05/15/2026
UPDATE on this post to clear up any confusion *******
The aborted fetuses in this picture were passed from the ewe only 4 weeks prior to her delivery date early June. The fetuses were only 5-6 weeks old in these pictures . The fetuses had died in utero at that time and were retained by the ewe until only a few days ago when she passed them .
Hope this helps to clear up any confusion on this post ********
GRAPHIC for some , educational for others so I wanted to share ……..
I am feeling pretty bummed right now, this happened tonight !
Our purebred ewe Miracle was due to deliver twins in just 4 weeks. This was to be our first natural breeding with one of our purebred rams and one of our purebred ewes. I was really looking forward to this as we have had several losses already so I was focusing on the positive.
She had went in for IVF back in Oct and was given vaccines in Sept , including one to prevent abortions . She had given us 4 oocytes ( eggs ) and we had 12 more from our other ewes. None of those eggs fertilized in the lab from that IVF. One of our ewes also had her bladder ruptured that day and died a week later. This was a huge set back for us due to an already tough year .
We put our ewes in with our top ram for a live cover and Miracle was the only one that scanned pregnant with twins in March , another set back we felt that we only had one ewe pregnant but again focused on having twins in at least one ewe. How perfect it was Miracle , what a miracle we thought. She was to have twins early June to mid June so we focused on her twins coming and what they might look like, would they be boys or girls. Would they have great fleece , great markings, be sweet etc..
Tonight I discovered Miracle with wet drainage all over her back end and at first I thought she had diarrhea or scours But then I found the below remains on the barn floor as we brought the sheep inside for the night . I believe it had just happened as it was pretty fresh , wet and intact. I put her on the stand to wash her off and realized it was not diarrhea but bloody drainage. I suspected the worst but didn’t really want to believe it . I threw the blob of stuff in a bucket with straw to trow out , but then immediately decided to set it aside to examine it closer instead of throwing it out .
At first I wanted to believe it was just cotyledons . But I thought why would she pass cotyledons unless something is wrong. Cotyledons are part of the placenta so this didn’t make sense. Upon closer examination and laying the remains I had found out on a table it appeared to be two C -shaped firm remains in separate sacs. Worried I was going to find twin embryos inside the placenta sacs. I cut the two placenta sacs open gently as I dreaded they were the lambs that I was waiting on, and there were 2 small embryos fully intact with legs, tails, ni***es on their bellies, spines, eyes, mouth, nose, hooves , tails and maybe even a few bits of fleece forming on their heads . You can also see the umbilical cord intact as well. Their little heads were all tucked under with their chins snug against their chest and their legs and all pulled in snugly as well. I gently pulled them out for better visibility and to get a closer look. We were very disappointed and sad.
To say I am saddened over yet another loss is an understatement . I was really looking forward to these 2 twins and excited to see what our ram and ewe would give us . I find that I am grateful they were not born stillborn or born too weak to survive , but still saddened by the loss no matter what the age.
This has been a very tough year and half with several different losses that keep coming . Sometimes I do not understand why so many happen in a row.
Our ewe is doing fine and acting normally and has been given preventative drugs to prevent metritis. I plan to call our vet tomorrow and possibly test the remains to see the cause . I know there are many different infections that can cause abortions in sheep but with this being our first time to have this happen it’s a little shocking .
I wanted to share this because I believe some first time shepherds have never seen this before , as we had not either after 5 years of breeding , so I wanted to share for educational reasons. In some ways I wish I had not discovered her all wet and blowing and the remains on the floor . What would have happened if I had not ? She would have dried off over night and the remains on the floor would have gotten stepped on and covered with straw overnight and dried out . They would have went unnoticed and I would be left wondering very soon why she was not showing any signs of pregnancy even though she had scanned for twins back in March. I would have called the vet out to ultrasound her again and would have assumed before that , she had aborted. Would I have felt better not seeing the aborted little embryos so intact with all of the parts that make them look like a lamb ? Maybe 🤔……
At least I am not left to wonder what happened and when it happened . At least I am able to preventatively treat her to prevent metritis . At least I can test the remains as I found them pretty fresh . At least the remains were not left on the floor to infect any of the other sheep . I guess these are all good things but seeing the little embryos so intact makes it seem more sad. 😔
This farming life is tough and not just physically but emotionally and mentally .
It can and has offered many rewards but this is not one of them .
