. I thought maybe she was just showing her age and struggling a little more due to the cold weather. When I was able to get a closer look at her, I realized she had an udder and was pregnant (I did not AI this season because I had a young ram that was in with the ewes longer than he should have been and he kept escaping back to them when I would pull him out). I thought her body condition looked okay. I continued to keep an eye on her and she did okay, not necessarily thriving, but getting along okay. In the back of my mind, I wondered if she could possibly be showing some signs of pregnancy toxemia but I thought her body condition looked okay and chalked it all up to being an older ewe. She was good, until she wasn't. One afternoon when I went out to do chores, I saw that her head was droopy and she wasn't getting up. I got her up and she just stood there, head hanging down. With my family's help, I quickly discovered that she was dehydrated and that her coat of wool was hiding a body that was in poor condition. Farm lesson #347 - always check your sheep's body condition along the ridgeline, don't just assume that they are okay because they look full and deep! Over the next few days, we gave Ruth some good supportive care and extra nutrients and consulted with a vet. I confirmed that she did indeed have pregnancy toxemia. Farm lesson #8 - always listen to that little niggling thought, and act on it instead of letting the thought just hang out there. I treated Ruth for the toxemia but the cure for it is to get the babies out since the babies are taking all of the mama's nutrients for themselves and not leaving enough for the mama. It can often occur in ewes that are too fat, too skinny, and when they have more than one baby. The vet recommended that we induce Ruth so that we could get those babies out and hopefully get her back on track. He warned me that the babies might not still be alive and that she could need help with the birth if she didn't have enough strength to do it on her own. Well, we induced Ruth and watched her carefully. She was pampered and given free reign of the barn and watched ever so carefully. Hours went by. Days went by. Nothing happened. We gave her more inducement. We pampered her and loved on her and gave her more royal treatment. Hours went by. Days went by. Still no babies. Called the vet and we decided that someone would come out and check on her and likely do a c-section if they could sense any movement from the babies. Again, the vet gave me a heads up that the babies might not be viable at this point. So, the vet came, the vet did a c-section (which is pretty incredible and a huge shout out to Dr. Chase!) and Ruth had three babies inside her! No wonder she was struggling! Two of the babies came out alive and the third one never really stood much of a chance. There was an incredible team of people helping me that day - my nephew and a friend worked on the first baby, my sister-in-law and mom and I worked on the second baby and my brother and niece worked on the third baby, all while the vet was finishing up with mama. The second baby seemed like he was responding to our treatments but likely just didn't have the lung strength. He lasted a few minutes but we were not able to keep him breathing. The first baby thankfully was responsive and he seemed like maybe he was going to make it. Fast forward a few hours later and baby was still doing okay and Ruth was slowly recovering. She was not bonding with the baby like she normally would and it soon became apparent that she wasn't going to stand still for him to nurse from her. Fast forward some more hours and days and a routine fell into place where we would hold Ruth so the baby could nurse from her and I also supplemented his feedings with some milk from a bottle because he wasn't gaining much weight and Ruth had milk but it seemed to be coming slowly for her. The c-section happened on a Tuesday and we went on this way all through the week. I went out on Sunday afternoon to hold her so the baby could eat and lo and behold, Ruth was standing still for him, sniffing him, licking him and talking to him! It was such a welcome sight and I was so amazed! Ruth has always been an excellent and attentive mother and finally, I was seeing that come back to her with this baby. I am so pleased to say that both Ruth and her baby boy, Rangler, are doing well and gaining ground and doing all that they should be! I'm not sure about other farmers, but it seems to me that I tend to learn lessons the hard way. I know about checking body condition along the ridgeline and I know that toxemia can occur if the ewe doesn't have enough nutrients. I'm kicking myself for overlooking these things that I know. I'm kicking myself for not keeping better track of when the ram was active so I would know when to expect babies. I wish my fencing was better so that the ram wouldn't have been able to get back in with the ewes. I'm also giving myself grace as I know that these are things to be learned and that none of it was done intentionally. I'm thankful for the knowledge of what to do to help a toxic ewe and that I was proactive enough to consult with a vet and subsequently have them come out. I'm thankful that we had a more positive outcome this time than what I probably would have had even last year, as I have been learning and gaining more knowledge about farm life. I still have a long ways to go to become an experienced farmer but every incident helps me gain and grow. What about you? Are there areas where you have been learning lessons the hard way? Are you giving yourself grace along the way and realizing that you are farther along than when you first began? I hope so!