The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: cici on July 27, 2019, 03:13:21 pm

Title: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: cici on July 27, 2019, 03:13:21 pm
Hi all. I have a ten year old Suffolk cross (born here) who is acting strangely.
He is lethargic and very confused, doesn’t seem to know where he’s going, and wasn’t eating anything yesterday. (I think I have seen him having grass today)
When I gave him an antibiotic, he started drooling at the mouth. (Quite a lot of drool, as well as shaking) and when I let him go he staggered away twitching. It might have been some sort of fit? But he has never had a fit before. He doesn’t let me touch him either, but yesterday he allowed me to come up and pet him, which was the first sign something wasn’t right. His temperature is normal though, at 102.

Does anyone know what might be wrong? I have tried to check for calculi, but I’m clueless. Didn’t see any blood on his phallus, and he doesn’t seem to be kicking at his abdomen. He is just on grass, as he has always been. Just seems very confused and is grinding his teeth.

I thought the drooling was unusual, as well as the twitching and random movements.

Thanks for any help.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: harmony on July 27, 2019, 03:37:17 pm

Have you checked him all over for flystrike?


Don't take offence but please don't give antibiotics if you don't know what is wrong. It leads to resistance and could mask what is going on. If you don't what is wrong but clearly something is then please call a vet. Grinding teeth is a sure indication of pain.


We can do our best on here and some people are vets but we can't see the animal.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: bj_cardiff on July 27, 2019, 04:46:32 pm
From the symptoms you describe it sounds to me like it could be a stroke caused by Listeriosis, although I wouldn't normally expect to see it this time of year?

You need a vet asap if it is I'm afraid
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: cici on July 27, 2019, 07:37:38 pm
Hi. Thank you for this. I found out about this by googling symptoms, but I wish I’d seen your post sooner. I haven’t been feeding them any silage. They’ve never had it in their lives. But I read that decaying plants could cause it? There was a fire on my field a month or two ago, and I know the sheep go where it was and sit there... maybe they could have eaten something?

I really don’t know. Thank you for your help.

My vet is away and others have refused to see me because I’m not a customer, or because they don’t do farm animals.
I am checking everywhere on the island where I live though.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: fsmnutter on July 27, 2019, 08:35:44 pm
Could also be something like staggers or ccn, deficiencies in magnesium or vitamin b1 deficiency respectively. Both of which can be rapidly fatal without treatment.
Surely your vet must have a contingency plan for while they're away? If you explain to a vet that does large animals that it may be an emergency,they should see the sheep as they all have a duty of care to animal welfare
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: SallyintNorth on July 27, 2019, 08:41:01 pm
Listeria can be in the soil, and if the fire has exposed soil...
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: harmony on July 27, 2019, 08:43:06 pm

I was just going to say the same as fsnutter and Sally except I would say it was an emergency not "maybe an emergency."


I do hope you can get help quickly cici.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: cici on August 16, 2019, 09:36:24 pm
Hi everyone.

I managed to get in touch with a vet, described the symptoms, and she agreed it was probably listeria. I got treatment for him and did as instructed.

He seemed better for a while but is twitching again recently? He seems in control of both sides of his face. Ear isn’t drooping and no signs of stroke. He is just twitching.

Does anyone know what else might be causing this?
Maybe he is just getting old and has developed something... I’m really not sure. No other sheep on the field (touch wood) seem affected as of yet.

Really bizarre.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: tommytink on August 24, 2019, 08:14:05 am
Just wondering if you went back to the vet for more advice??
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: cici on September 12, 2019, 03:58:48 pm
Just wondering if you went back to the vet for more advice??

I did. My vet said either listeria or vitamin b deficiency.

I’m not sure which though, as what I’ve read on both says the sheep will die in a few days, whereas this sheep lived for nearly two months before the vet said it would be best to put him to sleep as he was struggling to get up and eat.

Perhaps the treatment stopped the disease but left him with brain damage? Not sure, unfortunately.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: tommytink on September 22, 2019, 09:12:46 pm
Ah, sorry to hear that. I’m sure animals can suffer from the same mental problems as we do, but that would formulate over time. I guess diseases and deficiencies can lead to symptoms like this. Always hard not having any way to tell.
Title: Re: Does anyone know what’s wrong?
Post by: bj_cardiff on September 23, 2019, 08:11:56 am
Perhaps the treatment stopped the disease but left him with brain damage? Not sure, unfortunately.

The illness (if it was Listeria) causes the sheep to have a stroke, I guess some sheep recover from the stroke better than others :/