[beeches4791]

Hi everyone, 

We've got two small Ouessant sheep who are usually full of beans.  This morning, one of them was reluctant to come out into the paddock and is looking very subdued with no interest in food.  We have tried to get a little activated carbon into him in case he has eaten something he shouldn't have and have taken his temperature which is low at 37 degrees C.

We're still fairly new to sheep keeping so would be very grateful for any advice on what else to try.  Our vets is open tomorrow morning so we will call them then but know that sheep can go downhill fast so would appreciate any suggestions of what's best to do in the meantime.

Many thanks

Claire

[Fleecewife]

Heavens!  There are so many possibilities.  The most urgent to check, when you mention 'he', is bladder stones/calculi stuck in the urethra.  So is he passing urine?  If not then that is an emergency and you need to call out the vet today (things always go wrong on a Sunday!)

[beeches4791]

Thanks for replying so quickly Fleecewife, is there any way of checking - or is it just a case of watching to see if he passes water and having a feel to see if his underside is damp?

Thanks so much.

[twizzel]

Find a vet today or you could have a dead sheep by the morning...

[shep53]

Should be a vet on callout duty all weekend ,your decision ?

[beeches4791]

Have felt his underside and it is quite damp but we have found an emergency out of hours vet and are awaiting a call back.

[Fleecewife]

Thanks for replying so quickly Fleecewife, is there any way of checking - or is it just a case of watching to see if he passes water and having a feel to see if his underside is damp?

Thanks so much.

I've never had this in my sheep, but you could tap his belly and see if it's tight and 'watery' sounding, observe if he appears to be in pain in his abdomen, and yes, stand about and see if he urinates - they do it more frequently than ewes.  Beyond that I don't know - I've only seen urinary retention in humans!
I hope it's not calculi, but something easy to treat 

[beeches4791]

Thanks again for your help, the vet thinks it could be calculi but said he is quite perky still so fingers crossed he will pull through. He did a wee whilst with the vet which was good for her to see too. She gave him a relaxant and pain killer injection and also got some energy drink to syringe into his mouth. She has also recommended that we try giving him a little cranberry juice, add ammonium chloride powder to his food and are going to put him on a different food now as he’s getting a little older too.  He seems much brighter this morning which is wonderful to see and he is munching on the grass again and drinking but we’re keeping a very close eye on him.  Thanks again for people’s support it’s much appreciated.

[shep53]

Have a look at UROLITHIASIS  , I would suggest that apart from not eating and subdued he had no symptoms , they certainly don't wee only dribble with often blood   and the outcome is normally bad . Sounds like the painkiller / anti inflammatory helped what ever was bothering him 

[beeches4791]

Hi everyone,

Thought you might all like to know that thankfully, little Ernie is looking much brighter today and charging about the paddock like his usual loopy self! And his bestie (Eric) is staying close by and keeping an eye on him too. 

We're still watching him very closely as conscious that the improvement may only be due to the drugs that the vet gave him but keeping everything crossed that it is a good sign.

We're still fairly new to all this (3 years in) and do lots of reading to try and ensure that we're doing our best for them but it is still incredibly scary when you get a poorly little one isn't it - you suddenly feel like you know absolutely nothing and are totally helpless. The vet was so lovely and made me feel a bit better by saying that we were actually doing pretty well and that lots of people just turn up with their animals having done absolutely nothing in advance to check what could be wrong (which is not a good thing at all, but at least made us feel a tiny bit better on this occasion!)

Thanks again everyone and hope your flocks are all having a healthy week.  xx

[kanisha]

Ouessants are marginal grazers and shouldn't be on concentrates especially as there is good grass at the moment. How much and what feed are you feeding them?

[beeches4791]

Hi Kanisha,

We had been giving them a little in the morning and evening but we've cut out the morning feed altogether now.

We house them at night so just give them a little sprinkle of feed in their bucket to get them in.  They're in the same paddock as our two pygmy goats so we find that if one gets food and not the other then all hell breaks loose! 

I've ordered some ammonium chloride powder (which the vet recommended we sprinkle a teaspoon of on top their food) and I have been trying to find a lower protein feed for them but am struggling as all the ones we've looked at seem to have very similar levels - is there a particular brand that you would recommend for Ouessants?

Thanks so much for your help.

[kanisha]

Hi Beeches my reccomendation would be that you stop all hard feed , a handful if you must to get them in but thats all. The breed has been developed over centuries to thrive on grazing that couldn't support larger heavier breeds. Its no accident that this breed survived so long on the island the conditions there was so difficult only animals adapted to the conditions survived. The island had a breed of hardy pony just like on shetland they introduced larger horses and they all died out.... In the end they had to move stuff with people power!


There is no need to supplement unless your grazing is compromised in some way.

[YorkshireLass]

If the concentrates are just for bribery, maybe have a look at some low-energy forage-based horse feed, I'd suggest alfalfa but that's high protein. Something that rattles nicely in a bucket! Or maybe those dried vegetable treat nuggety things. Just double check what ouessants do with copper levels (some other primitive sheep e.g. north ronaldsays cannot tolerate copper, which is often added to feed).

[Buttermilk]

A sack of grass nuts can go a long way when used as bribes and snacks, two per animal in a bucket rattle nicely.