The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: sheepyhollow87 on October 23, 2017, 02:27:49 pm
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wondering if anyone has any ideas
for the last few days my weather (born this year) has all of sudden not interested in the pellets i feed my pet sheep !
i only have 8.
the are very greedy and we feed them a handful of pellets daily just to keep them tame and my god they are pigs. he ran over as normal but he seemed as tho he wasn't interested which is very unlike him. it looked to me like he couldn't open his mouth properly either. iv looked in his mouth and cant see anything stuck?
they are wormed regularly !any ideas - i have seen him grazing but not sure how much hes actually getting
wondering if teething can be a issue in sheep or hes lacking in his diet
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One of our ewes is pretty bad at eating pellets from a hand. She comes over and sticks her nose in but then seems to mostly push them around. She does fine on grass though. I'd never thought about it beyond that particular animal's incompetence :)
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If he's not back to normal in 48 hrs or shows more signs then it has to be a VET job as it could be anything
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I wouldn't worry if he's eating grass and in good condition, unless of course your fields are bare! Maybe he wasn't hungry, or he felt the pellets were spoilt? I feed a small portion of nuts to my lambs to keep them tame and some days they show no interest and others they act like they haven't eaten for weeks. Some lambs won't eat at all. Just keep an eye on its condition and any other signs of bad health
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Watch for him cudding and swallowing - this should give you a clear idea of whether he has difficulty eating. Depending on breed you might also see green staining below the bottom jaw if there's a tooth problem.
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You mention 'nuts'. Are these for ewes or for both sexes? Wethers are particularly susceptible to urinary stones which can block the urethra, so causing the bladder to burst. Watch him to see if he is passing urine and if he appears to have abdominal cramps. Any problem or concerns then take him down to the vet. He needs feed which is suitable for male sheep.
There is a saved thread which explains the problem somewhere on TAS, but I'm not sure where. [member=10673]SallyintNorth[/member] where did you save this to, please?
Do you mean a handful each of nuts, or a handful between the lot? They only need a tiny amount to keep them tame.
You are clearly watching your flock and recognising unusual behaviour - that's a sign of a good shepherd :thumbsup:
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Here (https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=85894.msg666844#msg666844) ‘tis, [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member]
Search for ‘bookmark’ to find any of the threads I’ve marked
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Thank you Sally :wave:
So do take a look at that thread [member=174498]sheepyhollow87[/member] . How is your wether today?
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Hi all :thumbsup:
Thank you so much for all your comments , I had the vet out yesterdaf and thankfully he's ok
He couldn't open his mouth at all , high temp and swollen glands ! had a look in his mouth well as much as he could open it but the silly boy had a thorn stuck in his cheek .. he's been pigging out on all the black berry bushes .. AB injections given and went mad for his pellets today
Thank you all so much
Xxxxx
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:relief: :sheep:
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That's good to know. Hope he continues to improve.I always find if you've got a problem with your sheep and you find the cause it's so much better than not quite knowing what's causing the problem and hoping they'll get better. One of my girls was lame one morning, she'd been fine the night before, so I couldn't understand why. Anyway, caught her, had a look and found she'd got a thorn in her sole. Sorted it out and she was as right as rain!