Meridian Jacobs

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Reviving a Lamb

I went to the barn a little after 6 a.m. this morning and found what looked like a dead lamb along with two lambs who were up and nursing. The lamb that was flat out on the ground had membranes over his face and was cold and still. I pulled the membranes off of the nose and surprise! That lamb wasn't quite dead yet. It made a little sound and started to breath raspilly. (Spellcheck says that's not a word, but it works for me.) First, get lamb warm. The heat lamp wasn't fast enough...IMG_2744 (1) ...so I brought it to the house.IMG_2747 (1) After it started to revive I substituted a heating pad for the hot water.IMG_2751 Tube feeding with colostrum was next. Fortunately I had a couple of ounces in the freezer. IMG_2759 (1) I switched the heating pad from under the lamb to over the lamb while Rusty made sure he didn't go anywhere.IMG_2760 I carried the whole bundle back to the barn so I could get on with chores. That's when I set up the heat lamp. I also milked some colostrum out of the mom and tube fed the lamb  another few ounces.IMG_2775 (1)It got up before long and now sports the most glamorous in lamb-wear. If a ewe lambs with a single lamb in the next few days I will try to graft this one on. That will be another post.IMG_2769 These are the other two sets of triplets and their moms.