[CarolineJ]

Found a ewe circling yesterday morning, brought her back to the field next to the house (after she gave us a pretty merry dance trying to catch her) and am treating as per vet's instructions with 6ml injections of pen & strep for 5-7 days.  She went downhill so rapidly yesterday that I honestly thought she was going to be dead this morning, she would barely lift her head when I checked her last thing and refused any food, but this morning she seemed a little better, had her second injection and has progressed from chewing and swallowing her food if I pushed it into the corner of her mouth to actively taking it from my hand this afternoon.  She's also getting dextrose monohydrate mixed into her water, which she's drinking from a syringe well. 

If she makes it through another night, is there a chance?  She's been lying down for 24 hours now and is still tilting to the right if I lift her to her feet. 

[Me]

Yes I have seen loads through it, depending on the severity she may have lasting damage. The most severely affected I have seen make it is with us but has a tendency to turn left (never right) I call her Ewelander (Zoolander - for the uneducated!)

[shep53]

Had  a few survive over the years and  a lot more die , its all down to how bad they are infected , if they remain more or less upright and lively then you stand a good chance especially if they try to eat and drink .  They can also seem to recover and then have  a relapse .  If you have 1 then there is the chance of more , normally it is about teeth  ,young sheep or old sheep that have lost a tooth  and then eat silage /haylage with listeria have  an open wound with quick access to the brain

[CarolineJ]

Thanks both.  She's had another good go at some food this evening and is out of the rain under an improvised tent constructed from electric fencing posts, baler twine and a 6'6" turnout rug.   

She's one of the new gimmers I bought 3 weeks ago, so exactly the right age to get it thanks to molars erupting, but I don't feed haylage or silage, only hay.  I don't think the lady I bought them from did either, they were out on the hill.  They did stay overnight at the mart, so don't know what they'd have been fed there, but we're right at the outside edge of the incubation period for it being anything before they arrived here.  Just unlucky, I guess.  I'm keeping a close eye on the rest for any signs of head tilting.

[firther]

Thanks both.  She's had another good go at some food this evening and is out of the rain under an improvised tent constructed from electric fencing posts, baler twine and a 6'6" turnout rug.   

She's one of the new gimmers I bought 3 weeks ago, so exactly the right age to get it thanks to molars erupting, but I don't feed haylage or silage, only hay.  I don't think the lady I bought them from did either, they were out on the hill.  They did stay overnight at the mart, so don't know what they'd have been fed there, but we're right at the outside edge of the incubation period for it being anything before they arrived here.  Just unlucky, I guess.  I'm keeping a close eye on the rest for any signs of head tilting.

they normally catch it 4 to 6 weeks prior to the disease showing 1st symptons i were told by vet, betamox la and that pink twin lamb drench(forgot its name) were what i had most of success with.

any twitches or anything unusual i would also jab, i'm still breeding 1 that caught it quite bad so there is hope, and she a right character so there is plenty of hope

[SallyintNorth]

There are several things that can give similar symptoms, and our vet recommended antibiotics and B Vitamins.  (There'd be B bits in the pink lamb drench.). A shot of CombiVit never goes amiss, in my view.

[CarolineJ]

She's still battling on this morning - thought she'd gone when I first got down because there was a massive amount of froth around her mouth, and then realised she'd been picking at the hay.  She managed to have a drink independently when I held her head and has eaten well.  Neighbour at the farm has told me to go over and pick up an Extravite shot for her this morning.

Piece of string, I know, but roughly how long before we should start to see some improvement in balance that might get her back on her feet?  Her lamb is still alive, I saw it move this morning.

[Marches Farmer]

Frothy mouth could mean bloat.  Is she lying on her side when down?  Prop her upright with a bale on each side.

[CarolineJ]

Yes, she's been on her side and my attempts to prop her haven't been too successful so far - she's always back on her side by the time I go back out.  Think this morning's shot might have helped her turn a corner, she's just eaten a hearty lunch and needed less help keeping her head upright.  Fingers crossed she might stay upright until the next check in a couple of hours.

[SallyintNorth]

I had a ewe off her legs once, we made a support for her out of a hurdle (with lots of wool for padding) and hay bales, so she was supported in a standing position.  The hurdle laid flat across hay bales, with her legs through the gaps so they were on the floor.  We took her off it and helped her take a few steps every few hours, and put her as propped up as we could (but off the hurdle) between hay bales overnight, not liking to leave her that long unattended on the hurdle.

[shep53]

So long as she is eating and drinking then it will take as long as it takes , will she stand propped up against a solid pen side ? Did the vet examine her as there are a few other things with similar symptoms .   Only ever had one confirmed case of listeriosis not associated  with silage /haylage

[Anke]

She is in-lamb? How long to go until she's due? If she is struggling to get up - maybe a shot of Calciject may be helpful? Hypocalcaemia may also be present, as she is very stressed right now?

[CarolineJ]

Sally, that's a great idea, I may try that tomorrow. 

Shep, the vet hasn't seen her, they're generally reluctant to do house calls at this time of year, especially one with a 45-minute drive each way.  They asked me quite a few questions and said that the pen & strep treatment would cover a couple of things it could be. 

Anke - yes and I have no idea how long to go, because I bought her 3 weeks ago and the previous owner didn't raddle the tup.  Any time between 14th April and the first week of June!  Her vulva isn't the slightest bit puffy and she's not bagging up, so I think we have some time.  Will ask them about calciject, thank you. 

I'm hopeful that she's starting to regain control of the right side - her ear is upright, she can now drink by herself rather than having to have it syringed into her mouth, and she hasn't drooled or frothed since lunchtime.  She's propped up more or less upright between two bales, although still slightly on her right side, if I try and lie her on her left, her head flops over.  Going to try to get her on her feet tomorrow, as husband is now home from his business trip and can help me once he's back from work.

[CarolineJ]

Ewe is still with us!  On the plus side, she can now eat and drink independently and has gained enough control of her head to move it around the bowl and lift it.  Her eye on the affected side is starting to look more normal and she has enough movement to push herself back round onto her right side if I put her on her left.  When I turned up this morning with her breakfast and her penicillin shot, she gave me that 'Sod this for a game of soldiers' look and attempted to get up and take off.  On the minus side, she still hasn't successfully stood up, unless there's a human supporting each end. 

We're still seeing improvements every day and she's eating like a horse, but tomorrow will be the 6th full day of lying down and I'm wondering how much longer we've got before muscle wastage means she simply can't get up again? 

One of the twins prolapsed yesterday as well - I'm hoping we're getting all the drama out of the way before lambing starts and everything's going to go well for the next 6/7 weeks!!

[CarolineJ]

She made it    Overnight she got herself out of her shelter into the field where we saw her lying this morning in the sunshine.  She tried to bolt off when she saw me coming up with her breakfast, attempted to jump a hay bale, didn't quite make it (it was one that had slipped its string, so she had a nice soft landing) and then decided that having her breakfast bowl was probably a better option. 

We'll get her up little and often today and hopefully her muscles will come back under her control pretty quickly now.  Still on the watch for twin lamb disease, but I think  we have beaten the listeriosis.