The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: goosepimple on May 05, 2012, 10:42:49 am
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One of our new Ronaldsay ewes had a foaming mouth at 7.30am and was acting drunk, the other is very well in comparison so obviously the foamer has eaten something. They are on their own food and don't have access to the normal sheep food, we dug up the rhodedendron and the yew which were nearby and made sure they were safe. There have been sheep in the part of the field they are in for years and nothing has ever happened like this before, but she must have found something - I think they eat different vegetation than other sheep and are more goat like. It may have been rhubarb leaves (if so vet says these are less likely to kill), so obviously will dig that up but we will have to shut them out of that part of the paddock forever now.
Question is - I called vet, we pounded up some bbq charcoal and mixed to a paste but he said not to give it to her - to give her very strong coffee instead as a drencher which we did via a turkey baster which worked well. She has had 3 injections - engimycin, vitB12 and flunixin and she is in a quiet shed with fresh bedding. He said we just have to wait next 24-48 hours critical. She had been sick before we got to her but can't tell what it is - green slime. Can I ask those of you who have experienced this what your vets said about the charcoal, ours said it was best to drench her and get it out of her system. She has laboured breathing and is still a bit drunk although foaming has stopped. We've only had them 2 weeks and thought we were doing everything carefully, now gutted. Vet says most ewes die of this.
Thanks for reading, will keep posted.
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I can't comment on treatments but I had a similar problem one winter with a ram who had obviously munched something out of the ordinary ( never did find anything) he was very ill as sounds similar if worse to your ewe. Vet was very negative and didn't think he would make it ( neither did I) but he pulled through. Kepping everything crossed and hope things work out sounds like you couldn't have done more.
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Thanks Kanisha, have just been across to see her and I think she is as close to death as she is going to get, am going back now to be near her. I'm gutted.
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She died about half an hour ago, 2.30pm - that was all very quick - she was running up to me last night quite happily, foaming at the mouth at 7.00am this morning and then dead this afternoon. The other one looks 100% but we will have to return her or sell her on as obviously we have something which is not safe for them. All our other sheep (soays,moorits) are fine. Obviously something she ate and we have inspected everywhere, no laurel, azaelias, rhodi, hemlock or yew that we can see. Ronaldsays cannot tolerate copper and perhaps there was a plant with this in it we are not aware. Maybe she drank from the river and there is a problem there. Devastated and very upset, she was a beautiful looking animal and we had hoped to show them this summer. Totally totally gutted. Doesn't matter if it was just one of those things and we weren't to know, I feel totally irresponsible. We got good stock from the Sec of the NR Society and the RBST officer is coming up this week to see them. Gutted.
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That's awful Goosepimple - especially not knowing what it was, I often wish my girls had some hedging etc around their field to protect them from the bad weather but saying that a bare field and a shelter could be safer especially as I'm not too good at identifying plant. Very sorry for you :bouquet: :bouquet:
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Oh, I'm so sorry :-*
A lady in our goat society lost two goats because someone fed them rhubarb leaves over the gate :-\
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Thank you both, there is a very small patch of rhubarb - it's not grown up yet, about 6 inches tall with about 5 leaves on it (looks like its struggling actually), there's a tiny nibble on it - looks like it could have been a caterpillar actually so we've pretty much ruled that one out. I'm going to post some photos of a couple of other patches of things that are not grass - one is well nibbled, but the geese often browse too and are in that area regularly and so its difficult to tell what has eaten what. Won't rest until we find out. A bad day.
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If we can help please ask...my husband is a qualified ecologist and I am qualified in Countryside management and landscape conservation so very very good at spotting plants and doing plant ID.....will try and do this for anyone who asks.
I cannot imagine that anything that is so poisonous to N Rons is not to C.Morits and Soays so maybe something that has been overlooked or...fed by persons unknown.....
Rhubarb in all its forms is poisonous and I would not let sheep anywhere near it! My veg plot has 2 stock fences between it and sheep.
Are you feeding hay? Is there something in that? Are you keeping them on ground that has had pigs on it as pig poo is full of copper from the pig food that is excreted onto the ground and can make it quite copery.
Can they get to a box hedge? You know, the sort with tiny green leaves beloved of gardners? These are also very poisonous.
:bouquet:
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So sorry :bouquet:
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((((((hug)))))) :bouquet:
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So terribly sorry to read this.
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Thank you all - will post separate thread with photos re plants and would be much obliged if you could take a look woolyval. All other sheep are fine (thankfully). Thanks all.
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Sorry to hear about your ewe :'( :bouquet:
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Thanks R, vet said its almost 100% fatal in ewes, rams sometimes pull through in that they are stronger (as you may know). Have made a post in Identification category.
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That's awful. Big hugs. :bouquet:
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She had been sick before we got to her but can't tell what it is - green slime.
If the sheep was ACTUALLY vomiting (not just cud spilling and dribbling copiously) it was probably rhodedendron. This is just about the only thing that will make sheep vomit. They do foam at the mouth in the early stages and it can be confused with pneumonia initially.
If the sheep is dead, cut it's rumen open and see what is inside. If it was some kind of plant poisoning you should be able to identify it from undigested leaves in the rumen contents.
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Could it maybe have been something else? any chicken feed accessible maybe or fence preserver, wrong type of mineral lick or bucket lick. I always thought that most livestock instinctively know what is safe to eat and what isnt
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Just wanted to say how grateful I am for this post and particularly to Woollyval in highlighting the rhubarb issue. I've realised I have rhubarb accessible to ewes and lambs should fencing fail and they get out. Will now securely cordon off the area first thing tomorrow. So sorry Goosepimple about your girl.
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Thanks again. There is no rhode plants or related plants we can see, have hunted under bushes etc, goats licks are only put in their house at night and taken out in the morning so they have no access to them and we have been super careful in the feeding as the NRs get different food. We ruled out the rhubarb as it is almost definately caterpillar/slug munching. We will keep looking today. Not into cutting open animals I'm afraid, there is a place fairly near which does autopsy but I am sure they need the carcas to be 'fresh' and as its bank holiday weekend we may have to rule that one out.
Thanks you all, its great to have words of comfort from you, really is.
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I m very sorry to hear of your loss, perhaps the damage was already done before you got here, please dont beat yourself up, you did your best. :bouquet:
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She had been sick before we got to her but can't tell what it is - green slime.
If the sheep was ACTUALLY vomiting (not just cud spilling and dribbling copiously) it was probably rhodedendron. This is just about the only thing that will make sheep vomit. They do foam at the mouth in the early stages and it can be confused with pneumonia initially.
If the sheep is dead, cut it's rumen open and see what is inside. If it was some kind of plant poisoning you should be able to identify it from undigested leaves in the rumen contents.
VSS you got me thinking and we all went out and had an extensive look again today and look what I found, a spindly struggling 6inches high rhodedendron, in a rocky area under some dead grass and a large branch of dead broom but popping its heads through enough to kill my lovely young ewe. We could see fresh looking munch marks on the leaves. Can't believe this little specimen did it, we looked further and didn't find any more. What a horrible death for her. If there is anything to learn from this it is that there is no point in taking even the smallest risk with pasture. Also an important lesson I think is not to assume that all animals of the same species eat the same things /ignore the same things, different breeds bring different characteristics. A very tough lesson for us which will stick with us for a long time.
Our remaining girl has managed to make friends with the moorits and soays today. Thank you everyone.
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sorry, wrong pic, that's me looking &%$£! off about finding it. Here's the culprit and another of our remaining girl befriending the other girls.
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Well done on finding it! Sorry about what happened though....! Your land looks acidic (gorse) I'd keep an eye out for more rhody.....it loves land like that :(
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Oh really, that's useful to know, my eyes are peeled :o
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So sorry to hear about your lovely girl - my thoughts are with you. Glad you found the culprit though.
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So sorry to hear of your loss. I've just been through the same thing - but my Ewes pulled through.
Rhody was the culprit and that plant is now gone.
We used sweet black tea cooled, syringed down the throat - every hour. The tannins in the tea absorb the toxins or so I was told. We also used strong black sweet coffee - to give them an energy kick. It all sounds too simple but it worked the vet gave us 50/50.
Sheep eat Rhodys - its a common cause of poisoning. More palatable when their is a frost.