[morri2]

Hello!  I wonder if anyone can give me some much needed advice.  I have a lovely Polled Dorset ewe, now five years old who is deperately thin. Although she has a good girth I can feel every bone in her body.  She eats very well, always first to the feed trough but I cannot get her to put on any weight.  I have even tried feeding her seperately from the others to ensure she gets plenty.  She has been wormed, treated for fluke and is otherwise fit and shows no sign of illness.  She has been like this at least since she lambed in April, and was looking thin even before she had her lambs.  She had two bouts of the runs last month which appeared to make her quite lethargic, but no blood in her droppings.  Has been OK since.  She did have a serious bout of liver fluke over two years ago and we nearly lost her, but she bounced back and although she did not regain her pre-fluke weight (she was VERY well fed), she looked much better than she does now.  I have not introduced any new sheep, nor are any of my other sheep showing similar signs of depletion.  Anyone have any idea of what might be wrong with her.  Many thanks.

[shrekfeet]

Hey Morri - you know what, I could have written exactly the same post as you. I have polled dorset and one of my 4 ewes is exactly as you describe. I have wormed etc and she is happy and eating but looks like she could rop dead at any point. I discussed it with the vet who said maybe she had a tumor or something. The ram has been with her and she has happily accepted his services so must be in season. If you find anything out then please post. Where are you based?

[shetlandpaul]

could be the flukes have damaged her liver as she is getting older it may be showing up. yor going to need to get the vet in. don't mate a weak sheep the last thing she needs is more stress.

[shrekfeet]

Is getting the vet in viable?
When I spoke to my vet about this I was advised that blood tests would be in the region of £100
What are the  options?

[morri2]

Hi Shrekfeet - I am in North Wales, where are you?  I will let you know if I find anything out about my sheeps condition - let me know if you do too.

Shetlandpaul - fear not - no intention of mating her now, she's  more of a pet than a working ewe so we won't be risking anymore lambs from her.  You have echo'd my suspicions though - I did think it might be the fluke.  Do you know whether the vet can treat this problem?

Thanks.

[Canadian Sheepfarmer]

The 1st thing I would do would be to get a Fecal test. Take stool samples into the vet and get them examined. This SHOULD not cost you much if the vet is a good one.
You wormed her. With what? Did she spit it out unbeknownst to you? This happens with crafty old ewes.How old was the product? Parasites are becoming tolerant to the different types of wormer so it is good policy to change them each time you worm.
How are her teeth? Molar tooth disease? Liver fluke and Haemonchus, Johnes?
There is also Maedi but in my experience they have problems getting up and down with this and you would notice other things. Is she depressed, lag behind everyone else? How is her wool? I find I can tell things about general health from the condition of the fleece. Do you have cats peeingon your hay?
A lot to think about but start with the stool sample.

[VSS]

I would look at her back teeth for a start.

[shetlandpaul]

i don't know how much is it a pet and how much a farm animal. if she is important its worth investigating. but it maybe worth getting her in and seeing how she does with TLC. but if she is a bag of bones now with the winter coming in fast you really only have two choices either spend on investigations which may show up nothing or put her down. harse i know but it sounds like shes had problems in the past. daft question any blue tongue in your area. were lucky we don't have any of the nasty bugs up here. one of ours missed a wormer and with just the one missed dose the liver had clear nodes on it. so i would try a diffrent type from your last one.

[morri2]

Hello again.  We have no blue tongue here either, fortunately.  Her teeth are fine so thats not a problem,and she has been on the paddock next to the house for the past eight weeks or more, being utterly ruined - the best of everything.  Putting her down is really not an option as she was my children's pet lamb.   I have spoken with the vet this evening who suggests giving her another couple of doses of wormer within a two week period and possibly to take some blood tests from her if she still shows no sign of weight gain.  I have a different product from the last one I gave her so I'll use that one this time.  Watch this space!!!!

[Rosemary]

Fingers crossed.

[shetlandpaul]

good luck. but think about her health if the wormers and blood tests don't work. its hard to get rid of a pet but she may need to be. was she a caddy lamb. if so it could be her immune system.

[morri2]

Sorry so late in coming back to the site - my sheep was not an orphan, we took her on as a pet for the children when she was just weaned and on her way to someone's feezer! She was in fantastic shape.  I have dosed the little darling with another wormer today and have decided she must go to the vet as although I have said her teeth are fine (and I know this is daft) but I didn't actually know sheep had back teeth as well as those in the front, which all look fine!  I have been searching the internet and found that green staining around the mouth could be a sign of molar problems.  She does have very  slight staining in this respect, which could, I suppose amount to problems with the back teeth but she gobbles sheep nuts and bread like there is no tomorrow - and it goes down.  Surely if her back teeth were that poor she wouldn't be able manage  sheep nuts??  If teeth are the problem,  is there some feed I can give her which she can easily manage?

[morri2]

Have been to see the vet this morning - her teeth are fine and, oddly enough, so is everthing else.  Vet almost as puzzled as me. Suspicions are possible damage as a result of fluke or perhaps a food absorption problem as she is still eating very well, but gains no weight.   She has taken blood and fecal tests so just awaiting the results.   

[shetlandpaul]

WELL DONE and good luck.

[shrekfeet]

Morri did the vet say what the costs were likely to be?