[kanisha]

I am just wondering if she has some sort of metabolite imbalance it seems odd that she is so up and down. ( looking for scratching head emoticon)

[SallyintNorth]

( looking for scratching head emoticon)

This do?

And yes, the up and down-ness is a puzzle. Sounds like you are doing all the right things, though, Remy - she's lucky to have you.  We're all rooting for her.

[jaykay]

What's she had in the way of vitamins and minerals?

[Remy]

What's she had in the way of vitamins and minerals?

She had a long lasting multivit jab when she came in, along with being wormed, and drenches for fluke/cocciodisis.  She also had an AB jab and I thought if all that didn't kill her it would be a miracle!

She stayed out for a bit this morning, then brought herself back in and lay down in her bed - so glad she didn't collapse on the floor this time  .  I'm giving her warm water and glucose every so often and making sure she has access to haylage while she's lying down.  I've seen her pass water and her droppings are firm, so I'm cautiously optimistic ..

Out first thing this morning



Her little rug made out of a peanut sack lol



Took herself off to bed 

[Remy]

I can't believe this little ewe. She has got weaker and weaker to the point she can't stand, and yesterday after grazing in the morning keeled over again and couldn't get up.  I put her under the lamp where she lay on her side and didn't move or eat for the rest of the day and looked exhausted.  Apart from having water syringed down her she was looking very poor.  Then the blasted bulb in the heatlamp blew and I had to ransack my barn to try and find another one, which luckily I had! I left her last night never expecting for a minute she would still be here this morning, and when I peeped over the door she hadn't moved, but was still breathing!

So picked her up, helped to find her legs and she then squatted for a wee, but collapsed again.  I put her back in her bed with a load of haylage in front of her and she immediately grabbed huge mouthfuls of it!

She very much wants to live by the looks of it, but my worry is now whether she's been affected neuroogically and can't stand?  I will just have to see how it goes over the next few days, she so deserves to live 

[kanisha]

Please consider getting a vets opinion I feel certain that there is something that isn't being covered here. it may be that there is nothing that you can do but she is so up and down who knows it may only take the right treatment to get her back on her feet.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Remy.  From the photos she is, apart from being extremely cute  , very thin.  She is clearly very hungry but frozen grass will give her almost no nutrition and she will need more than she gets from the haylage - in her weakened state that will be hard going.  Being so weak would explain the falling, or being too exhausted to get up
Have you tried the ready-brek and digestive biscuits suggested, or some coarse sheep mix as she is able to eat?  I feel she needs more food inside her.

[Pedwardine]

Ivy is great as an 'encouragement' to eat but in moderation only. Too much is not a good thing (like us and chocolate-good parallel!). Does sound to me like the rumen has suffered some from her ordeal. 'Pro-rumen' is a fantastic aid. Any vet should be able to supply you with some sachets or get a hold of some pretty quickly for you. Dreadful that your poor girl is suffering at such a chilly time of year... Is she suffering in any other way ie: runny nose? We had a ewe with pneumonia who was saved by a series of 3 steroid injections. It had looked sure that we were going to lose her. Sheep don't give up the ghost if you don't give up on them.
Good look with your little sweetie, she looks absolutely adorable and you sound like a wonderful mum.

Amanda

[SteveHants]

Maybe try some nuts. Pelleted beet is quite good too, presumably because the sugar in it get the rumen going.

[Remy]

I did ask a vet's opinion this morning, she said it sounded like the ewe had just about everything she could have in the way of medication - it would be just a case of nursing her.  I asked if it was likely she wouldn't survive, but she said it can be 50/50 and the fact that she is interested in food is in her favour.  I'm assuming then, her inability to stand is due to weakness, as she was certainly very anaemic (mucous membranes were white) although I did detect some pinkness in them today.  She doesn't have a runny nose or anything else, is just very thin and weak.  Her droppings are fine.

Fleecewife I'm sure you're right, but it's difficult to get her to eat enough!  I did try digestive biscuits but she wasn't interested in them, although she is eating coarse mix, but probably not enough to make much difference.  I will try crumbling them into some mix, and also get some readybrek. I've been adding sugar beet shreds but again she's not bothered about those.  I'm also giving her readi-grass (pure dried grass for horses) which she is eating a bit of.

Is the rumen aid a prescription item, or could I get it from my local agricultural feed merchant?

It's so typical all this happens when it's freezing cold and no grazing! 

[woollyval]

Grazing is of very little value at the moment...about the same as feeding lettuce! Letting her go outside is anso pointless as she will be using all her energy to keep warm! She MUST be penned in a warm corner under a lamp ALL the time! She needs rumen stimulant...she should have had it several  days ago! On a sunday the best you can get is live natural youghurt and that has lots of the gut bactria necessary. You need to get her to eat high energy food...soaked sugar beet with molasses, bran mashes, biscuits, chopped apples...anything! She is weak because she is expending too much energy to get better!
Please get the vet if need be....and I think need is now. She is worth a lot of money so it is not money wasted but well spent!
Please please don't let her out in the cold again!

[mmu]

we're all rooting for this brave little ewe, i too have the sense she really does need more high quality nutrition inside her.  i'm a great believer in gettin sickly animals out on grass, but not frosted, which could upset her digestion, and that's not what you want. i think keep her in, and just try to get as much energy down her as poss.  very good luck. excuse lower case, only one hand working after tripping over on the way back from the lambing shed. ground was hard as iron ouch!

[Remy]

But what exactly would a vet do now that hasn't already been done?  I've had the vet out to her, he's given her what he believed she needed.  I called a different vet again this morning and was told that everything had been done medically that could have been.  I know she needs calories inside her, I can get the rumen stimulant yes - as for all the other types of food, fine if she will eat if but if not I can't exactly force feed her unless it's easily swallowable - yes I will try readibrek/live yoghurt.  Believe me I am not being complacent, I am tending to her all day and have tried many things, sugar beet in molasses, biscuits, grain - she will eat a bit if hungry but not in huge quantities.

I am unsure if I agree to keep her constantly penned in a small space - I understand where you are coming from re. her needing energy to keep warm but she's been under the heatlamp for days now and I think she needs to move around.  I helped her to stand up just now, she wanted to lie down again but I held her and 'walked' her around and took her over to a pile of hay, where she started to nibble.  I went off to get a scoop of mix and when I got back she had gone out.

The sun is out here and the ice has melted, it is not cold like it has been.  She is at present in my garden where there is loads of grass (not frosted otherwise I wouldn't have put her on it) - ok it doesn't have a lot of goodness but she is eating it like there is no tomorrow.  I am of the opinion if she is that interested in the grass it's going to be more beneficial to allow her to graze for a bit than keep her cooped up and trying to get her to eat stuff she's not really interested in.  She's the perkiest I've seen her for ages so that in itself is telling me something!  If it fills her belly and gives it something to work on surely that's a good thing .. and no I won't be letting her stay on it for ages!

The reason her rug is off is that while she was lying down she got a bit tangled in it and she was very warm, and the temp has gone up here today.  If it was freezing cold I wouldn't have let her out.

She'll go back under the lamp tonight with her rug back on 

[kanisha]

she would be better with a rug on outside and off when under the lamp. I too have a ewe that is very thin  you can actually see the points of her hips through her fleece! well you could she is doing a little better now. I have no explanation for why she was so thin the others under the same conditions are not The one food she eats with gusto (other than grass) is alfa A (luzerne plus molasses)

[Remy]

she would be better with a rug on outside and off when under the lamp. I too have a ewe that is very thin  you can actually see the points of her hips through her fleece! well you could she is doing a little better now. I have no explanation for why she was so thin the others under the same conditions are not The one food she eats with gusto (other than grass) is alfa A (luzerne plus molasses)

I agree her rug is better on during the day  .  I was actually going to get some Alfa-A tomorrow, it's what I've fed to horses to get a bit of condition on them and if she doesn't eat it then the horses will  .  The Readi-grass I got she is not very interested in.  What I will do is shut her in at night and let her into the garden for a while during the day if the weather's ok.  She seems so much better than she did yesterday, but has a long way to go.

I too have a ewe that has always shown her hip bones, she was like that when I got her (she's the brown Zwartbles with Tiny).  She is another one who got sick but recovered - her hipbones still show though and I think they always will!  When I brought her in to convalesce I carried her like a dog, but now I can't pick her up!