Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Lamb with mystery illness.  (Read 3096 times)

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Lamb with mystery illness.
« on: May 27, 2019, 08:59:56 am »
I have a 6 week old cade lamb he's been doing fine i was starting to take him off milk. He goes in the field for a few hours a day and nibbles on the grass, but wont eat creep.
About a week ago he was scouring yellow muck with something in it, he refused to drink from the bottle. We gave him Bacox for coccidiosis. He is very quiet and stretching all the time. I gave him electrolytes which he drinks from a bucket. But there was no change so i took him to the vets, no worms or coccidiosis was picked up in the muck. They said put him back on the milk and see if he perks up. His muck is now back to normal but he is so quiet and slow walking. He's still stretching alot and can only take half a  bottle of milk then starts coughing. He' s now had his heptavac P jab too.

Can anyone suggest what else it could be please.
Thank you.  :fc:

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2019, 10:33:27 am »
Reads like a gut problem ? would probiotic help ? why will he not eat creep ? has it been available since the first week ? the creep is vital along with hay or straw to help develop the rumen earlier . A lamb suckling its mother outside and nibbling grass develops a rumen slowly and by 8-10 wks old should be a ruminant so can live on grass ,  a bottle fed lamb needs the creep and hay to grow the rumen faster so that you can wean it earlier at 5-6wks of age simply because it is costly to keep feeding on powdered milk . SO since your lamb wont eat creep I would not be weaning for a few weeks yet and let him out on grass for longer to help rumen development

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2019, 11:11:48 am »
Thank you for the quick reply.
I've been giving him yoghurt as a probiotic as he seems to quite like the yoghurt. What probiotic would you suggest is best?

Hes had creep offered to him from a young age and when he was alot happier but he just wasnt interested in it that's why i has started to wean him off milk so he was hungrier to make him want the creep. Ive tried mixing abit of milk into it, he has a little nibble if i put it in my hand but he wont have any amount worth talking about. Hes bedded on straw and has hay in but hes never taken any interest in either of them. He was in a pen with another lamb that eats the hay and creep well but he hasnr learnt of it.
He did use to nibble on the grass but since he's been poorly hes not interested.

So I'll keep him on the milk and keep trying to entice him to eat the creep.

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2019, 11:20:15 am »
How much milk are you feeding per day and per feed?

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2019, 11:33:03 am »
At the moment he will only take about 240ml from the bottle per feed, so im offering it to him 3 times a day.  Whereas before he was poorly he would go mad on the bottle and drink more than what he is now.

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2019, 05:05:47 pm »
You seem to be doing all you can , straight yogurt good as any thing , you could try a little milk powder on the creep rather than milk , I think you are just needing time , ask your vet if B12 would help it can encourage sheep to eat or any other mins /vits  :fc:

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2019, 06:57:58 pm »
Thank you shep53 i will keep trying. He's doing well in himself as in he's not lost alot of weight so hopefully he will get better. How much yoghurt would you reccomend? I syringed it into him to start with but now he just takes it straight from the tub because he loves it. I give him about 2 tablesoons full.

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2019, 07:34:31 pm »
If he loves the yogurt would putting it with creep encourage him to eat , as to amounts your guess is as good as mine .   Porridge is well recommended  ,it  provides a bit of fibre and fills them up ( like my porridge in the morning )

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2019, 11:26:40 am »
Phoned the vet up, they've told us to look down his throat to see if theres anything blocking it.
But otherwise they think if he has had coccidiosis then just carry on with yoghurt to reline his stomach and a injection of vitamin b12.

So hopefully he should start to perk up soon.  :fc:
Thank you for all the help.

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2019, 11:48:20 am »
Just wondering if there is anything else besides creep you could try?
Mine wouldn't touch creep, neither would the goat kids.
Our merchant has a Tup & Lamb mix, most of the beasties seem to like that.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #10 on: May 28, 2019, 01:38:30 pm »
Just wondering if there is anything else besides creep you could try?
Mine wouldn't touch creep, neither would the goat kids.
Our merchant has a Tup & Lamb mix, most of the beasties seem to like that.

Seconded.  I never used creep pellets; tup & lamb mix always started them eating much better
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #11 on: May 28, 2019, 01:55:29 pm »
Just wondering if there is anything else besides creep you could try?
Mine wouldn't touch creep, neither would the goat kids.
Our merchant has a Tup & Lamb mix, most of the beasties seem to like that.

Seconded.  I never used creep pellets; tup & lamb mix always started them eating much better


Cor, seconded by Sally  ;D , praise indeed, thank you Sally  :thumbsup:

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #12 on: May 28, 2019, 02:20:37 pm »
I will have a look at some different feed, he's definately not wanting the creep ive tried mixing it with milk, milk powder, yoghurt, porridge but nothing entices him to want it. The only other thing is if he has got something stuck and that could be why hes refusing to eat solids. I think i'll see if theres any change by tomorrow now hes had the vitamin injection. Then if no improvement look more towards a blockage.
I read a post about a goat that had the same symtoms and he had gravel stuck in his throat. I hope he hasnt but solong as we find out soon while he's strong enough to cope with it.

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2019, 04:17:19 pm »
Wonder if a little bit of soaked warm beet pulp would  tempt ??

Gemma417

  • Joined Feb 2017
Re: Lamb with mystery illness.
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2019, 07:29:32 am »
I dont want to speak too early but he does seem to be slowly getting better.
He had his second and last injection of vitamin B yesterday.
He is now drinking 450ml of milk 3 times a day so a big improvement.
He is having 1 and a half tablespoon on plain yoghurt twice a day to reline his stomach.
He's stopped stretching all the time and starting to have a bit more energy again and showing a tiny bit of interest in the solids.
Now he's showing improvement i'll try some different feed and entice him to start eating corn.

So it looks like he could of had some coccidiosis or bactetial infection.
Thank you for all the help. Fingers crossed he will keep improving and be back to normal very soon. :fc:   :excited:

 
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