[suziequeue]

Noticed our best ewe was breathing noisily this evening.

I don't usually check them as DH has normally done it before I get home from work but he waited this time as I had barely seen the lambs since they have been born.

Thank god he did!

Called the vet straight away - DH calling me a big wuss and over anxious parent.

Typically - by the time the vet turned up she seemed better so - I know it sounds odd - but I was quite relieved when it turned out that we hadn't wasted his time.

He said it was Pasteurella and she was very sick with it but he seemed confident that she would pull through.

What are other people's experiences of this?

Is she going to die?

If she does - what do we do with her two week old twins?

[shep53]

CHANCES are very good the modern drugs for pneumonia arevery effective in tiny amounts and really expensive

[suziequeue]

I think - despite the vet saying she was very poorly, she was still in reasonably good nick - i.e. eating, a bu**er to catch, bargey when she got into the pen and even now - bleating at me furiously whenever she sees me because we have put her and her lambs in the little paddock near the house and not in the big summer field where she normally lords it over everyone and everything.

So - fingers crossed......

[Freddiesfarm]

Do you vaccinate your ewes with heptavac or anything like that?  Would be worth treating all the lambs as soon as you can as well.

We have to vaccinate all ours before they go onto the dairy farm for the winter otherwise they can die.  But good dose of medicine at the right time should  fix your ewe.

[Fleecewife]

Good luck and let us know how she does 

[suziequeue]

They are due their second shot of Heptavac P this weeekend  - so I am presuming that what number 1 ewe has got is either a serotype that's not in the vaccine or something else.... or the vaccine just hasn't really kicked in yet.

Problem is - I'm reluctant now to round the rest of them up for their shots if it's going to result in another one going down with the same thing as I understand that stress is a precipitating factor

 

She seems fine this morning in the dawn half-light. Even came closer to the gate to have a look at me instead of bleating angrily from the top end of the paddock.

Could I dare to hope that she might even be a bit grateful?

Answer: NOOOOOOO