[Maggie]

Help!  I just found one of my wee ram lambs... he's 2 months old....  with a huge swelling under his tummy which feels like it could be water.  It goes from his underside along past his little weeny in the middle, which is also very hard and the tip looks red and tender.  My instinct says blockage, and I gave him a cautionary dose of alamycin but I really don't know what to do next.  Just waiting for a call from the on call vet but it's been over an hour and I'm worried.  Anyone had this before and if so what's the prognosis?

[SallyintNorth]

Sounds poss for urinary calculi - could he have been eating cake meant for ewes and not specifically for tups and lambs?

[Fleecewife]

What did the vet say when he/she arrived?  You acted promptly so whatever the outcome you went about things in the right way 
 
In a real emergency eg vet too far away,you can apparently chop the wiggly bit off the end of the penis to relieve the blockage - but I've never seen it done.

[kanisha]

or perhaps a little more kindly a needle into the swelling and draw off the fluid in anticipation of the vet eventually getting there and saving the willie 

[Eastling]

I have no experience with lambs but in dogs and cats you would pass a urinary catheter. I wouldn't have thought cutting the end off of his willy would have sorted it as the blockage may be further along the urinary tract. You can get back flow of urine to the kidneys that can cause kidney damage so prompt action required,  A large gauge sterile needle into the bladder would work to relieve pressure. Hope all is now sorted out for the poor chap

[Maggie]

thanks guys.... vet didn't make it through no fault of his own... apparently they had a serious emergency which involved several vets (horse incident).  Wee lamb seems not too bad though but I'm driving him into the clinic first thing tomorrow.  I can't deal with putting needles in weenies. 
 
I hadn't thought about him getting to the cake (nuts) which I'm still feeding the ewes - as he is in the triplets quarter and all are so hale and hearty and have been nosing into the ewe nuts too.  Even in my other field with the twins and singles - the lambs eat some of the ewe nuts.  I always thought it was other way around - ewes weren't supposed to eat lamb creep.  Thanks for the replies though and I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.  He is quiet and obviously uncomfortable but no teeth grinding.  I also have him and his mum and brothers quarantined near the house so I can check on him.  Cheers guys x

[Fleecewife]

I have no experience with lambs but in dogs and cats you would pass a urinary catheter. I wouldn't have thought cutting the end off of his willy would have sorted it as the blockage may be further along the urinary tract. You can get back flow of urine to the kidneys that can cause kidney damage so prompt action required,  A large gauge sterile needle into the bladder would work to relieve pressure. Hope all is now sorted out for the poor chap

Yes I don't know how it works but it was a vet who told me.  It's not the whole end of the penis, just the very narrow bit at the tip.  If he's not for breeding then apparently that wouldn't cause him much of a problem, but if he was intended for breeding.....well, you wouldn't use him anyway in case a tendency to urinary calculi is inherited, but I would imagine it would prevent him depositing sperm far enough up.
I think it's an emergency measure to prevent the bladder bursting, if there is no access to a vet or to equipment or skills such as passing a needle or urinary catheter (who has a sheep sized catheter kicking about?).  Yes the blockage might be further back up the system, but it might not.   I can't imagine having to do that though 

[kanisha]

to be honest if you can inject a sheep using a needle to draw off urine is a piece of piss ( excuse the pun!)

Do not put the needle in the willie! but into the area of swelling ( if you suspect a fluid filled extended bladder) you should be able with a syringe to draw off urine. you can always start with a relatively slender needle and once you are certain of what you are dealing with switch to a larger bore needle do not push on the swelling and if a large bore needle is inserted you can allow the urine to drain out under natural pressure. obviously this is NOT an everyday proceedure. when you know the anatomy of the urethra the liklihood of the blockage just being in the tip of the penis is for me pretty small and an invasive proceedure such as removing the tip would be way beyond anything I would consider as a sheep owner and qualified vet nurse!

[Mammyshaz]

Agree entirely, there is no point removing the penis tip    The blockage would never be at the tip! If calculi make it that far down the urethra then they would flush out with the pressure. The blockage will be much further back. The only emergency solution is to insert a needle through the side into the swollen bladder and relieve the urine pressure by emptying as much as possible with a syringe.

Hope the poor fella is sorted and there is no permanent damage 

[Fleecewife]

 

[Maggie]

Sorry for delay and thanks for the comments and advice.  Sadly had to euthanise him yesterday after a very long chat with vet on phone.  Although a cute ram he wasn't intended for breeding (I breed for the breeders market, as opposed to meat) so he would have ended up on the table anyway. 

I certainly didn't have a catheter to hand and don't feel I could put needles in willies etc.... the vet did mention a *squiggly bit* at the end of the penis, which could have had the blockage and suggested trimming that off.  Couldn't see a squiggly bit as the head of his little weeny was solid, flat and swollen.  What vet never mentioned was your idea Kanisha of putting a syringe into the swelling itself...  there was plenty of that.    Beware of ram lambs getting to the ewe nuts!

[kanisha]

My solution is only a temporary measure to relieve the pressure on the bladder until such time as you can get a vet to look at things at which point the option to treat or not is one to be taken with a vets advice; sorry to hear it was necessary to euthanase but sometimes that is the only  final option.