[moprabbit]

I'm at my wits end with one of my 4 pet sheep. She's 6 years old and since Mid January has been lame on and off.Sometimes just slightly, at others quite badly. At first I gave her Metacam and Alymycin  -  there was some improvement, but then she went off again. After a while spoke to my vet and he suggested 3 jabs of Alymycin 48 hours apart. I did that. Some improvements but it didn't last - she was still up and down some days lame others not quite so bad. In the end she went very lame, so I called the vet out. He thought it  could be arthritis, so we put her on Canidryl (a dog tablet for arthritis) Since then she's again been up and down.Then very lame again. So I had the vet out again to do some xrays  on the offending leg - and there are no signs of arthritis or anything else on the xrays. The vet gave her a really thorough examinàtion and said he couldn't find anything obvious. I just don't know what to do next. She's been off the Canidryl now for 72 hours and tomorrow I might give her aspirin.My vet suggested I could try a stronger dose of Canidryl or aspirin. I just  wondered if anyone on the forum had any ideas as to what could be causing this lameness or other suggestions. Thank you for reading this.

[Marches Farmer]

If she's lame then she's in pain.  You may have to consider how long that should continue.

[Backinwellies]

That is a lot of money spent on a pet sheep.   

[moprabbit]

That's true but she's worth it to me. I think most pet owners are willing to spend quite a lot to  try to keep their pets healthy no matter what type of pet it is.

[kelly58]

I agree,  l would spend any amount to keep my babies happy and healthy.
They give me immense  pleasure 
Hope you get it sorted 

[moprabbit]

Thanks for that Kelly! It's good to know I'm not the only one so soft!

[Hevxxx99]

One of the pleasures of being a hobby farmer is that you can spend as much as you like on your stock without having to look at the bank balance, and care about individual animals as individuals, thank goodness.

Does she seem in pain? Could it be some form of mechanical lameness? Possibly daft, but I had a pony with a swollen (scar tissue) tendon sheath that caused him to appear lame, but the vet said he was in no pain, just restricted in his movement. If painkillers don't help, then maybe pain isn't the cause of the lameness.  Is she carrying the leg, or just nodding? Could it stem from her back rather than a leg?
Maybe she's worked out she gets extra fuss if she hobbles...
I assume you've ruled out footrot etc, but are her hooves in good shape?

[Sbom]

If she's lame then she's in pain.

How much pleasure do you get from seeing your sheep in constant pain?

Sounds like you've explored every avenue to try and cure her but you need to consider her welfare aswell. You'd be sad and upset to lose her so are keeping her alive and in pain so you don't.....

Not wanting to upset you but that is how it is .

Hope she improves for both of your sakes x

[Beeducked]

I have to agree with the above, if she's limping, she's in pain.


One thought I had, particularly as she is a pet, is could she have laminitis? Is she a bit, well, over conditioned? I gave one of my goats laminitis by over feeding her as she had come to me emaciated and I overdid it and she was miserable. A strict diet helped and it did settle. The problem is the moment she overindulges we're back where we started so you need to be hard hearted.

[moprabbit]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm looking into all the possibilities of this lameness and am in regular contact with my vet.  I want to find out the cause of the lameness and then put it right.  I don't want to see her in pain and so am addressing that by trying different things to see which is most effective. Thank you for the various suggestions that have  been made. I'm going to ring my vet again tomorrow and ask about laminitis.