[mebnandtrn]

We have 6 ewes, who were wormed (with Combinex for worms and fluke), thinned down, then flushed. They are ready for the ram on Monday. Today we removed the sponges and gave them a PMSG injection. 5 put of the 6 had put weight on nicely, with a good but not excessive layer of back fat. One has stayed thin, with visible hip bones and a really bony back bone. She looks significantly thinner than the others. She is still penned up inside the shelter, and had 1/4 bucket of ewe lamb and goat mix, which she wolfed down. To check her eating we left her water and 2 buckets of hay to eat. About 4 hours later she had not eaten any hay. The questions are: why has she not gained weight like the others? And is there anything sheep can get that would put her off eating grass / hay? We plan to keep her penned for now, to check the hay goes down, but it seems a bit odd she has stayed thin.  Many thanks.

[shotblastuk]

Teeth ? Harder to chew hay than course mix possibly

[mebnandtrn]

Her teeth look fine......

[Anke]

How old is she and what breed? What's the state of her teeth? Previous problems (chronic fluke for example)? Raised triplets this year (or even twins as an older ewe)? Johne's? Is she anaemic too? - Haemonchus?

Whatever it is - it would be more kind to her not to put her to the tup this autumn, and you need to assess if she is likely to recover her fitness over the next spring/summer (maybe with some additional TLC in the form of extra feed, away from the others probably) to be able to breed successfully (and rear a couple of lambs by herself) or if not to have to let her go.

[Hellybee]

Take her out of the flock and have her close by for the winter, like Anke says let her recover x

[Talana]

I wouldn't put a thin ewe to the tup as with pressures of pregnancy may kill her. As others have said so many possibilities of what is wrong with her like worms / fluke although you have treated her for these perhalps resistant strains there or some of her internals organs damaged may need time to recover ,keep feeding her well and hopefully she will get back in good conditon. Other possibility are she may have an under lying problem with her system or disease such as johnnes. May be worth a chat with your vet they can do worm counts and various other tests. good luck

[SallyintNorth]

As well as the front teeth, what about the side teeth? 

[Marches Farmer]

I agree - if she's lost a back tooth or has an abscess eating and cudding hay could be very painful.  If that's the case I'd cull.

[Scotsdumpy]

Are you regularly feeding goat mix?  most goat feed has extra copper which might not be doing her any good.

[mebnandtrn]

Its called ewe lamb and goat mix, made by heritage feeds, and is suitable for all 3 animals, I did check with the manufacturer when we got the cow (another story!). I will check her back teeth today.