[charls]

Hi folks. So I've a Lleyn X Welsh ewe who has been sick ever since lambing late April. Scouring, lost all condition, poor milk yield. Unfortunately she had a difficult lambing and her lamb eventually died. I have tried two courses of antibiotics (Alamycin and Pen & Strep), have wormed her twice, and fluked her separately (on vets advice). She has all sorts of licks, and I have even tried drenching her with natural yoghurt. She's in the Hepvac program as well. She's still on her feet and seems happiest being kept with the rest of the flock, she comes over and has a nibble of cake every day, she's otherwise alert and bright, and is eating grass. But she looks a bag of bones and is still scouring badly. I was hoping she might 'come good' after all this treatment, but not so far. What do you think would be the kindest/most economically viable thing to do with her at this point?

[Crbecky10]

If she's still scouring have you thought about getting it tested by your vet? It sounds like it could be the problem

[Hellybee]

Put some electrolytes in her water, get jabbed with combivit.  Give her a drench of apple cider vinegar with mother mixed with water 20ml 1:1 and get an fec test done with vets . Good luck

[Me]

What do you think would be the kindest/most economically viable thing to do with her at this point?

You seem to be asking would it be ok to put her down? Only you can say whether that is required in this case, certainly thousands of animals a year are put down and in many instances (pet and farm) animals are not put down when their welfare is unacceptably poor.

Economically this would cost 10p for a shotgun cartridge, £10 in fuel to take her to an incinerator, an hour of your time and £10 to incinerate her. Another option could be to sell her as a cull but if she is emaciated or poorly I would prefer to PTS for welfare reasons and for your own reputation.

Potentially there would be information gained from a post mortem though these are expensive when the benefit of the information is spread over a small flock.

You don't say how old she is, how heavy she is, what products you gave and in what amounts. If she is a dear pet I would suggest a blood sample (fluke etc) and a FEC. 

[Tim W]

A sheep scouring & loosing condition and kept with the flock seems like a good way to spread whatever problem she may have . It could be fluke or worms ----or it could be something worse like MV, OJD, OPA

Get rid asap and cut your losses 

[Hellybee]

OR it could be a deficiency due to the scouring, not being able to get any nutrients in.  FeC first x

[charls]

Thanks for all your advice, sounds like FEC should be my first option. Actually, that's what the vet advised if the flukicide didn't work (he thought it was liver fluke). It's not that I want to cull her immediately, but she's not a pet and I am concerned about her welfare as well as the risk of transmitting something infectious. I'm pretty worried about Johne's disease now I've looked up the symptoms, she fits the criteria. But I'm not a vet. My plan anyway was to send her as a cull ewe to market in a few months as she's been such a poor-doer, but I can't in her current condition (and with the flukicide withdrawal period). It's a tricky call to make!

[Foobar]

Definitely FEC for fluke, a bad infestation could take a while to cure, with repeated treatments of flukicide.
Let us know what the test turns up!
Also, might something like this http://www.provita.co.uk/rumen-stimulant-ruminants help? (if you have any handy, and once you've discovered the cause)

[Pony-n-trap]

Has she been tested for Johnes?

[Marches Farmer]

You could spend a great deal and still not find out for sure what the problem is.  I would separate and get the knackerman in, to begin with.

[charls]

My husband spoke to the vets earlier, and she now suspects Johne's disease (what I was worried about) so we'll be taking her in for a blood test this week. In the mean time we'll separate her off from the rest of the flock, although it's probably too late. I'll let you know the outcome...

[Jukes Mum]

 

[charls]

Just to update you - my sick ewe does *not* have Johne's Disease! What a relief, the blood test came back negative. Vet suspects it could be liver or kidney disease and has prescribed a high dose of another AB, Betamox LA, to be administered over a month. She seems a little brighter, still scouring, still incredibly skinny, but eating

[Anke]

Ma she have had fluke damage as a youngster? I have a 3yo ewe, that is incredibly skinny, almost always got a mucky behind, eats like no tomorrow.... she was seriously flukey in the wet summer/autumn of 2012, her sister died.

She just gor clipped today, and it looks that she will be going to the knackerman soon...

[Hellybee]

That's good news.  Did he give her a vit jab?