[Maddie89]

Hi all,
I am very new to sheep and only had my ewe lambs a matter of weeks and its been a steep learning curve.

One of the ewes has always been smaller than the others and not as interested in eating. She then developed persistent scouring so I wormed them all. This then seemed to clear up and she got a lot better and the scour went. She then took a big down turn and we found her lying out in the field on her own after the others had all come in for their small amount of ewe nuts. She seemed very depressed and the scour had come back. I called the vet out and he said it seemed likely she had a large infestation of worms and he gave her an injectable wormer (and the others), an antibiotic because he said her lungs were slightly raspy, and a pain relief injection.

That was on Tuesday and since then she was eating a small amount of hay but no nuts. Yesterday she stopped eating all together but she was drinking lots of water and she has really runny nose and still scouring. I rang the vet back and he said that he had given her everything he could and it would be a waiting game to see if the intestine could heal itself. I then syringed about 60ml of sugar water into her mouth yesterday slowly and she seemed to quite enjoy it.

This morning she's not bothered about the sugar water and I got about 20-30mls into her. I have just given her a twin lamb drench and she's still drinking water. I now don't really know what else to do- I've sectioned her off from the others in the stable with the hurdles outside so she can still see them but not aimlessly follow them around the field and waste her energy. I was thinking about trying to syringe some runny weetabix into her mouth a bit later- she's only just had the drench and probably needs a break.

I'm just wondering if I have much hope with her really or does this all sound quite hopeless? Is there anything else I can do? I hate feeling so guilty and seeing her so sad! Any help or advice would be so appreciated.

Thanks,
Maddie

[clydesdaleclopper]

A probiotic of some sort would help and an injection of combivit. Have you got any ivy around - they love it - just make sure to cut of all flowers and berries as they are toxic.

[shep53]

As keepers of animals we some times have to realise that an animal is suffering and do what is the kindest , only you can make this decision .     Intestinal damage can take a very long time to repair and some times death can still occur after you think all is better .

[kanisha]

Vit B1  injection would also be in my arsenal but it may well be too far gone at this stage. sorry really hope you can pull her through.

[Marches Farmer]

How is she today?  It may be that you have to look at her quality of life and get the vet back in.  It's one of the hardest things about keeping livestock but if there's no hope of her recovering enough to live the life of a healthy sheep a decision may need to be made and the vet can help you decide if that point has been reached.

[Maddie89]

Thanks for all the input and advice.

As expected she's no better. She hasn't declined in the last few days, she stands up and walks around and drinks water but just will not eat no matter what we try. She's also trying to fight us off still every time we feed her so she's not given up completely.

I agree with looking at her quality of life and doing the kindest thing for her. The vet advised me to give it a few days of tlc and maybe she will improve. Hoping for a miracle but won't drag it out much longer.

[Old Shep]

To be honest I'm surprised she's still alive if its pneumonia or clostridials.  Have you checked her mouth for abscesses? If they can stand and walk about they would usually eat so something isn't making sense to me. Does she seem really poorly - ears down looking miserable?  Are there any swellings under the jaw or on one side of her face?  Could she have eaten something poisonous?

[bazzais]

No added advice - just hope she pulls through for you.

Oh one bit of advice - keep an eye on everything healthy too - dont let the sick ones drag you down and take up all your time and energy.

[Marches Farmer]

bazzais is quite right.  The sick ones take up so much time and effort, even if for a short period, that it's easy to remember that if that one is .2% of the flock, or 17% of the flock, most of the flock is still OK.

[TheSmilingSheep]

So sorry to read about the rotten time you and your ewe lamb are having.... if she hasn't eaten for a few days you may want to give her (syringed into mouth, like a drench) some  'propylene glycol' - 60ml (vet can probably give it to you without visiting you).  it helps to keep/get the rumen running.....and will provide a little energy too....
 

[Maddie89]

Thanks everyone so much for your advice. She seemed a little better last night but unfortunately I've found her dead this morning. I'm completely gutted if I'm honest. The others all seem absolutely fine thankfully, I'll be watching them very closely!

[BrimwoodFarm]

Thanks everyone so much for your advice. She seemed a little better last night but unfortunately I've found her dead this morning. I'm completely gutted if I'm honest. The others all seem absolutely fine thankfully, I'll be watching them very closely!

So sorry to read this. Especially hard since you worked so hard to keep her going.

Glad the rest of your flock are okay though.

[angie]

  sorry you lost her,you did everything you could for her.

[Old Shep]

Sorry it didn't end well, but you did everything you could.  Unfortunately it happens, and its never easy 

[clydesdaleclopper]

  sorry you lost her