The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Gremlin on March 18, 2018, 08:49:25 pm
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Hi, a friend has a ewe (2 yrs) with lamb at foot. Since lambing 2 weeks (twins but in died after 3 days) ago she has barely eaten anything and is desperately thin. Friend gave her some twin lamb treatment to boost her and she is now on sheep mix - thought she may be changing her teeth and having difficulty with the nuts/rolls. She developed scours after eating the mix and having the twin lamb treatment - coincidental or reason? She nibbles at hay and is eating approx half a sweetcorn tin of mix/day which is prob half of what she needs (she is a small ewe). She has had antibiotics and a painkiller to try to cover all possibilities.
Any suggestions, esp to build up her appetite, welcome,
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Hope your friend is bottle feeding the lamb as it is draining the mother trying to feed it and from your description its either going to run out of milk or the mother might die . When was the ewe last wormed , the stress of lambing can make her very vunrable to worms multiplying rapidly . Calcium borogluconate and vit /mins may help her . The best medicine is grass ,maybe pen her on the lawn during the day
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I think the ewe might be seriously ill. Take the lamb off the ewe and hand rear it and give the ewe antibiotics, can you take her temperature? I suspect she has a raging infection somewhere..
You could try offering her ivy, that can perk them up a bit?
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Has a vet been consulted? If not, then I recommend it asap. If yes, then another call is in order. This ewe sounds seriously unwell.
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If you've a ewe who's not eating (enough) and low on energy then try drenching with 60ml (up to 100ml - depends on her breed/size) of propylene glycol - it will give her the energy she needs and keep her rumen in good working order..... It may be she needs this for a few days, and once her energy reserves are built up then hopefully she will regain her own appetite....
I'd promote ivy, digestive biscuits etc... whatever is her thing...
But, of course, this sort of suggestion is no substitute for the vet......
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Could need worming, I always worm just after lambing and kidding, something with hormones that keep the parasites down while pregnant, then massive growth just after birthing.
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Hi, you could try a cake of alfalfa hay and molasses mixed with water. Both are a good source of calcium and the molasses helps if her sugar is low.