The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: trefnantbach on June 30, 2011, 12:06:40 am
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We have a lamb badly affected with maggots. I've drenched the area with crovect which drew out loads of maggots through the wool. I flicked them off as they appeared. Eventually I could only see dead ones. I've clipped away the wool in the affected area. The poor lamb has a large red raw patch on its rump and is appearing weak and feeling sorry for itself. I've dosed it for worms In case that had made it susceptible to fly strike. Mum is still lactating so I've Kept both indoors tonight with water and concentrate. Tomorrow I'll get some maggot oil to treat the raw skin. What else should I do? I'm concerned that the lamb might be too weak and disinterested to feed inside. Would it be better off outside where it might graze? Any suggestions how to nurse the lamb back to strength would be appreciated.
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The first thing I would do now would be to give it a long-acting antibiotic - the raw area is an open wound through which infection can enter and a 'down' lamb can easily get pneumonia too. Bad fly strike can cause sufficient shock to kill the lamb, so nurse it tenderly. The maggots also excrete a toxin. I would keep them both in - dam and her lamb. Is the lamb sucking? If not you could feed it some lamb milk replacer through a syringe, slowly squirting some over the back of the tongue and giving plenty of time to swallow. If the lamb isn't nursing then it wouldn't graze either and would be more vulnerable out in the field - if it's too weak to feed inside it certainly won't outside. Treat it as a very sick animal and hopefully it will perk up in a couple of days
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SOUNDS LIKE YOUVE DONE THE BEST YOU CAN SO FAR,AGREE WITH FLEECEWIFE DEFINATLEY GET SOME ANTIBIOTIC INTO THE LITTLE ONE!.WE LOST A LITTLE ORPHAN LAMB YESTERDAY WHO CAME WITH MAGGOTS AND WE DIDNT NOTICE TIL DAY AFTER WHEN HE WAS QUIET,WE DID ALL THE ABOVE BUT VET RECKONED THE TOXIC SHOCK HAD ALLREADY KICKED IN BEFORE WE COULD DO ANYTHING TO HELP!!SOUND LIKE YOU GOT TO YOURS IN TIME THOUGH QAND AT LEAST MUM IS AROUND FOR COMFORT UNLIKE OURS(HE DID HAVE OTHER LAMBS!) FINGERS CROSSED FOR YOU ANYWAY .X.X.XX. :hshoe:
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Fleecewife's advice is spot on as ever.
Good luck with him, sounds like you may have caught him in time (bloody maggots >:()
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It is surprising how they usually do come right after a horrid strike - if you can get them through the first few days / a week. Best of luck with him.
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How is your lamb today Trefnantbach? :sheep:
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Yes - waiting to hear progress :)
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It would be advisable to wash the open wound with a Savlon solution every day to keep it clean (just syringe in and let run off).There may be more maggots in him/her, I would clean clip a wide area to make sure, not just the actual spot you found them.
Then when it heals the skin will crack, I used udder cream to keep it soft last year (Had a bad case here too, but you wouldn't know now!).
Hope the little one comes right, it is surprising how often the flies attack in clean fleece and you will not see it until the lamb kind of gives in and behaves differently.... it made me feel very guilty last year.
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Good advice Anke
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Something that was recommended to me is to blue spray the entire area too; I had one that was looking massively sorry for herself but was right as rain the day after. Felt so guilty, even though I check them everyday but missed it as I'd never seen it before. Certainly know what to look for now!!!
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I use the blue Terramycin spray too :)
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The lamb made it through the night and although it is clearly poorly and feeling in a sorry state it seems marginally perkier today. I've given them hay, nuts and water and saw the lamb suckle a bit. My concern is that mum will dry up and the lamb will go down hill, so I'll cut her some fresh grass tomorrow. I trimmed back the wool about 4cm beyond the wound and the crovect seems to have done its job - no evidence of live maggots today. I've poured on battles maggot oil today which it says deters further flystrike and soothes the skin promoting healing - It smells like teatree oil and I guess It will moisturise the damaged skin preventing it from cracking when it heals. Thanks for everyones advice. I'll keep you informed
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Well done for sorting it out.
We had a bad case a couple of weeks ago. We clipped all the wool off, used crovect to bring them out and kill them and then washed the wound, patted it dry and put wound powder on. Then an antibiotic. We also had Lucozade on standby in case he needed a boost :)
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Clip, remove maggots, maggot oil, terramycin injection, vaseline for sore patch. Keep a watchful eye, don't be too hard on yourself. Chances of recovery - pretty good.
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lamb still with us. Got two shots of antibiotic to give it from vet and blue antibiotic spray. Also he advised a shot of invermectin to deal with any remaining deep seated maggots. Lamb seems to be coping but back legs seem stiff and weak - hope that this is not a sign of efffect of toxins.
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You've done just grand by the lamb. If the weather isn't too bad the mother and lamb will probably do better outside on the grass than inside felling couped up. The maggot oil is great stuf because not only does it sooth the skin but it also keeps the flys away. A good squirt of crovect will stop any reinfection. The stiff back legs is very likely due to the lamb feeling like its just slid dowm a tarmac road, bum first, at high apeed ;) Time, space and sunshine will do more good now than all the bottled preperations in the world!
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Well done for sorting it out.
We had a bad case a couple of weeks ago. We clipped all the wool off, used crovect to bring them out and kill them and then washed the wound, patted it dry and put wound powder on. Then an antibiotic. We also had Lucozade on standby in case he needed a boost :)
Any time i've had poorly sheep I've always found that injecting with calciject is like a miracle cure! This is Calcium in a glucose solution (always ask for the sheep variety because some of the cattle types have no glucose). If sheep won't eat offer tree ivy! I know it's poisonous but for some reason the sheep never eat too much but it seems to stimulate appetite and encorages them to eat properly.
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Ivy is astonishing. I nearly had a fit when I saw one of my ewes who had had quite a difficult lambing munching on some but was advised to let her and she perked up very quickly. Now I don't try to go round removing all I can find from round the barn and just let the ewes take what they want.
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Lamb has now been separated from mum and has been out in field for over week with other lambs. she seems to be gaining strength. The massive scab on her back has now come off to reveal new pink healthy skin - just in case this is tempting for further fly strike I liberally coated it with maggot oil to deter flies. Stiffness in legs seems to have gone away. Whew! seems that she has a good chance of making a full recovery.
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Well done ;D