The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: HamishMcMurray on August 30, 2011, 08:12:04 pm
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One of our 4 month old lambs has fallen into a small stream and got stuck. Not sure how long he's been there. Anything up to a few hours.
We've lifted him out and have dried him off with a towel. He's now in our shelter on a bed of straw. He hasn't got up although he's kicked his legs a couple of times. His body and face were quite warm when we lifted him out although his legs were cold as they were in the stream.
Is there anything we should do or give him or just lock him in the shelter with his mum and hope? Should we lift him up and make him try and walk to get his system working again?
Any help appreciated.
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Id be tempted to leave him be once he had got warm, any forced walking would only stress him. I imagine getting his body temperature back to normal would be paramount, just like a human with hypothermia. Other than that; good luck!
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When you say he's kicked his legs is he lying on his side or lying normally on his chest, as said warmth is important
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We've brought him inside on the vets recommendation. He's on a pile of straw in our utility room with the heating on. We've been rubbing him to get him as dry as possible. His body is very warm but his legs are still cold. He's made a couple of half hearted attempts to sit up.
I don't like the way his head is lolling back but his eyes are open and he's very aware of us and what's happening around him.
Fingers crossed.
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fan heater and 40 ml of calcium inder the skin.
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How is your lamb today?
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Hoping the lamb is still with you... A drink of glucose and water, or Pfizer Scour Formula or Rehydron - anything that gets some sugars and salts into him. If he isn't taking anything, keep a check on how his breath smells. If it goes 'ketoney' his rumen is in trouble. If you'd already given him PSF or Rehydron and he goes ketoney, you could try Twin Lamb drench, I guess - it's a similar circumstance, system overload, rumen stopped. Like 'Lamb Boost' or similar, you are probably not supposed to give it other than in the specifically prescribed circumstances, but in your situation if the lamb is fading and not taking nutrients in, I would try it.
It's important a sick sheep doesn't lie on the rumen so it's best to prop them up with a straw or hay bale either side. I once made a kind of sling using a hurdle balanced flat on stacked bales, the ewe's legs pushed through the rungs (padded with straw for comfort) to keep her rumen upright and her legs from getting deadened by her weight on them.
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Thanks for all your comments. Unfortunately Jerry died this afternoon. The vet gave him some injections this morning but warned us that he probably wouldn't make it.
I can't understand how he got stuck as the stream is only 2 foot wide at it's widest and about 4 inches deep at its deepest. He did love to jump back and forth over it though so I guess he fell in, got startled and collapsed like sheep do. He was just under 5 months old and I would have thought big enough to easily climb out if he had tried.
Our first loss :-[
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sad :bouquet:
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Oh, I am sorry to hear that news, Hamish. Bad luck. It sounds as though you did everything you could.
I wonder - he couldn't have been harassed by a dog, could he? I've seen it often enough, a young dog chases a lamb about, the lamb eventually founders in a ditch, the dog continues its persecution, the lamb may eventually die of shock even if the dog doesn't actually touch it.
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Hi Sally
We do have a foot path through our fields so it is possible. The vet couldn't find any sign of trauma so if it was a dog then it didn't catch him. We do have very strongly worded signs on the gates and I've noticed that dog walkers tend to go around our fields as it's not really any extra distance.
We treat our sheep as 'pets' so it's hard when this kind of thing happens but I guess this is just something that we'll have to go through from time to time.
Thanks for your thoughts.
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It doesnt get any easier losing an animal, youd think it may - but it hasnt yet for me.
I hope you dont have to experience too much of it.
My good feeling thoughts are beaming over to you, hope it makes it a little better.
Baz
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Sorry to hear you lost your lamb. The circumstances sound horrible and I know from experience that you keep mulling the 'what ifs' over and over, but you did all that you could.
Big hugs.
Allison