[harmony]

I was told that the longer you spend observing sheep that are well the quicker you'll pick up on a sheep that's not.  Leaning on the gate looking at your flock might not seem active to a casual observer but it's the way you spot  flystrike and disease at a very early stage when both can be treated successfully.  The antibiotics mantra of "As little as possible, as much as necessary" errs on the side of caution.  In this case, with an otherwise healthy sheep showing atypical behaviour I, too, would have administered a long-acting a/b and probably confined the ewe and offspring to a shed for a few days for closer observation.

The OP said the sheep showed this behaviour for two weeks so I would agree that before then a vets visit might have been wise.

[Backinwellies]

Well said Twizzel ..... first aid is always take temp first ............ that is what vet does too!   .... No high temp then no infection then no AB's needed. Simple!

[farmers wife]

did you say 9yr old?  Ive never seen a 9yr old sheep.  OPA would be in the flock and many of the ewes would look wasted away while eating like a horse. Most def look awful before lambing so I would scrub that idea right out.


At 9yrs old it could be a list of sudden organ failure.  I'd put it down to age with lambing stress and poss calcium deficiency.  The bloating is due to the heat all sheep blow up and stink really quickly.


Im not sure what the vet would feel about breeding ewes this old to the risks with lambs being left orphans.


 

[farmers wife]

Rereading this def looks like a pregnancy toxemia caused by the lamb drawing calcium from her bones. Had a couple of older wiltshire horns that were huge this year and once lambed went rapidly down hill.  Just because a ewe looks fat on the sides if you can see a spine means the ewe is under condition.


Once the ewe post partum looks dazed and weak little you can do - I gave the calcium inject, oral drenches etc if no improvement after 2 days then its only one route.


I would speak to experiences sheep farmers on max breeding ages and risks associated.  Most ewes once broken mothered 4-6 are known as culls due to inefficient grass consumption and usually looking condition.

[Joshuafarrell]

Thanks for the comments ... all flock still happy and healthy ... all in great condition! Fingers crossed it's a one off? She's and older ewe so could of been a huge number of things... we try and use antibiotics as little as possible to ensure resilience when they're really needed. We graze on rough marsh land and it's very much survival of the fittest and most healthy.

Anything that's constantly ill or lame eventually gets culled out to stop those genetics being passed on. It can be tough but as a result we breed fantastic strong lambs. We breed from the best and keep the best and the rest goes in the freezer or to the market.

Sad to see my favourite go ... her lamb has gone to a friends to live with fellow orphan lambs. Here's to the future and less sheep deaths!

Thanks

[YorkshireLass]

What breed do you have?
I gather primitives last a lot longer than "modern" sheep breeds (so 9 might not be ridiculously old)


Hopefully all your others continue to do well.

[Marches Farmer]

Our Southdowns often produce lambs up to 13 years old, probably helped by the fact that they have excellent teeth all their lives unlike, say, the Beulah.  They're generally retired when milk production can't keep up with demand.  I do like a shed of mostly old girls, who know what they're doing and just get on with it.  Had one case of twin lamb disease about ten years ago - probably due to stress caused by an abscess on her leg hidden by the wool, but she recovered.  Not yet had a case of grass staggers.  Horses for courses, I guess.