[Jacob-list] Amniotic sac

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

Dr Seuss: From there to here, from here to there, funny things happen 
everywhere.

The amniotic sac should tear at birthing. The birthing process might even 
include a design that allows many chances for the sac to tear: first at 
presentation feet first...a design for the lamb to fall feet and head first 
to give the sac a tear on the ground...the lamb's instict to struggle at 
birth...the ewe's instinct to remove the sac...all multiple opportunities.  
This happens for "tough" sac - live lambs and "not-so-tough" sac live lambs.  
But are they "tough"? compared to...?  

The amniotic sac protects the fetal lamb and has strength by design and is 
built by nutrition. But not all extra feed goes to the sac.  Nutrition builds 
both ewe and lamb.  Does the ewe add fat...the lamb gain size...and these 
lead to a degree of lamb delivery inertia?   The labor is prolonged...the 
pushes long and tiring....the ewe lays down to lamb...the ewe gets exhausted 
after thirty minutes of pushing...the lamb "slides" out instead of "drops" 
out...and multiple opportunities for the sac to break are forfeited.  The 
exhausted ewe is too tired to immediately lick the lamb...the exhausted lamb 
isn't active...if the ewe finds the head end of the sack soon enuf.

I wonder if a perceived "tough" sac-died and the "tough" delivery are closely 
related.    Although some sacs seem heavier than others, do we more often 
associate "tough" sac with found dead than the normal "hey, it's alive" and 
who cares about a "tough" sac.  And if the lamb has not breached the sac; is 
it possible it was born dead?

Fred