[WoollyMammoth]

Can sheep eats oats that you buy in a supermarket?

What type of fruit and veg can they safely eat? I see that they can perhaps eat apples, pears, celery, grapes (seedless I guess?), etc but is there anything else?

I ask this because I have a 19 year old Jacob sheep who, three weeks ago, had a respiratory infection. She had a temperature of around 41c and the vet has twice treated her with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic injections and the sheep has improved a lot. The vet says her lungs still sound 'rough' and her breathing has been a bit more obvious although over the past two days even that has improved. She did develop a cough about a week ago but that seems to be improving now as well.

However, as to my question about food - since she was young she has been given a small amount of smallholder mix twice a day, it's a dry mixed food. When she developed the infection she went right off this but after a few days started to eat it again but she didn't used to finish it all. She's now gone off it again but she is grazing a lot in the field and nibbling leaves from the hedge as usual so she has an appetite. She seems better in herself (there was a spell about a week ago when she was sleeping a lot) but now she loves grazing on the new grass.

I'm not sure why she would have gone off the dry food, this has never happened before. Any ideas?

I now though need to dose her on an anti-inflammatory powder once a day (partly because of her recent respiratory infection, partly because she has a bit of arthritis) - the powder is Equipalazone. She's had it before some years ago. The problem now is giving it to her - as she won't eat her dry food I'm wondering how I can get the powder into her. Mixing it with a little water and syringing it into her mouth isn't going to work as she's not that tame and it will only stress her out and put more strain on her lungs.

Can anyone suggest how best to give the powder to her please? I could of course try chopping up some apples, or carrots, or grapes, etc and mixing in the powder but she's not had any of those foods before so she'll probably turn her nose up at them.

Any ideas please?

Thanks

[harmony]

Soaked beet pulp.

[WoollyMammoth]

Thanks. Any particular type? For example if I look on Ebay there's Beet pulp nuts (I can't buy locally so need to order online).

[harmony]

No shreds don't need as much soaking but pellets are fine. Older animals can find dry food difficult because of a lack of teeth, bad teeth, sore gums. She might eat a porridge until you can get beet pulp. Try her with some before you mix the meds in.

[moprabbit]

When I had to give one of my girls some powered medication, I knew she'd do anything for something chocolaty! So I got a piece of bread, put the power in the bread and disguised it with drinking chocolate powder. It went down a treat! If she won't eat bread, you could try wrapping it all in a cabbage leaf. Hope this helps!
I've never heard of Equipalazone. Is it good for arthritis as one of my girls has it. She's on Rimadyl. But it's always handy to know of other things to ask my vet about.
19 years old is excellent, well done WoollyMammoth.

[Muddy Wellies]

I mix a little molasses in with barley or oats for poorly ewes (especially useful for twin lamb) - they all love it. If your ewe does to this could be a handy way of mixing in meds and masking the flavour and powderyness