uterine prolapse

Double C Acres · #1 04/22/13, 11:06 AM

Had another learning curve yesterday....the yearling ewe who lambed friday eve with no problems had a uterine prolapse by sunday morning. Not fun!! I washed it as best I could and pushed it back it, then put on the prolapse harness but without the spoon. By noon when we got home from church, it was completely out again. I put out a plea on a sheep facebook page and got instant response....what a Godsend! They encouraged me to try to put it back in again this time also inserting the spoon. We got that accomplished sunday afternoon and so far it's stayed in. The ewe has continued to mother her lamb and now today is interested in eating again. We gave her a shot of LA200 yesterday morning. This morning there's a little bleeding which has me a bit concerned so I called the vet to see what more he'd advise. He said it may just be a small tear somewhere that needs time to heal. He also recommended giving another antibiotic, Borgal, for 3 days.
From what I've read online, they say a uterine prolapse is not hereditary so it should be ok to keep & breed again in the future. Do you agree? This ewe just turned a year old last week....was she too young?

blaundee · #2 04/22/13, 11:31 AM

I have no idea, but am curious to see what others have to say...

**Ross** · #3 04/22/13, 12:25 PM

Technically you should cull all prolapsed animals, especially uterine prolapses. I have changed my management and kept a few back some did OK others repeated. Best practices says cull.

Double C Acres · #4 04/24/13, 11:38 AM

This ewe seems to be recovering well! I am amazed because I was sure she was beyond repair when I first saw her sunday morning! She's still wearing the prolapse harness with the plastic retainer inserted. How long does she need to wear it? Could the retainer be removed sooner and just keep on with the harness?

KIT.S · #5 04/24/13, 02:09 PM

The vet I was able to find on the phone (no one would come to the house - sheep were too cheap to treat) said to wash the prolapse and then cover in white sugar before re-inserting. The sugar prevents infection and reduces swelling. Our girl that tended to prolapse when extremely pregnant wore her device until the lambs were born, then generally didn't have problems after that. I don't have experience with after-delivery prolapses.
Kit

wendle · #6 04/24/13, 02:23 PM

Cull, and don't keep any offspring.

**Ross** · #7 04/24/13, 02:53 PM

JMO but I think the cull offspring practice is overkill if the prolapse mum has a short dock or poor muscle tone etc then its more management than genes. I never culled offspring just docked longer kept the ewes leaner and make them walk for food. No prolapses in years. Certainly the genetics are still here but the prolapses are gone

Double C Acres · #8 04/24/13, 08:08 PM

My sheep have long tails, no docking because they are hair sheep. Maybe it was poor muscle tone due to lack of exercise in winter, I don't know. I don't plan to keep her after weaning her lamb and I'll probably also sell her lamb since it's related to both my rams anyway. I am very limited for space so any ewes who don't produce with little help will be culled. I don't grain my sheep at all, the only extra they get is a pelleted ewe supplement late in pregnancy and while nursing their lambs. Otherwise it's only hay and free-choice sheep minerals and hopefully soon they can go back on pasture.

Back to my question, though, how long does she need to keep wearing the retainer and harness now?