The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: farmyville on August 07, 2023, 12:57:52 pm
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Hi,
Newish sheep person, with support from our Diary farm neighbours.
I'm looking for helpful suggestions to get my girl back to health, primarily eating and standing. Sorry for the long post - just wan tto give as much background.
She got really bad fly strike 3 weeks ago, only after 4 weeks of being shorn. Covered with maggots, all round her shoulders and nape. We thought we caught it in time,treated and antibiotic and she was still with us after the critical 3/4 days.
The skin had started to change, being the black scabby parts were starting to crack, and pinkish new skin coming through. Shes a big girl (4 years old and never lambed), and shes got bad neck rolls from being tubby. They started to crack and fill up with gunge, but the skin/fleece still connected either side. Tried to clean up, antispectic, and keep an eye on. Painkiller jag.This was probably week 1.
By week 2, she still was barely eating, but getting up and walking about a bit. Still drinking and tiny amount of grazing, but not her sheep food mix. Parts of her was healing really well, but rolls now awful, and smelly, and one side like a perpetutal graze that wouldn't heal. By end of week two, she was really struggling to get standing, walking, and we could see fluid retention one side under her neck/shoulder. Another but different antibiotic and pain jag, and stabled her inside.
Still very little interest in food, but can get her to take a bottle x3 a day with live yoghurt, honey, bicard and ph salt, and bottle of water, but she was also getting up to her water. She was an orphan lamb so happy bottle fed. She licked at crushed digestives, and I think was maybe also eating some of the hay in there, but it was hard to tell. She was changing positions, but still very shaky weak on her feet. All this time, still ittle Baas of hellos, and ears pricking up with familiar sounds. She is not giving up!
We've then realised the top wound at the rolls, there was a 'hole' gap that looked grim. Some of the others at the yard said there were magpies on her at one point, so potentially been pecked.
Anyway, vet came out to see her ( has just been giving antibiotics and pain med to pick up). He has made two cuts for the fluid retention, as one side was a drain straight through from that top hole !! Horrific. Then she has a small sore on the other side, which has drained the other side, but also why its not healing. Flushed it and flushed and flushed it. He also removed all the 'folds' connection, so it's just a big open wound ( no skin). Sounds and looks awful, but I can imagine it healing.... Shes now on daily antibiotic jags, daily flushing of holes, and blue spray, and metacam every 3 days.
Vet also listened to her rumen ( faint, but making a few noises), and dung checked her, not great, but ok given her state. He said she thought better to be in paddock, with fresh grass than stable. On her way round wanted to scoff a garden plant - should have let her have more, but was wanting to use the adrenaline of her treatment, to at least get round to the grass.
So we're not 3 ish days since vet saw her, and ultimately 21 days since it first all began. Shes really struggling to get on her feet, quite often rolling on her side, and scraping any traction she might get away, through failed attempts. She definItley did get up and move her self a couple of times, but mostly it's us, hoisting up her back legs, letting her get a breath, and using a wide towel to heave her up. Couple of steps ( usually with a pee), then back down again.
Her fleece is falling out, combo of man handling her to get her up, and vet says stress response. So now tucking hay around her to sleep in the field.
Shes lasted so long, and has such a determination to live, that I cant give up on her now. I think if she can just get ahead of the wound, or get decent fuel in her, and get standing and mobile, she would get better. She has bad pressure sores on her knees from all of this as well, and that is not helping with her mobility ( antibiotics should be helping to heal though)
The wound recovery, is being addressed through the flushing, and antibiotics. I can see progress there, albeit slow.
Today, I wide necked syringe slushy sugary weetabix in to her, two bricks. My instinct is telling me to try and get more substantial food into her, to try and get her strength back for getting her moving. Also the more she has to digest, the more she will become hungry, and then she will seek it out herself more.
I'm stuck on the getting up and getting her moving. I'm going to see if i can use a harness type thing to try and get her upright for a bit longer to see if that will help any. Or a least get a hay bale under her to support for a bit.
Anyway i feel she is slowly getting worse, not better, but also feel she must be so close to getting ahead of the wound and making a recovery.
So if you've read this far, thank you so much, and any advice from anything that I've said would be so gratefully received. She is so loved, and I owe her the best chance to get better.
L
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Hello Farmyville,
you have done an awful lot of work to keep her going. It is obvious you care greatly for her.
I had a similar issue with a ewe with mastitis earlier this year. She lost her udder, and long story short, we don’t have her anymore.
I took the decision as I did not want her to suffer any longer from something she couldn’t understand causing her pain as her owner and the person responsible for her care. I had delivered her myself, and had delivered two sets of lambs from her, and she would come running to me for an ear rub or a treat. It was not an easy decision, and I had planned to use her to provide more ewes for my little flock.
If I can be honest, I would consult with your vet and ask for an honest assessment of her chances of making a recovery, and prepare yourself for a difficult answer, but your animals best interest has to be at the root of the path to take.
Thank you for sharing.
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It sounds like you’ve tried your best to get her going again. But if she can’t get up, she most likely has muscle wastage which will make it harder to get up. If she can’t get up she can’t pee as well. So I think I’d probably think about calling time sadly.
I’ve been there before with a ewe that went down before lambing- she couldn’t get up but was 2-3 weeks off lambing and bright in herself, eating, drinking, but just couldn’t get up. Her lambs weren’t viable that premature so I lost all 3 lives. But it wouldn’t have been fair to keep the down ewe going just to get the lambs out alive.
Incidentally every time I call time on an animal, I feel a bit of relief, which kind of cements my feelings that I did the right thing. I’ve never looked back and regretted putting an animal down.
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Thank you both for your replies.
She ate some willow branches yesterday afternoon, and her wounds have healed a little more. Bright again this morning.
If she would just get up a bit more herself, and move, then I can see a long recovery ahead of her, but a recovery none the less.
I wasn't aware of the muscle wastage, and it makes sense. Her weight isn't helping her here either.
I've never regretted calling time either, and every single time felt there was a mutual feeling between me and the animal. That said her positive little personality isn't helping me get there. I will contact the vet again, and allow for their objectivity.
Thank you again, for taking the time to reply. It is much appreciated.
L
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If the vet thinks she is okay to try a while longer, one thing I've done with a sheep that couldn't yet stand is to make a support frame using a hurdle laid across some breeze blocks, well padded under the tummy and breastbone with wool and hay, the height set so that the feet reached the ground. Food and water within reach, very regular checks of course, and adjust the sheep's position regularly and massage where it's been resting on the padded frame so that it doesn't get numb spots or bedsores. Stops the legs going numb and enables them to pee and poop at will. I've had success once and failure once with this setup. If you can make a sling and suspend her from a beam (or a tractor front loader) you can achieve similar, and less worries about compression on hurdle bars.
I totally get what you say about the animal letting you know when they want to give up, and/or can't tolerate the conditions.
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hi Farmyville,
I'm new here, but reading your post, I felt called to reply and registered.
I've found high dose vitamin c treatment works really well, especially for turning the balance back to healing-mode.
Sheep, like most animals make vitamin c themselves, and they make more if they need more, but evenso they can get overwhelmed by infections / disease.
You can help them by giving a bit extra when needed.
It's used as emergency treatment for snakebites in remote area's (search Pat Coleby on Vitamin C Treatment for snake bite)
Works best if you use it intravenous, but I just give it orally.
You can mix vitamin c powder with baking soda (not cleaning soda, but baking soda) to neutralize taste and acidity.
I did a lot of research on the topic and have used it 3 times for my sheep:
1. ewe with infection just after lambing, if i remember correctly i gave 30 gr C withing 24 hours.
The next day the fever was gone and she showed some interest in food again.
2. ewe with summer pneumonia, grinding her teeth, laying apart from the flock, clearly in pain and with a lot of trouble breathing.
It was clear to me she was dying and i ended up giving her 180 gram of vitamin C within 48 hours. That is a lot! She did show signs of 'bowel tolerance' on day two.
After 2 days she was moving again, grazing with the other sheep. She's still happy and healthy!
3. 5 to 10 grams after flystike
In case of infection it is essential to give enough so the pathogen can be overcome.
I use my observation of the animal and the severity of the disease to make a calculated guess on how much to give. If there is no response, i give more. I give small amounts spread out over time.
(with flystike, 2 doses with 24h interval, with pneumonia every 1 or 2 hours)
I'm planning to try a low dose to help the ewes heal after lambing.
I would advise to do some reading yourself on the topic if you consider using it.
To get them eating again i've used:
- rolled oats, they love it!
- giving al sorts of herbs: bramble leaf, apple leaf, strawberry leaf, plantain, edible flowers, mint, oregano, rosemary... all full of healthy nutrients and they love the treat
- hiding hay in some of those tasty leafs to get some good fiber in their tummy
- i've made grass & herb smoothies and inserted them into their mouth, to remind them of the taste and get something in. It's sort of a forced feeding method...
If you have any questions please let me know!
Best wishes for you and your ewe, I hope she will find her way back to health!
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Hi,
What an ordeal you have been having. I have also been experiencing very bad fly strike. So bad I nearly lost my Shetland ram a few weeks ago. Had the vet out and he was sedated and after about an 2 hours we finally got him sorted. He was really weak for several days afterwards (he is 11). I have never seen such bad fly strike. He was very wobbly and kept collapsing.
He is now back to his normal bolshy self which I am pleased to see. However now I have another sheep with bad fly strike, but I think I have caught it early enough. Never known a summer so bad.
Sorry I can’t offer much additional advice, but I hope you can get her sorted out.
Good luck
Emily
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I've always found ivy is great for reluctant eaters, keep rumen ticking over.
Had a tup last year off feet. Feeding but couldn't stay up. I had him small brick pen. Cut an old ton bag so it more like a big sheet. Then cut 4 leg holes & popped him on. Using handles on ton bag, looped rope around ceiling beams & hoisted up. Fed, held bucket of water & electrolytes. Think it was 6 days & he came right. Soon as cleared withdrawals we sent him to cull ring.