Ever seen a sheep that looked like this? Well neither had I, until now. This is a virtual pregnant ewe-that is a bath tub type thing with a hole in, filled with warm water, a plastic bag with a lamb and a pelvis attached to put your hand through. Sounds a bit bizarre but unfortunately
there's not enough conveniently timed, willing ewes giving birth for us to practice on. These contraptions gave us all a really good chance to appreciate how much space there is in the ewe and how difficult it might be if the lamb were in an abnormal presentation: not as easy as it looks! That is if you don't cheat and look over the top! (I'm watching you Beth... (The spiky haired one lambing the bath tub)).It was a good afternoon of virtual problem solving, topped off by looking at the real thing: A ewe with a prolapse kindly gave birth to triplets, one in breech position, just as we walked into the shed. Then came the ins and outs of lambing-everything from carrying and moving the lambs to stomach tubing. Only a few weeks until the 2 weeks experience in March-Watch this space!
