[ThomasR]

Hi
  I think that my sheep have worms as suddenly today their poo is coming out like water and am woried as they are loosing condition, have clipped away dirty wool from the efected area. Any help apreciated as am stiil in my first year of sheep.

[Young Ed]

are you registered with a vet? i gave mine a call and they said they reckon i have tape worm segments but as the poo wasn't watery they don't treat for tape worm segments
if you walk round and have a good close look at poo on the ground can you see any worm looking things?


these are tape worm segments and can be treated with a white wormer, again ask your vet about this
Cheers Ed

[shep53]

First thing in the morning  you could collect a poo sample from a few of the worst sheep ,use a spoon and a freezer bag , take this to your vet as soon as they open and get some wormer ( if you haven't already got some in stock ) then dose all sheep  at the weight of the largest zw and if you bought hebs then all of them aswell at the weight of the biggest .     This is your first step and even if they don't have worms it won't hurt them,  allow a couple of days for the really bad ones to dry up   .   Your vet may advise   a product to help dry them up  and maybe rehydration if severe ,    but normally a worm dose does the job ,  probably best to go for  group 3 or 4 wormer incase of group 1or 2 resistance . But please don't hesitate as gut damage can occur which can cause long term problems

[ThomasR]

Hi

[ThomasR]

Hi
 The poo is just liquid nothing in it like browny green water.

[Porterlauren]

FEC count and treat as / if required.

[Anke]

What about coccidyosis - are these lambs or adults?

MOst likely worms - I would treat with ivermectin (Oramec or similar) as discussed above.

[Me]

If it was as sudden as you say then nutritional change is more likely eg. rain on dry ground, change of field, if it took a little longer then worms maybe

[ScotsGirl]

I have had this problem with a young Suffolk lamb. Her poo is like water, normal dark green grass colour and she is losing weigh not surprisingly. I have wormed for cocci, all other worms inc eggs, mature, tapeworm etc and just gave her solving on Friday which has no resistance. as of last night no change.


At a loss what else to do except blood tests. Have some live yogurt and a little pro rumen last night so will check tonight for improvement.

[shep53]

If it was as sudden as you say then nutritional change is more likely eg. rain on dry ground, change of field, if it took a little longer then worms maybe

    While you may be right , the post seems to say more than just the odd one is scouring and they are loosing condition ,   a  grass flush may cause the odd 1or 2 to scour and then dry up in a few days but they shouldn't be noticeably loosing condition ,  they from other posts were very well grown ewe lambs .   worming won't hurt and if/when the egg count comes back then treatment can be rethought

I have had this problem with a young Suffolk lamb. Her poo is like water, normal dark green grass colour and she is losing weigh not surprisingly. I have wormed for cocci, all other worms inc eggs, mature, tapeworm etc and just gave her solving on Friday which has no resistance. as of last night no change.


At a loss what else to do except blood tests. Have some live yogurt and a little pro rumen last night so will check tonight for improvement.

      I assume you are talking to the vet , suffolks can im afraid be very bad  for scouring , since you've given  every treatment , then maybe its internals are damaged .. Has    oral rehydration /  a binder been discussed  , Suffolks can also have a problem with low copper ,   low selenium has also been shown to cause loose faeces

[ScotsGirl]

I have to say not very confident in vet. Can you recommend a binding agent? Used to use kaolin somehow but can't remember where to get it and how it's mixed. Will give a bit more pro rumen tonight as that has copper and other vits in plus maybe some mineral drench. I have spoken to vet but not getting far. It's not a normal Suffolk scour. She s eating well though.

[Foobar]

I put a link on your previous posting for Kaolin...Fane Valley sell it.

[shep53]

These are home remedies , but work for sheep and humans   PEPTO BISMOL  works I use it occasionally , was recommended by friend and ive read about its use in an American book ,   CHARCOAL  can work also usefull  for rhod poisoning .     APPLE CIDER VINIGAR  diluted in water contains pectin which can help stop scour   .  Flat sports drinks  can help with rehydration

[ThomasR]

Hi
  thanks for all the advice, yes the lambs are very well grown as they have become mebers of the family and get at least an hour of the day spent lying down with humans and having wee chats and getting the odd tip bit like a biscuit.  I have just wormed them with endospec I think, the lable has smudge in the rain . hoping that they get better as need them in full condition for tupping . They have not moved feild but i feel that it is my fault as when i whent into the vet today they said that the sheep need worming every two months. OOPS.

[shep53]

  while it wouldn't of been my choice of wormer in your situation , its a wormer .  while lambs depending on egg counts may need constant worming  , adult ewes should only need worming maybe once a year as they build up a tolerance to worms .    Do you also need to do your sheep for fluke , speak to neighbours  and your vet as if you do now is the time to start