[Jacob-list] defect?

[sbennett]

The story of Itty Bitty: Last year, I bred Ashley as a ewe lamb to Bandit 
(they are  unrelated). During her pregnancy I observed that she did not 
compete for food and I tried to make sure she got her share and she 
seemed to be in decent condition. She complained (baa) alot during the 
last two months of her pregnancy. I didn't see her get bred, so don't 
know if Itty Bitty was born early or not. It was a smooth delivery, but 
he weighed less than three pounds! He looked perfect, except his feet 
were very soft and when he tried to walk, they spread forward and turned 
up slightly. He was so small, Ashley had to squat for him to reach a 
teat. The really sad part was that he was such a fighter, but he died 8 
days later. This year, I bred Ashley to a different ram (one that is 
slightly related, I am line breeding and looking for a replacement for my 
older ram). Ashley produced a nice, good sized, set of twins, with no 
apparent problems. Her cousin, Berry, (a ewe lamb) mated with the same 
ram as Ashley (through the fence, not by design) gave birth at 141 days. 
Her ewe lamb weighed approx four pounds. She looked great, except for the 
soft hooves. That was four days ago. The hooves seem to be hardening and 
her feet appear to be straightening out. I have been giving her (the ewe 
lamb) a vitamin supplement and exercising her lower joints. It looks like 
she's going to make it.  

So, last year, I thought maybe this was a genetic defect. Now I'm 
thinking that Itty Bitty was a preemie and breeding ewes as lambs is not 
a particularly good idea. Has anybody else seen this, have any thoughts 
on this?

Thanks,
Debbie Bennett
Feral Fibre