How to fix a blocked lamb that can't poop | The quick way to give a washing liquid enema

I’ll start by saying that the first 24-36 hours of a lambs life I am quite literally on Poop Patrol!

I'll try to video a washing-up liquid enema this year but until then, here’s an explanation and a video of Monti after his third one as proof that with a bit of dedication (even at 4 am) a washing up enema will save a lamb from toxic build up which can be potentially fatal:

Here we go, you need...

To be wearing head-to-toe waterproofs;

grab two old small towels,

a 5 or 10ml plastic syringe,

a paper towel,

a plastic jug,

add two tablespoons of washing up liquid and top up with warm BUT NOT hot water - needs to be body temperature and an old washing up bowl or small flat bucket to catch the expelled water.

Sit on a small stool or over turned bucket. Place a clean but old towel over your knee and under your lamb so that their two legs are on either side of your knees, and they are comfortable.

Draw up a syringe full of the warm washing-up liquid and very carefully lift the tail and look for the entrance at the bottom. (If blocked, very gently wipe away. Do not pull any dried off, it will pull off the fleece and possibly bleed. You can fix this later)

Very gently insert just the very tip of the syringe into the anus and push the water in. If you have positioned it right, most of the water will shoot in and only a little trickle out; if you’ve not, go inside it will just all dribble out. Continue to insert and squeeze water in slowly 3 - 4 times, and then you should be rewarded with an evacuation of poop. Have your bucket ready to catch the expelled water and poop. Repeat until only water his pushed out.

Now gently use leftover washing up liquid with paper towel to soak off small patches of dried sticky poop to stop more from attaching itself ot it. Be mindful that the lamb will be uncomfortable now, pregaps stressed, wet and need to get back to mum to feed. So be as quick as possible and dry off the bottom and legs off with a paper towel - as this has no scent and the mum can be pretty annoyed, even suspicious and hesitant of her new lamb not smelling like they should when it comes to sniffing and licking their rear. Finally I rub some unscented vaseline around the bottom to prevent more sticking to the delicate fleece and skin.

To help improve the gut speed and biome I also give a dose of lamb probiotic - Provita Lamb Response, designed to help establish good gut bacterria in lambs, or you could give tablespoon of kefir or greek yoghurt.