Ewe aborted - preliminary test results

I've been told by old timers that ewes can abort one fetus and keep the other.

The only abortion we've had was at about the same time. None of our other ewes were affected but that ewe never lambed again. Not to scare you! I'm 99% sure that was do to inexperience on our part at the time.

Thanks... I talked to a friend who's a vet tech, and has sheep experience (completely forgot about her, in the stress of finding the lamb and worrying). She said a necropsy may or may not be able to show what the cause was (not to try and dissuade me, but to let me know realistically that I may not find out a reason). She said to ask my vet his thoughts when I talk to him tomorrow.

And she said another lamb surviving to term was possible, but unlikely. She reminded me to watch for continued contractions that could cause a uterine prolapse, and watch for any signs Brosa might have, like decreased appetite, increased temperature, or behavior changes.

@BrownSheep - I'm sorry about your ewe. I hope this does not affect Brosa long-term.

I doubt it will!.....Our ewe was kind of an odd case even before that

I talked to my vet today, he said to bring the lamb in to his office Monday and he'll send it to the state lab. He said it's ok to keep it frozen, and don't let it thaw out (not a problem this weekend!). He talked about possible reasons, mostly what I'd read about, and said if it was contagious/infectious, the other ewes were already exposed and there's no sense separating her now. He said just watch her, and watch the others - if they're going to be affected too, it's more likely to happen within the next week or two. Although I won't fully relax till there are healthy lambs on the ground...

Brosa is still acting and eating normally, but this evening she had some brown discharge coming from her vulva. I'm going to call the vet in the morning to see if he recommends giving her any antibiotics. I'm also going to try and get her temperature.

I know there's only a slight chance she's still carrying a lamb, but just in case she is, are there antibiotics that are safe for a pregnant ewe?

This morning she appears to be passing the placenta. I'll keep checking her so I can send it to the state lab, too.

That also means no other lamb in there for sure...

Brosa passed the placenta. It was hanging out about 4 or 5 inches, earlier this morning, and she appeared to be having little contractions and it was gradually coming out. I went out a bit ago, she was lying down, and when she got up the rest of it slipped out. I cleaned it off as best I could and bagged it for the vet/lab.

It appears to be intact, and in fairly good condition, not starting to decompose much. So maybe that means less chance this was bacterial/infectious?

Her vulva looks clean now, no discharge. Her appetite and behavior are normal. I'm just going to keep watching her. The vet said it was ok to give her vaccinations along with the others if she was still eating and acting well.

and hoping you will get some answers.

Got some preliminary results back on the lamb, the most interesting of which, was that there was no eye development. I'll be posting more details in my BYH journal.