[madcat]

A couple of the sheep were sneezing this morning , one has a snotty looking nose. They all seem lively but I don't know enough about sheep to make a judgement. A local farmer is calling by tomorrow to see us but could that be too late ?

I have the phone number of a local small holder who lives along the lane and will ring them as their sheep and goat are in the field next door.

Suffice to say I'm worried and in the time honoured way of livestock they have chosen the day I'm due to be out all day to start sneezing.

[madcat]

I've left a message on for neighbouring field owner and left a message with a person who offered to help but beyond that I don't know what to do.

I'm leaving them in peace in the field , we can get them into a small pen with the bucket as bribery if needed . Till then I think letting them do their sheepy thing be best rather than stress them trying to catch one.
I'm supposed to be collected at ten o clock so hubby will have to deal with it .

I'm quite worried because I know almost nothing about sheep at all.

[SallyintNorth]

It's obviously come on suddenly, and they're still lively you say, so it's probably nothing.  But strange...  generally IME, sheep may sneeze for a wee while but not generally for over an hour (usually cake dust up the nose after feeding), or if they have an infection then the sneezing/snotting comes on over a few days and they are clearly not on top form.

If you do catch them up, look for heaving sides, rattley breathing, taking a long time to stop breathing hard after being gathered.  Check mucus membranes (inside the eyelid for instance) - should be nice and healthy pink, not grey, not red and not salmon pink (let them recover from being rounded up before checking).  Eyes should be bright and clear. 

If there are rattley breathers then there's a chance it could be a pneumonia and they'll need antibiotics. 

I've probably not thought of something obvious, but one of the other sheepy folk will be along to make up for me pretty soon, hopefully.

[kanisha]

Nose bots is a possibility the larvae over winter in nasal passages and they make their way out in the spring, they may be getting lively....
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/respiratory_system/respiratory_diseases_of_sheep_and_goats/sheep_nose_bot.html

[madcat]

She sneezed a bit yesterday but wasn't snotty and I thought oh she just sniffed up something and cleared it. Today she is snotty. I think that's probably a case of something developing.
I looked out the window and they're all grazing in their usual group and nobody has gone off alone to sulk.

I have never handled a sheep so would need a hand from someone who knows.

I will walk up in a minute and see how they're doing, they just ignore me if I haven't got the bucket and I can calmly observe them .

This is where my inexperience is a problem.

Thanks for replying , I just heard my husband start sneezing but I know how to deal with him!

[madcat]

Thanks Kanisha.  Sounds possible as there only her and one possible other at the moment .

I haven't got access to their paperwork so have no idea what meds they have had. There's a bottle of some sort of drench in the shed and I think it's probably a wormer but would need to look.

I will be getting help tommorow but I'm concerned about the delay

[madcat]

Update . Everybody up and feeding or lying down chewing. All came to se if I had any goodies so I scattered a small handful of feed for them to pick at and all seemed keen . Sneezer still sneezing intermittently but not seeming distressed, one other sneezed a couple of times.

They wandered off to shelter from the sleet and me likewise. Now I'm sneezing and damp.

They get their small feed about five o clock and I will get a chance to watch them then . Last night they all played jump the trough and seemed well lively. They charge down the field when they spot me with the white bucket of desire.

I'm hoping for the best and expert advice tommorow.

[SallyintNorth]

I looked out the window and they're all grazing in their usual group and nobody has gone off alone to sulk. 

As an inexperienced caretaker, it's odds-on you are being over-worried.  Most of us do (or did)!

However...  sick sheep often do not show signs of being unwell until they are in a bad way.  Because they are a prey species, and predators will pick off the weak and infirm, so it's a survival thing to behave like all the other sheep in the flock as long as you are physically able.  Hence the saying that often the first sign of a sick sheep is a dead sheep.

I think you've said that these sheep are just lawnmowers?  So not pregnant?  Therefore they'll be able to handle a bit of exercise... 

I'd be inclined to move them about a bit, not running scared but just get them moving away from you at a trot, round the paddock a few times, until there's a bit of heavy breathing.  Then watch how they recover.  If the potentially ill one recovers as well as the others, then I'd say you should be okay to wait for the farmer who's visiting tomorrow.  If she heaves, rattles, sneezes and snots longer than the others, then it could be something infectious developing...

I've no experience of nasal bots so can't comment on that possibility.

If you did get them penned up, get the one you want to catch moving along the wall then catch it by using your right arm to shoo them forwards into your left hand, left hand under chin.  (Or left/right reversed, whatever feels comfortable to you.)  Then bring your body up to the flank and using your knees, one near the shoulder and one nearer the rear, with your hands under chin and on the tail head, pin them against the wall, and manoeuvre them with their bottom into a corner so you can use one hand to look at eyelids or whatever.

Try not to grab handfuls of fleece, as it does bruise - but better to do that briefly and then secure them using your body, than to let them learn they can wriggle out of your grasp! 

(Note that these catching instructions are assuming we are talking little wiry Hebrideans.  Different tactics would apply for heavyweights such as Suffolks, Texels, etc. )

[madcat]

Agree about the pretending all is well, all animals seem do it and me also as it happens.

It's sleeting and vile here just now and the flock are behind their windbreak, I will leave them to it till the storm blows through.

They come to the bucket at warp factor five , mrs sneezer was in the first three last night and well up for the scrum. I will feed earlier and then observe and call somebody if she isn't looking a whole lot better.

I will report back here with the outcome .

I found a wormer in the shed and remember being told they have been wormed and I know their feet were
done too.  Would the wormer have shifted bots? Somehow I think life would not be that straightforward .

The handover was very brief, just feeding instructions .

[kanisha]

Many wormers aren't effective against nasal bots so best to check the label and its spectrum of activity. Sounds like you are keeping a close eye on the sheep 

[SallyintNorth]

I found a wormer in the shed and remember being told they have been wormed and I know their feet were
done too.  Would the wormer have shifted bots? Somehow I think life would not be that straightforward .

Hopefully it will say on the label what it is effective against, and whether that includes nasal bots.

Otherwise, if you give us the name of the wormer we can look it up online for you.

[madcat]

Update on mrs snotty
. I went up to see them as soon as I got home and managed to sneak the food into the troughs without being spotted. They come when called now

No sign of distress in spite of charging down the field at warp factor 5 and minimal sneezing.

Everybody played jump the trough and pushy shove then wandered away up the field with me in case I suddenly magicked up an extra food ration.

Phone call from a local sheep person was reassuring telling me not to worry. I'm getting the planned visit from local farmer tomorrow so I will be sure to ask.
They were drenched two weeks ago apparently. I will slip out to the shed and read the label on the stuff , I looked at it but don't remember brand names.

Thanks for the replies. I expect they're up the field now planning how to get me worrying about something else.

[madcat]

Wormer is Combinex made by Novartis. I will have a good read of the label tomorrow and look it up online tonight.

[farmvet]

Could just be pollen?

[SallyintNorth]

Very glad to hear the sheep is doing well

Combinex is a broad spectrum wormer and flukicide, but as far as I can see (NOAH 'Uses' page here) is not effective against nasal bot.