[Pedwardine]

We have had dreadful problems as I'm sure many of you have also had this year. The grass was non existent then it shot up in no time and there was nothing good in it. The ground was sodden so we couldn't top and the temperature ambient so blowflies were rife in the warm and wet conditions. We had lambs with scours and blowflies have done their worst and been repelled by insecticide and further damage prevented by pour on. The lambs have been wormed, Ovivacced (albeit later than was ideal). we've taken the flock of the lush and onto their previous paddock, now with nice short grass, and are feeding them creep and everyone hay. Lambs with persistent scours have been given an antibiotic jab.
Still, however, in some poor wee souls, the problem continues. We've given a drench of 'Farmer's Choice', very similar in it's makeup to 'Multilamb Rapid' with all the vitamins and nutrients we could deliver in one shot. We're bottle feeding with 'Liquid Life Aid' to try and get energy and hydration back up. There are around a half dozen persistently listless lambs, grinding their teeth in obvious discomfort, eating tiny amounts but nowhere near enough. I've just been to my feed merchants and the sage therein, Julie, who I'd hoped who'd offer me a solution. She said "Call the vet, you've done all you can". Have I though? We thought if we took these few out and kept them separate in a nice bedded area with creep, water and hay readily available and monitored them more frequently we might just pull them through. It's high time we weaned anyway but of course we're concerned that being taken from their mums at this vulnerable time may make them feel more dreadful. I have to add their interest in anything, mum included is faint so maybe it would be fine.
HELP PLEASE!

[woollyval]

First sit down take a breath and have a cup of tea Then get samples to the vet and ask for coccidiosis test as if you have wormed, fluked and done everything else you can I would suspect this.... Lots of folks are having lots of problems and especially those with fertilised pastures or who are over stocked so don't stress, get tests sorted

[Pedwardine]

Thanks WV. I am panicking (and crying) over this. I so don't want to have them put to sleep. I'm phoning the vets now.

[Mallows Flock]

What colour is the scour? Cocci is black.
I have one with hideous green scour now.... did have the whole mini flock of 16 lambs with green scour. I only let them have hay, a little grass (penned them in with a pre-bend shelter) and heaps of fresh water laced with ovithrift mineral and vit drench and they came round right. They did look awful for a while but they are gert-whoopers now. Good luck and chin up! 

[Pedwardine]

That is so encouraging, thank you. I did wonder with the Cocci as I thought Ovivac covered them for that. We're getting them over to a little sheltered area right next to the house this avo where we'll see them all the time and the vet can see them without too much hassle. Fingers crossed. We've lost one already. We don't want to lose anymore. It hurts far too much.

[woollyval]

Sorry but you cannot vaccinate against coccidiosis......this is not the same as clostridial diseases and has to be treated with vecoxan on prescription from the vet.....this is not digestive scours if they are desperately ill and you have lost one.....this needs urgent vet treatment or you will lose all of them!

[Anke]

You say you have wormed them - but have you also treated for fluke? In this wet year fluke should be a strong possibility.
 
Also Intradine is a very good treatment for Coccidiosis - injections over a period of max 5 days and I have had total success with it for both lambs and goat kids. You need to ask your vet for it and they will probably have to order it in, as it is not specifically for cocci anymore. It works.
 
Also I would take them off all grass, put onto hay and no concentrates until they are clean. Then re-introduce very slowly, if you need to. I do not have my lambs on any concentrate yet.
 
However are these valuable pedigree animals? If not, please think carefully about rearing them if there is no prospect of them reaching the weight you need them at. If they had such a difficult start to live I think they may also not make very good breeding animals.
 
I wish you luck . And if it is any consolation, some of my lambs are still have mucky bums every so often (very green though), and they are not growing as well as I had hoped... the field is a bit of a mess too - you are not alone with problems like this this year.

[Mallows Flock]

Sorry but you cannot vaccinate against coccidiosis......

Hey Val... am I right in thinking you can also use Vecoxan as a PREVENTATIVE measure for Cocci as well as a treatment?  I bought mine before from an agri merchant.... was about £25 cheaper than from the vet!
 

[Anke]

Sorry but you cannot vaccinate against coccidiosis......

Hey Val... am I right in thinking you can also use Vecoxan as a PREVENTATIVE measure for Cocci as well as a treatment?  I bought mine before from an agri merchant.... was about £25 cheaper than from the vet!

You can use Veccoxan as a preventative by dosing the adults just before or just after ( not sure exactly when  ), so that they have a reduced output of whatever the cocci bits are called... Quite a few goatkeepers are now doing it to their dams to reduce the incidence of cocci in the actual pens/sheds.
 
I have found that for my goat kids (and lambs actually) it seems the ones that are a bit disadvantaged for whatever reason (for example didn't maybe get as much colostrum as would have been ideal) are most likely to get it, for goat kids it seems bang on 3 months, lambs are earlier.

[Hazelwood Flock]

Coccidiosis is a parasite, the infective larvae (oocysts) are passed by the ewes who have natural immunity. Lambs can be hit extremely hard by a large outbreak and the danger areas are muddy gateways, muddy feeding areas/lying areas. Once you get a wet area poached it's cocci heaven, and it will always be there waiting for the next warm wet spell.

[jaykay]

I'd forget a test and just get injections for them all, from the vet, against coccidiosis. You have to jag them every day for three days.

And in the meantime, hay, no more muddy wet grass, which is just loading more cocci into them.

Not your fault, it's this bloody weather.

Hope they pull though, I've had goat kids very ill with it, in the past, who did. When they were bad the vet gave me a Metacam injection for each one too, which is a painkiller and antiinflammatory, he said they'd get better faster if they felt better - sounded sensible to me.

[Pedwardine]

WV, sorry it did read that way, the lamb we lost died from different symptoms entirely. They are a predominantly pedigree flock however. The four lambs we have separated at the moment are the worst hit. Freddy is a Gotland Teeswater cross as is his cousin, Flossy. They are bred for their fleece. Fynne was due to be sold as a breeding tup    and there is a ram lamb due to go off for meat in the autumn. Freddy has baaed for the first time in ages this morning which gives me some hope. He's been absolutely silent for ages. There are others still on the field who are quieter than is ideal and who have scours but not as watery. Should I get them all off the paddock do you think Anke/Jaykay? There are areas which aren't necessarily muddy but very soiled over there (no grass though just earth) upon which they tend to congregate most often when they've a belly full or are putting themselves to bed. They like those spots as they can see what's going on from there. Often when a lamb gets up you'll see it has sat in a big sloppy poo which I know is not good but we wash mucky sheep when we see them. This is a seven acre field and there are plenty of clean areas however, it's just that Gotlands are nosey so will always get the best seats to that end! If I moved the 3 strand fencing which we have around the perimeter, they'll only do it again in the next nearest spot. The wormer dose was not at the rate for fluke also due to having just about enough for all when we'd set everything up  . Some got Levacide and some Albenil. I know I know they should have all had the same but the next wormer won't be either of those. It'll be the bloomin' expensive one. How soon after worming can you administer a next dose? I'll mention the Cocci possibility to the vet when he phones prior to his visit and hopefully he'll then bring all he might need to cover all possibilities.

[Foobar]

You should be able to repeat worming after 7 days.  I've had to do that in the past (and did this year), as if you get the right weather conditions you'll get a large hatch of parasites and the lambs will ingest a vast number in a short period which they just can't cope with.


What has your vet said so far?


As others have said, I would get them off the pasture and feed hay and a bit of hard feed twice a day to keep their strength up.


Do keep us posted , I'd be interested to hear what your vet has to say.

[Pedwardine]

Found a dead lamb on the paddock. Nearly brought him over yesterday but he struggled to be free so thought maybe he wasn't so bad. Feel dreadful that we didn't now  . I suppose the upside is that now we can get a post mortem done and find exactly what is going on. Just gutted. Brought some more over here. A ward of eight now. Vet hasn't come back to me yet.

[woollyval]

I am so sorry to hear about the other lamb.....but I am very very concerned that you are not treating for cocci NOW!  Its all very well waiting but its a serious animal welfare problem you have there.....

How many sheep do you have? On how much ground are they being kept? what is your stocking density? These are all such important factors! I have sheep in fields of long wet grass, we have rush pastures too and yet I have not one animal with a grubby rear end let alone scouring......and I am not feeding them anything.
I keep seeing sheep belonging to smallholders on small muddy patches......its an accident waiting to happen!
Sorry if you think I am being hard but I hate to see animals  suffer