Understanding the natural processes of labor and delivery.

As a shepherd, lambing season can be one of the most stressful times of the year, but it doesn’t have to be. Understanding the natural process of labor and delivery, and learning how to recognize the different stages of labor, takes much of the stress out of lambing.  A Shepherd’s Guide to Lambing Season will give you the knowledge you need so that you can recognize what stage of labor your ewe is in, as well as recognize when a ewe is in distress.

Through this ebook, you will learn:

• how to identify each stage of labor based on both physical and behavioral symptoms
• how to recognize a difficult lambing
• when to assist a laboring ewe

I taught natural childbirth classes for 10 years. In my course, I taught my couples how to recognize the stages of labor and to work with their bodies to allow labor to take place. My class empowered these couples to have the birth outcomes they desired. I purchased sheep during the final years of my teaching childbirth classes. I noticed that my ewes perfectly demonstrated the very principles that I taught the couples in my class.

This ebook is a compilation of my most popular posts from my blog, Living with Gotlands,  that I have written about labor and delivery in my flock. This ebook keeps you from having to search through my blog for the post that you need. I also included a few extra bonuses for you!

Bonus: Lambing  Positions Chart

This hand drawn chart shows various lamb presentation positions which shepherds can sometimes encounter.

Bonus: Assisting Weak Lambs

I have included a special recipe given to me by a shepherd friend Theresa Walker at Great Bay Wool Works for boosting weak lambs.

Bonus: Lambing System Essentials Chart

When planning your lambing system for your farm, there are certain essential features that you will want to keep in mind. This chart lists the factors to consider when preparing your lambing management system.

The information in these posts will leave you feeling more confident about understanding the birthing process during lambing season. Knowledge empowers you to make the right decisions in the moment. Often, it is our lack of knowledge that leads us to over react or to not provide intervention when needed. Knowledge and observation will be your best tool in your lambing kit.

Don’t find yourself faced with another lambing season without feeling confident and without a full understanding of the stages of labor and delivery. The information you are about to read has been my guiding light through many lambing seasons. It has saved me from calling in assistance when I just simply did not understand what was happening and it has saved ewes lives because through observation and a sense of understanding, I was able to intervene when needed.