[Je]

Hi, I have an 8yo Ryeland ewe who is gradually becoming stiffer on her front legs.
Happy enough, eating and keeping up with the flock but obviously uncomfortable at times.
Going to give her regular Metacam inj to keep her comfortable but wonder how often to repeat. Has anyone experience of regular use of Metacam inj or alternative for keeping her comfortable please? Thank you

[twizzel]

I’ve not used it long term as it can be hard on the kidneys. Plus jabbing a sheep every 3 days isn’t much fun for them and quite expensive for you. I would consider putting them down, I did exactly this in the autumn with a 9 year old ewe who had become very stiff in her back legs over the last 12 months. She was getting up ok, grazing but did spend increasingly more time lying down. I had her pts before I found her down in winter unable to get up.

[SallyintNorth]

And I sent off two very dear old friends this year as I knew their joints would make another winter a trial for them.  I'm still sad about losing them, but as I look at the sodden conditions everywhere I am glad to not have to be worrying about those two struggling.

[shep53]

Have a talk with your vet about  willow bark for pain relief, not  cheap ?  Or any oral safe product they know  of

[Bywaters]

3 to 4 days

try udder mint as a rub on ?

[SallyintNorth]

Have a talk with your vet about  willow bark for pain relief, not  cheap ?  Or any oral safe product they know  of

Would putting willow branches out for her enable her to self-medicate somewhat? 

[shep53]

I can only repeat pieces that i have read on the net  ( so any one can read the same ) willow bark and shoots  ( all willow it seems but white willow bark seems the strongest  ) produce salicylic acid  which gave rise to asprin  and has been used as a pain / inflammation treatment by humans for centuries .  I found quite a bit about willow as pain relief in sheep , the reason i mentioned willow bark is that you can buy it easily but to find a daily dose from live trees near you with out damaging the tree may be very difficult for some . So yes sally willow branches would enable self medication ,so long as they ate the bark  but at what rate per day ??

[FCA]

We have used Metacam injections a lot over 20 or so years.  We have Zwartbles and our girls tend to be on the heavy side and have had various age related arthritis issues. 
We've been down the injections every other day route.  We've tried dissolving aspirin and squirting down the throat.   We've tried homeopathic treatments and laser.  Sadly, nothing proved the wonder cure we hoped for, but some things definitely helped.
As has been said, injections aren't nice for the sheep and are rather a trial for us too, so we have finally gone down the oral Metacam route.  In fact, what we use is actually called Inflacam.  You draw the liquid into a dosing syringe and put onto food, or squirt down the throat (which is what we do).  Our sheep came running for their dose. 
Having said that, yes - it isn't good for their kidneys in the long term so there's a definite case for careful thought. 
And also, it isn't a miracle treatment and there comes point when you just know that the pain is no longer being managed well enough. 
Hope this helps.