[mrplattypus]

Sorry about the length of this in advance. I have a bunch of cade lambs (was 12 until a couple of days ago) and 4 of them seemed to have developed orf about 2 weeks ago now. It wasn't too much of a surprise as we had it the year before and i read that i stuck around for a few years in the soil and whatnot. Anyway, we separated those 4 away from the others to prevent further infection amongst them and all of a sudden about 10 days ago one of the non-infected lambs was kicking about and was very bloated before feeding and was not interested in milk. Gave her a shot of penicillin when she was laying on her side and was finding it difficult to walk, she made it through the night and is doing well.

Last week we had one of the infected lambs go down with laboured breathing, bloating and just with very little energy and wouldn't stay up on its feet. He died through the night and i had no idea what it was.

The others that were infected didn't look to have the classic blisters on the nose that orf usually brings out although i saw some earlier which is what led to my initial diagnosis. I should also note they had been bleeding from the mouth when feeding which i assumed was the teat rubbing against internal blisters due to orf. Then tonight i went over and there was another lamb down, same thing as the second lamb with the breathing and lethargy. Gave her a shot of penicillin but she was practically dead when i was leaving. However, she was active and everything early this morning.

I have no clue what could be going on, hoping someone on here can tell me if you ever read all this. Please help! Sorry if i sound like a novice, i kind of am. I don't want to lose any more but fear i will. 

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I would speak to a vet about it. Do their backends smell cheesy?

[mrplattypus]

Not too bad, sitting back with some time now and i'm thinking "What about abomasol bloat?" they are very bloated but its in between feeds that its happened both times and, correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought it was just after feeds that they blew up.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

They could have an infection, how about sending a sample of their droppings off for analysis? I thought so too about bloat. Why not explain the symptoms to the vet and he/she should know what it might be.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

This is a page about bloat. http://www.nzagbiz.com/files/file/65/Bloat+Flyer.pdf
I would totally agree with feeding them yogurt. May I ask how old are they? and what milk are they being fed, whole milk or powdered? When I used to feed lambs powdered milk I always added a little more water to the mix, it said 1 litre warm water, I fed em 1200 ml warm water, the extra water helps a little, so that the mix isn't too strong. Also if a lamb starts to get a bit bloated syringe olive oil down its throat, that usually helps take the bloat away. I then give them yogurt mixed with warm water and a little honey to sweeten, the yogurt helps fight the build up of bad bacteria in their bellies, after that I gradually wean them back onto their feed and watch them to see how they do. I hope this helps.

[mrplattypus]

Its powdered milk and the vet was unavailable earlier so i'll give them a ring tomorrow. It is powdered milk and thinking about it, they do guzzle their milk down very fast which speeds up the fermentation process. Too bad i didn't realise it was bloat before i lost 2, but its all a learning experience i guess. No signs of infection, its literally just bloat, fall over, die in a few minutes. So i'm almost 110% sure that its bloat but will confirm with vet in the morning. Yes it is powdered milk so i will add the 1200 ml instead of a litre. Thank you for all your help, i'll keep you updated if anything happens.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

you're welcome.

[Hellybee]

Very sorry      Are they having much hard feed?  have they been vacc ed? X

[mrplattypus]

They are starting to nibble at pellets but not vacced i don't believe