# Retained Placenta Concerns



## sde219 (May 19, 2010)

We strongly suspect that our ewe who had twins on Sunday morning has a retained placenta. 

It's been 48hrs since she lambed. She is isolated in a lambing jug with her twins and has been since lambing - she can see another ewe but they can't have physical contact. She seems perfectly healthy and is nursing the lambs fine.

Damita is 2 years old and this is her second lambing.

So here are the details of concern...

She was lambing outdoors in some pretty cold weather and unlike our others was lying on her side while lambing - I probably made a mistake by pulling the second twin so that she could start licking the lambs sooner and I could get her our of the cold wind into the barn. The "pulled" lamb was about 60% out at the time and more covered in a sac than I'm used to seeing. If I hadn't "pulled" I would have less concern about the retained placenta. As soon as that lamb was out labor ended and she popped up and began cleaning.

My wife saw the ewe this AM - I did not - she described it as follows
"there's a long string hanging out of her, so i think most of it is out, just a few pieces still attached inside preventing it from being fully released"

When we had a similar situation with a family cow, we had a vet out and he cleaned the cow by hand and also gave her an iodine bolus.

I notice there is a lot less literature on retained placentas in sheep than there is regarding cattle so I take that to mean that we probably can be less concerned?


Steve


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Steve,
I have never had to deal with that in sheep and your are right, there isn't a whole lot on the net about it.
Here is what little I did find.
Occasionally, the retained membranes may remain within the uterus and not be readily apparent, in which case their presence may be signalled by a foul-smelling discharge. In most cases, there are no signs of systemic illness. Sheep with retained fetal membranes are at increased risk of developing metritis, ketosis, mastitis, and even abortion in a subsequent pregnancy.
One way of treating this, is using Oxytocin and antimicrobial treatment.

My first recommendation would be to call a Vet. In a normal birth, the placenta should be out in about 6 hours. The Vet should be able to tell you what you need.

Did find this web site, not sure what they have on it but worth looking at.
http://www.drostproject.org/en_ovirep/guide.html


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

sde219 said:


> "there's a long string hanging out of her, so i think most of it is out, just a few pieces still attached inside preventing it from being fully released"



I can't speak to sheep specifically, but I have simply pulled it out on goats and pigs.


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## sde219 (May 19, 2010)

Thanks Shari.

Definitely aware of the risks. She's a good ewe and we don't want to lose her. With dairy cows they do say not to rush to treat and it could pass in a few days. I've seen a few sources suggest the same mentality with sheep.

http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/vforum/showthread.php?t=19169

It would however be very disappointing to have long term damage from this.

I saw that ovine reproductive link and realized I have a hell of a lot to learn!

At this point, there is no foul smell, just a small stringy piece. Unfortunately, even if she passes the placenta we may have no way of knowing since they seem to eat them so quickly.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

mekasmom said:


> I can't speak to sheep specifically, but I have simply pulled it out on goats and pigs.


Ewe's are more fragile, and this is not something I would recommend. I have seen people pull the whole works out doing this.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

sde219 said:


> Thanks Shari.
> 
> Definitely aware of the risks. She's a good ewe and we don't want to lose her. With dairy cows they do say not to rush to treat and it could pass in a few days. I've seen a few sources suggest the same mentality with sheep.
> 
> ...


Your Welcome, hope all goes well for your Ewe.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

_Hi Steve,

If it were in the 48 hour window, Oxytocin usually would work for a retained placenta, after that she would need to be given Lutalyse. Last year I had a ewe that did the same thing. When the Oxytocin alone didn't do the trick, I gave her the Lutalyse with the Oxytocin. She eventually passed it. 
By then there was also an odor so I treated her with Bio-Mycin (Oxytetracycline) injections. This is the protocol a friend also uses on his dairy cows and it worked well here...

Hope this helps,

Deb_


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

bergere said:


> Ewe's are more fragile, and this is not something I would recommend. I have seen people pull the whole works out doing this.


Well, then, don't try it on a sheep. Sorry.


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## sde219 (May 19, 2010)

eieiomom said:


> _If it were in the 48 hour window, Oxytocin usually would work for a retained placenta, after that she would need to be given Lutalyse. Last year I had a ewe that did the same thing. When the Oxytocin alone didn't do the trick, I gave her the Lutalyse with the Oxytocin. She eventually passed it.
> By then there was also an odor so I treated her with Bio-Mycin (Oxytetracycline) injections. This is the protocol a friend also uses on his dairy cows and it worked well here...b_



Hi Deb:

Any idea about the appropriate dosages or a good source for oxytocin/lutalyse? We are about 55 hrs since lambing at this point.

We can definitely call a vet if we can't self-administer or locate this fast enough.

Steve


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## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

This is a little different, but I have a book called Natural Sheep Care by Pat Coleby that takes a different view. She says that "putrefaction can be prevented by injections of large doses of vitamin C." She uses 10 grams of vitamin C, injected into the muscle 3 times a day for 2 days. You can repeat that in a week if you think she looks off at all. In her experience, they produce normally the next time around. I haven't had occasion to try it myself, but other advice from this book has worked very well for me, so I thought I'd throw it out there. Also, she believes that this tends to happen when the ewe is deficient in potassium, and maybe selenium. She recommends adding apple cider vinegar to their diet (I pour 1/2 cup into 25 gallons of water) for potassium. The first year I did this, I had the easiest lambing season ever, I would highly recommend it. 

And I agree that pulling it now wouldn't be good; the cervix has closed.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

Steve,

You need to do this with advice/help from your vet. Mine had to look up the latest recommended dosage on the Lute as I guess there has been some changes in this for sheep, from in the past.
It is RX but should be able to administer (IM) by yourself.
Don't tug on anything....

Deb


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

VA Shepherd said:


> Also, she believes that this tends to happen when the ewe is deficient in potassium, and maybe selenium.


Selenium deficiency can definitely be the culprit for retained placenta as with so many other symptoms, didn't know about Potassium.... 

Happens too after pulling lambs.

~Deb


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## sde219 (May 19, 2010)

Yeah given we've had a four other lambings this week and five last year, I'm inclined to attribute this not to mineral/nutritional deficiencies but rather to my foolish eagerness to get the lamb out of the biting wind. The placenta is so nearly out that I think with a little more pushing it probably would have cleared and that pushing was truncated through my action.

Thanks for info from everyone - we've called the vet and we're hoping that we'll take care of things tomorrow.


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## eieiomom (Jun 22, 2005)

Steve,

Don't think you should beat yourself up for pulling this particular lamb.
It seems like a good decision with the situation presented at that time.
The ewe will be fine and you have a live lamb where it may have been a totally different outcome.

Good Luck,

Deb


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