[andywalt]

This is a subject with so many differant possable answers but what are your views please.......

a ewe has a shitty back side, i havnt caught it pooing but it must be very loose as its tail and back legs are a light brown....... she is possably in lamb roughly 6 to 8 weeks, can anyone throw any light on this for me, Ive had them only two weeks, would the new ground give her the squits? all the other 15 are ok, very running watering diarea? any other possable cause I am missing?

[morri2]

Usual advice:  Has she been wormed recently?  Also if she's a new arrival or has just been moved onto fresh pasture, it could just be richer grass than she's been used to recently.  Had the same problem with two of my lambs a couple of weeks ago.  I moved them to a field with not so much rich grass and wormed them.  They were fine within days.  Looking at your photos, your grass looks really lush, so it could well be the pasture.   

[elizasheep]

When our sheep go out on to the rich spring grass and get the squits, it's dark green, not light brown. I think the advice above was right, but if that doesn't clear it, or the sheep is going downhill, then it could be a bacterial infection.

[shetlandpaul]

probably worms/new food. you should have wormed them before they were allowed in with the others. if you have not wormed do so possibly treat for other bugs as well. have you got shelter if they are 6 wees pregnant now your looking at mid winter for lambing. not a good time.

[Moleskins]

Last Winter, which as we all know was really bad a friend of mine said they would get shitty bums if they were losing the lambs. Some of mine did scour badly and sure enough when scanned were not in lamb.

[andywalt]

They were wormed and crovect before they arrived and the pasture is not the same pasture as the shetlands, actually id say the pasture is worse now than where they came from but Id say it has alot of scrubland, so diffrent plants in the grass than she is used too, but its only one out of 16.........they are not used to a dog, they are calming down more now after two weeks, maybe they dog has stressed her into abort at an early stage? what do you think? I was going to stop useing my dog to round them up in another months time. and definatly not green its a light brown ....ill take a photo tomorrow

[shetlandpaul]

no don't post shitty bums. just wash her and watch. lots of sheep don't like dogs. ours come to the bucket. if getting worse isolate and get meds.

[ScotsGirl]

Follow her round quietly with a poo bag and take a sample to the vet.  Occasionally I get one ewe with dirty tail but tends to be they have eaten something they shouldn't.  Just had a circular from our vet and it emphasises the need to isolate newcomers to ensure no worms or disease is brought in.  Their example showed several deaths after new arrivals despite a zero worm egg count.  Turns out they had huge worm burden which has now been passed to the whole farm and wasted years of costly worming programmes.

I doubt the dog alone would cause abortion, I tup my ewes October and then watch in horror as firework displays send them into a frenzy but so far it has not affected their pregnancy.

[andywalt]

I will be keeping a close eye on her over the next week, I need to get the vet up to register with themm so I could get him to check her while he is there so I can get access to some meds in the future.

[Fleecewife]

One thing to bear in mind is that, as you have only recently got her, you do not know her history.  It could be that she had had a big worm burden at some point which has affected her gut lining.  Obviously all the things suggested above need to be checked first.  Shitty bums do tend to run in families, so if it persists it's best not to use her daughters as breeding stock.
Picking dags off sheeps back ends is one of the joys of shepherding    I love the Aussie expression 'rattle your dags' for 'get a move on' as it conjures up a picture of nice dry dags, not the horrible wet ones we get here.

[daddymatty82]

I will be keeping a close eye on her over the next week, I need to get the vet up to register with themm so I could get him to check her while he is there so I can get access to some meds in the future.

remember it can take only 24 hrs for a sheep to go downhill and die had a ram die this week went downhill very fast before the vet could get free time but was the runt and he never grew well so was expected as he lasted 18 mths

[andywalt]

Is it possable for her to get the shits if she has to much high energy super lick Mallassas based? its the same colour as the squits!!!!!! maybe shes never had it before with the last owner?

[Moleskins]

  Shitty bums do tend to run in families, so if it persists it's best not to use her daughters as breeding stock.
Picking dags off sheeps back ends is one of the joys of shepherding    I love the Aussie expression 'rattle your dags' for 'get a move on' as it conjures up a picture of nice dry dags, not the horrible wet ones we get here.

Thank you for that Fleecewife it made a rubbish morning a bit better - shitty bums run in families --

[darkbrowneggs]

I love the Aussie expression 'rattle your dags' for 'get a move on' as it conjures up a picture of nice dry dags, not the horrible wet ones we get here.

That is soooo expressive.   But only to be used in shepherding circles I think!

All the best
Sue
Dark Brown Eggs

[shetlandpaul]

Is it possable for her to get the shits if she has to much high energy super lick Mallassas based? its the same colour as the squits!!!!!! maybe shes never had it before with the last owner?

yes.