The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Jukes Mum on March 16, 2015, 09:53:18 am
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As the title says....I have a huge ewe ('Norm'!), due in 14 days and yesterday she became hopping lame.
I didn't want to overly stress her, but we coaxed her into a pen and lifted her foot up. The skin between her 'toes' has split. It is clean and the field is dry and the grass short. I have sprayed the foot, but is there anymore I can do for her? Obviously I do not want to stress her but I am concerned as she is now bearing no weight on it and is laying down. She will get up if I go over and give her a nudge, but she won't stay up for long. She had some pencils this morning but was not eating with her usual gusto.
She is a very heavy girl and I assume that each time she puts the foot down, the toes splay and pull at the split.
Is there anything else I can do for the foot? While I am not too concerned about the injury itself, I am very concerned about her laying down all day :-\
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an injection with oxytetracycline in it would do no harm also . Maybe Alamycin
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It does not seem infected and it is clean and dry and sprayed....
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I don't have any experience with this, but if it is as you say then I wonder if you could tape her foot to stop the pulling? It looks like there are hoof tape+gel products that are for cows but also usable for sheep. http://www.uddermint.com/UDDERMINT.com/Other_Teisen_Products.html (http://www.uddermint.com/UDDERMINT.com/Other_Teisen_Products.html) for example.
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That does sound a good plan!
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is there anymore I can do for her? Obviously I do not want to stress her but I am concerned as she is now bearing no weight on it and is laying down. She will get up if I go over and give her a nudge, but she won't stay up for long.
Is there anything else I can do for the foot? I am very concerned about her laying down all day :-\
You can do as suggested and inject LA antibiotics, also as you are rightly concerned by the pain and time spent not eating a sc jab of metacam should help with the pain for a couple of days and help her to her feet. I would avoid wrapping it up with tape personally.
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Thanks Me. Popping to the vet for metacalm now....do you know how much she should have (she weights approximately 597 tonnes ;) )
Also do you know if the needles I have for Heptavac the same size as I need for the antibiotics?
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My psychic powers aren't what they used to be - how big are your needles!! ;D I'm sure they will be fine! 2.5ml/100kg (1.25ml per 50kg) of blubber but check this as there may be different preparations/strengths
I should say its not that thick so will go through fairly narrow needles, also if they will dispense you one shot they may supply a needle anyway
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Sorry I'm not sure what size the ones are that I have- they were supplied to me with/for the Heptavac.
I have just checked out medical supplies and am going to have to get some more antibiotics. Which would you recommend I ask for?
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Oxytetracycline is a reasonable LA choice for lame sheep which you may find other uses for. Inject IM keep it in the dark
ps I find 18g 1/2 inch needles can be made to work for just about all sheep needs maybe pick up a strip of these too
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Thanks millions. I have phoned the vet and am just waiting for them to call back. I'll keep you posted.
Poor Norm looks ever so fed up.
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Been to the vets and picked up antibiotics and painkiller. Now can't catch the damn thing! They are bucket trained and will usually follow a bucket to the end of the earth, but she won't come. If I go up to her she will hop just out of reach. I certainly don't want to be chasing her around the field >:(
Will try again in an hour.
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:roflanim:
Not too much wrong with her if you can't catch her :roflanim:
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Thanks Sally :P
Problem is that she lays back down as soon as she's hopped out the way. I haven't seen her graze at all today and very little yesterday :-\
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I feel for you, and would worry too. But she clearly can move about, and no doubt will, when she's hungry. If it gets bad enough she'll stay put and you can give her the pain relief meds.
If only they could understand we just want to help!
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Or I might just sneak up behind her and rugby tackle her :innocent:
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Climb a tree and sprinkle ewe nuts on the floor underneath :idea: :tree: :sheep:
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Cunning plan indeed ;D
My next post may be something along the lines of "I recently fell out of a tree and am currently in hospital having my legs and arms put in casts...can anyone look after my imminently lambing sheep please" :roflanim:
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OK, so Sally's theory worked. I went out at half 4 and she no longer wanted to get up. Popped a halter on her, injected her, sprayed her foot again. The small split that was there yesterday has completely gone but her foot is slightly warmer than the other one.
All good apart from the damn syringes. I have injected before and never had such bother. Both the needles came off the syringes and had to be removed from the (non-plussed) ewe. The painkiller one came off before the last bit of the medicine had gone in and it sprayed in my face (Loxicom does not taste nice!). I had checked, as I always do, that the needles were securely on the syringes before I used them >:(
Hey ho. Job done and now just fingers crossed that she'll be on the mend.
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Glad you finally got there ! Just an idea in case anyone has already tried this but about using husky boots??? My dog had to wear them in the winter as his paws plot with the ice ... Just wondered if anyone had ever used these on sheep?
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Funnily enough I did consider this!
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More moons ago than I can count.....I remember from a geography lesson that rubber boots were sometimes used to prevent foot rot in sheep....at least according to Miss Thompson.
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Been to the vets and picked up antibiotics and painkiller. Now can't catch the damn thing! They are bucket trained and will usually follow a bucket to the end of the earth, but she won't come. If I go up to her she will hop just out of reach. I certainly don't want to be chasing her around the field >:(
Will try again in an hour.
That's a lovely example of how intelligent sheep actually are. She's reading tiny changes in your body language, maybe just a tensing of your muscles, or a different way you're walking, maybe even that you just keep looking at her - all predator actions :hugsheep: I have found sometimes that standing close to, but with my back to, the sheep I want to catch can help - wait til you've surrepticiously got right beside her then grab. She won't fall for the same trick again for at least a month......... ;D
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There's no doubt about that at all Fleecewife.
If we want to get them into the pen, we have to do everything as normal.
If I carry anything other than their feed bucket, or my OH comes in to help, there is one which will not go in the pen.
So I have to go in the field, shout "Hey Sheep" in my usual sheep summoning tone (!) get them in the pen, then call OH to come out of his hiding place to bring in the kit :innocent:
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There's no doubt about that at all Fleecewife.
If we want to get them into the pen, we have to do everything as normal.
If I carry anything other than their feed bucket, or my OH comes in to help, there is one which will not go in the pen.
So I have to go in the field, shout "Hey Sheep" in my usual sheep summoning tone (!) get them in the pen, then call OH to come out of his hiding place to bring in the kit :innocent:
Absolutely! Mine will not come anywhere near me if the OH is out and about as I mean food. Me and anyone else means trouble! He has to hide round the corner until I have got everything sorted and got them where they need to be. I think he coaches them! ;)