The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: abi on August 12, 2020, 08:47:10 pm
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Hello, does anybody have any advice of the easiest way to give an intramuscular injection to a sheep. she's very tame so is easy to grab but also quite feisty so I'm quite nervous about doing it as I've only injected a lamb before. I've been told to go for the rump...could anyone explain how to find exactly which bit to put the needle into and whether there are any bits to avoid? and any advice on the best way to restrain her as well? Many thanks.
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This may help: https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/general/intramuscular-injections/ (https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/general/intramuscular-injections/)
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If it's an animal to go for meat, you will need to be a bit more careful to be sure you don't leave an abscess which could cause meat to be condemned. If she's a breeder or pet, you may not be so worried about this.
Our vet taught us to inject through the gap in the pelvis, which is what I have done since being shown, but it's not something I would feel confident describing to others.
The vet also showed us how to inject into the muscle behind the armpit, but I found that one more tricky. Prior to that I had been injecting into the fleshy part of the back leg, which is easy to do and safe for the sheep but could potentially damage one of the prime cuts.
My technique for the latter was to tip the sheep onto its backside, grab a handful of gluteal (buttock / back of thigh) and inject into that. If the sheep doesn't have a good handful there, then that's not the best place to inject!
Using the right size needle is key.
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To restrain her, sit her on her rump, leaning back against your legs. Draw the chosen back leg up and in so it's bent and tucked in to the body - this relaxes the muscle which makes it easier to put the needle in. Wait until she has relaxed a bit then separate the fleece so you can see skin. Aim for that bit. Tap the skin a couple of times then quickly stab in the needle. Choose the part with the thickest muscle so you don't hit bone. The bigger the bore of the needle (for example white not green) , the less it will hurt when you inject the liquid - seems counter-intuitive, but it's about the speed with which the liquid goes into the muscle - too fast through a narrow bore needle and it causes localised tissue damage. Your ewe's skin will be tougher than a lamb's so inject firmly, don't be hesitant. Draw back the plunger a little to make sure you've not hit a blood vessel. After withdrawing the needle, I gently pinch the skin together to close the hole so the liquid doesn't come back out. I don't massage the skin roughly, just a couple of strokes.
For choosing the precise spot, there's little help, but obviously you don't want to hit a blood vessel or more importantly a nerve. Think to a leg of lamb waiting to go into the oven and work out where, in relation to a living sheep, the major muscle masses are and where the vessels are, deep in the middle. In fact you are unlikely to hit a nerve in a well grown sheep, so just go for it. If you hit a bone, draw the needle back a bit as injecting up against a bone would be painful.
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I would do as Fleecewife suggests and imagine a leg of lamb and work out where the muscle is. I would aim the needle/syringe almost like a dart and almost use a throwing/stabbing action to pierce the skin. Usually the sheep doesn't notice its in then. Don't place the needle on the skin in a precice spot and slowly do it!
Do you have help to hold her? If not I would pin against a wall/hurdle with your legs with her head in the corner so she can't move and leaving at least one hand free
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thank you so so much everybody, that is all very helpful information.