[Remy]

My little Gotland ewe lamb ( born last year) got ill with worms at the beginning of January so I brought her in and gave her loads of TLC.  She seemed to recover 100%, put on loads of condition and went out with the flock again.  She was fine for a couple of weeks then went downhill again, this time was much worse than before and I feared I would lose her.  She got every kind of treatment I could give her (worming, flukicide, drench for coccidiosis, mineral drench and AB jab).  I was a bit worried giving her all this stuff as she is such a tiny thing but the next day she seemed to rally and was out grazing and eating feed. 

The day after she took a downward turn and looked really poor, wasn't eating and just lying down.  But the day after that picked up again and was walking around and eating.

However today she looks weak once more, has been lying down and struggling to get up.  At one time when I put hard feed into the trough she tried to walk over to it then collapsed and couldn't stand up without my help.

I am thinking that she must have extensive damage to her gut from the worms, and maybe the nutrients from what she is eating aren't getting through to her.  Is there anything you can advise I give her that might help, such as glucose in warm water?  Her droppings have firmed up so I guess she must be eating something, but is so very weak.

If her gut has been substantially damaged by worms, is it possible that she can recover?

[jaykay]

I don't know long term.

For now, get some of the twin lamb drench for her. Tonight, try her with something like sloppy Readybrek with syrup/glucose/molasses. Basically get some sugar into her and some extra for her rumen to work on if you can, hence the oats.
I put the sloppy Readybrek mixture in a sports top bottle and squirted it into my sick goat's mouth once. Make sure you go slowly and she can swallow though or it'll go into her lungs and that will kill her.

Poor love 

[Remy]

Tonight, try her with something like sloppy Readybrek with syrup/glucose/molasses. Basically get some sugar into her and some extra for her rumen to work on if you can, hence the oats.
I put the sloppy Readybrek mixture in a sports top bottle and squirted it into my sick goat's mouth once. Make sure you go slowly and she can swallow though or it'll go into her lungs and that will kill her.

Poor love 

How much glucose do you use, say for 5ml syringe?

[Fleecewife]

Hi Remy.

There's no set recipe.  I use a 50ml syringe with about a tablespoon of glucose and a tiny pinch of salt with the cereal component - I've not tried readybrek but it sounds ideal (warm) and will help the rumen to keep working. 
If you have a catheter-tip syringe, such as those for using when tubing a lamb, that is ideal, rather than a tiny 5 ml syringe.  The catheter tip is about 1 1/2 inches long so you can put it in from the side, between the front and back teeth, and get the food nicely back on the tongue.  Aim to get at least 50mls down at each feed, very slowly, checking she swallows between each few mls.
Something worth trying when she shows an interest is digestive biscuits - they have sugar, salt and cereal, plus a good crunch which sheep love.  You may have to push tiny pieces into the side of the mouth on top of the tongue at first, but not until she is swallowing the readybrek happily. Once she gets used to the biscuits she will be addicted for life.
Then when she is showing signs of perking up add in handfuls of grass, willow leaves and so on to get her back to eating properly.
Also make sure she has enough water - this can be given by syringe too if she doesn't drink from a bucket.
Keep her indoors for nursing until you are sure she can manage outside. If she is 'down' then stand her up at least every two hours.  Hold her up while she passes urine and droppings, and try to get her to take her own weight.  If she flops when you lay her down, prop her up with hay bales.
With good nursing a sheep can come back from a severe illness to full health.

[Rosemary]

Oatcakes and ivy leaves are worth a try too - our sheep go mad for oatcakes. We had one had a dead lamb last year and was pretty poorly but she soon got the taste for oatcakes.

Funnily enough, she was a real stand-offish ewe until then too, but now she's first in the queue if she hears a packet rustle in my pocket 

Hope your wee ewe recovers

[Remy]

Thanks for the advice.  I went in this morning and thought she was dead, was lying on her side on the straw then I saw she was breathing, but was just too weak to get up and had obviously been trying a while as the straw was all pushed aside.  I picked her and she couldn't take her weight so I propped her up under a heat lamp and gave her some sugared and salted warm water (didn't have anything else to hand).  Then put some nice haylage in front of her which she immediately started tucking into, so that's one good thing  .

I know many sheep don't have much a fighting spirit but this little lass seems to be hanging on against all odds, my biggest concern is that she is so weak and I don't know how damaged inside, and typically it's the coldest its been all winter!

Here she is, I call her Tiny.  Keep fingers crossed for her!

[woollyval]

Well done for putting heat lamp up, can you get a jumper or 2 on her as well? or a foal coat? I drench any poorly sheep with flat lucozade and water with a long necked bottle into side of mouth....she will need a lot of fluid as is probably dehydrated. Also some live youghurt or a rumen aid mix to keep rumen flora working will do no harm.

[Rosemary]

Come on, Tiny. We're all rooting for you

[lachlanandmarcus]

if the rumen stops working altogether (ie if she stops eating altogether), it's worth bearing in mind that my vet saved my ewe with twin lamb disease last year who ha stopped eating completely by extracting some rumen contents out of one of his own ewes and tubing it down into her. She picked up almost straight away, although she aborted the lambs.

He said his ewe was 'not enthusiastic but none the worse for the donation'

It is good news that yours is eating haylage tho, good sign :-))

[Remy]

Thanks for the info landm  .

Well she stayed in the same place all day between wall and bale, but tucking into everything I put in front of her, she seemed to especially like Readi-grass!  I've been syringing electrolytes and glucose down her, then thought I had better lift her up so she could move about a bit.  I picked her up, held her so she could steady herself, then she tottered over to the feed trough and started eating the mix - then went out to graze where she's been eating frosty grass for the last couple of hours!  Not sure how good that is for her but at least she has picked up a little.

[jaykay]

Excellent  the moving about is good for her even if nibbling frozen grass won't get her very far! Good that she's eating everything you're giving her.

[lachlanandmarcus]

It's sounding hopeful isnt it? hurrah!! I dont spose there are any this time of year but if you can find any dock leaves they love those and also ivy if you have it.

[Brucklay]

Keeping my fingers crossed - cute wee soul - xx

[Bramblecot]

Ivy is an appetite stimulant.  Mine spend hours picking over the best bits - it is the sheep equivalent of a box of chocs.  Good luck with your little Gotland, some animals have amazing powers of recovery.

[Remy]

Interesting re. all the ivy tips, I had also been told not to give them ivy as it is poisonous  but anyway, it doesn't look as if she needs her appetite stimulating at the mo!

Well she is a funny little sheep.  Last night she stayed outside till well after dark nibbling the frosty grass, and was still out there at about 8pm.  I went to get some more water for her, then when I came back she had gone into the stable and collapsed on her side again!    I thought oh no, all that grazing and walking about has done her in - so I picked her up and propped her back in her bed and surrounded her with haylage.

It was sooo cold last night I really thought that was it for her, hubby went out to check first thing and I was expecting him to tell me she was gone, but he said she was in the same place chewing the cud!  So I went and gave her some more water, lifted her up again and she staggered over to the feed trough to eat and has now gone outside to graze on frosty grass again!

I am now in the process of making her a jute rug with bubble wrap lining so she doesn't spend so much energy trying to keep warm - pics to follow