The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Luke on May 18, 2014, 08:08:40 am
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I have a 3 week old bottle fed ewe lamb who up until 6 o'clock yesterday evening was a normal lively lamb. However last night she become lethargic, Ears went floppy and stopped taking her milk. This morning doesn't want to stand and breathing is shallow. I have managed to get about half of the amount of milk into her than she would normally take since last night, but a struggle. Any ideas and help, i would be very greatfull
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Wish I had some knowledge on bottle fed lambs. Hope someone will be along soon.
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Hi Luke, I am new to this sheep keeping thing so I can't help, but I think the questions the experts on here will ask are has she been wormed and Heptavac'd?
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Sounds like pneumonia if her breathing is laboured I would give her antibiotics, pen and strep for 3 days and tube feed until she is taking a reasonable amount of milk via bottle.
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VET QUICKLY
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could well be pneumonia so i would say get onto the vet this minute and get some anti biotics if they agree with me
best of luck :fc:
Cheers Ed
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Hi Luke, I am new to this sheep keeping thing so I can't help, but I think the questions the experts on here will ask are has she been wormed and Heptavac'd?
She shouldn't need worming this young, as she won't be grazing, and her dam should have been Heptavac'd a month before lambing - if she was she will pass on immunity to the lamb. We don't give our lambs their first dose of Ovivac P Plus until they're 12 weeks old, but they do go out onto semi-clean grazing.
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I'd second the pneumonia idea, if she's got laboured breathing, not sucking well and is weak.
Antibiotics, fast. Talk to the vet.
Some more info: pneumonia in bottle fed lambs (http://raisingorphanandbottlefedlambs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/lamb-pneumonia.html)
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Thanks for all of the replies, yes mother had been heptivaced, but unfortunately lamb didn't make it, died shortly after 9 this morning. All very quick in just over 12 hours.