02/13/2026
This one was a challenge. Quince went into labor Sunday the 8th in the afternoon. She was pushing and couldn't produce anything but feet in almost half an hour. I checked and the lamb's head was stuck so I decided to help and there was soon a little ram on the ground. Quince, whose first lamb this was, did everything right, licking to clean him and stimulate his skin, nuzzling him "talking" to him so he would recognize her voice. He did "talk" back but seemed weak and slow. He was also congested. It became clear within half an hour that he couldn't stand. If a lamb can't stand, it can't nurse, a death sentence. I milked Quince and fed her colostrum to him in a bottle. His sucking reflex was really weak.
I went to the shelter every 2 hours until after midnight. He still wasn't on his feet but I knew he'd had enough colostrum to survive the night. I left him with Quince, a heat lamp and a warm chunk of soapstone wrapped in a towel.
I was out Monday morning at 5:30 to begin again. His mouth was cold and he refused the bottle. I brought him in the house to warm him up. This is a big risk, especially with a new mother. She might not take him back. I didn't have much choice. His temperature was down to 98°, too cold to metabolize. I put him on a little rug in front of the woodstove.
By this time I realized I was dealing with "floppy lamb syndrome" also known as "white muscle disease" caused by a selenium deficiency. There's a simple treatment for this: an injection of a product called BoSe, a combination of selenium and Vitamin E.
To give you an idea of how rare this is in our flock, the label on the bottle I had in the medicine cabinet said it expired in 2014! I gave it anyway as some products are still effective past their expiration date. Then I called the vet. He was in surgery! So I reached out to a fellow shepherd, Phoebe Forsley of Achingback Acres. Not only did she have some; she brought it over! I gave him a second shot. He was standing pretty well when it was time to do chores so I took him back to his mother. She was happy to have him back but not willing to nurse him. I tried restraining her but it was still a fight. I left him with her until the 9pm check. I could tell they hadn't nursed and I was exhausted and needed sleep. I milked out 16 oz and brought him in the house for the night. Again, that risk thing. He slept until 5:30 Tuesday morning, fell back to sleep after a feeding. Finally, at 8:30, I heard him cry for food for the first time.
(Think about all the muscles involved, not only to stand but to breathe and to nurse.)
He wandered around the basement while we were getting ready to go out, got stuck in a wood rack and had to be rescued, then put himself down for a nap in the other rack.
We were relieved that Quince was happy to have him back but she was still unwilling to nurse. Rather than restraining her with a lead rope, Conrad held her as still as possible while I tried to get him to nurse. We repeated this several times and by afternoon they had figured it out. Phew!
There's a common belief that sheep are stupid. But they do learn pretty quickly. This lamb learned that milk comes from a bottle. And Quince didn't learn she had to nurse this lamb. It took some patience and repetition on our parts for them to learn how it works.
It's time consuming and exhausting. However, we don't have to milk a ewe and bottle feed a lamb for the next 2 months.
