Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Ewe Lambing and Assisted Delivery

A ewe will give birth after about 150 days of pregnancy. Before lambing, preparations must be made: the floor of the lambing pen must be dry, clean, disinfected, and covered with short, soft, clean bedding straw; the indoor temperature should be above 10°C; disinfectant supplies such as iodine tincture and medicated cotton for delivering the lambs should be ready, along with cardiac stimulants, sedatives, and oxytocin. The environment during lambing should be quiet, the ewe must not be disturbed, and one should watch secretly rather than crowd around.

In the week before the ewe is due to lamb, the teats become swollen and upright and milk can be squeezed out; the vulva swells and discharges thick mucus; before lambing, urination frequency increases, the ewe becomes restless, unable to lie or stand still, keeps looking back at her belly, paws the ground with her front legs, bleats from time to time, loses appetite, and stops ruminating. When these reactions appear, it indicates that the ewe is about to give birth.

Under normal circumstances, shortly after the amniotic sac ruptures, the lamb's two front hooves and head appear first, and the fetus then drops to the ground. When there are twins or multiple lambs, the ewe often becomes exhausted, and manual assistance should be prepared. At this time, one can use the hands to push and lift beneath the ewe's abdomen to help her expel the fetus. After the lamb leaves the mother's body, the mucus in the lamb's mouth, nose, and ears should be cleaned out promptly. The mucus on the lamb's body should be licked dry by the ewe or dried with fire. The lamb's umbilical cord can be cut, and the cut end should be coated with iodine tincture to prevent inflammation.

After giving birth, the ewe is thirsty and exhausted, so she should be given warm sugar water or thin millet gruel. This prevents the ewe from biting the lamb because of thirst. Zheng Wei