5 day old lamb having seizure like symtoms

Got one here. First day he would drown himself as if he couldn't swallow.Second day he sucked about 1/8 of a bottle,walked round in a circle and went down. Stopped breathing and eyes were dead( not blinking when touched ) so I assumed it was dead. Chucked him out onto some straw ready to put in a bag while I fed another,saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and he was walking round! Then realised he's gone blind. He didn't breathe for about two minutes so maybe brain damage
 

Sonia350

New Member
Hi, no hes not got a bloated belly, i had the vet out to him this morning as he had a bit of red mucus in his poop,, vet said he has Watery Mouth, gave him antibiotics, just his last feed he flopped over on his side and went rigid,, tgen after a few mins he got up and wanted more milk,, could it be his infection that caused it do you think
 

Sonia350

New Member
Got one here. First day he would drown himself as if he couldn't swallow.Second day he sucked about 1/8 of a bottle,walked round in a circle and went down. Stopped breathing and eyes were dead( not blinking when touched ) so I assumed it was dead. Chucked him out onto some straw ready to put in a bag while I fed another,saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and he was walking round! Then realised he's gone blind. He didn't breathe for about two minutes so maybe brain damage
Sorry to hear this, is he ok now
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Yes, watery mouth can do that. It can be toxins from the infection causing what can look like a delirium, iirc, but it's also colic inducing, which can be a more usual factor in the behaviour, ime.

Poor thing. He has an appetite, which is good, but it can be tricky not to overfeed if he's keen - especially if he's taking in air with his feed.

I have given about 5mls of olive oil as a drench (drawn into syringe, and dosed) to help move on any blockages and help sooth cramps. It won't harm to try that.
Did the vet give an anti-inflammatory?
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Got one here. First day he would drown himself as if he couldn't swallow.Second day he sucked about 1/8 of a bottle,walked round in a circle and went down. Stopped breathing and eyes were dead( not blinking when touched ) so I assumed it was dead. Chucked him out onto some straw ready to put in a bag while I fed another,saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and he was walking round! Then realised he's gone blind. He didn't breathe for about two minutes so maybe brain damage

Poor thing. Do you know if he had enough colostrum?

It's difficult to say without seeing, but he could be short of vitamin B complex, or, he could have an abnormality in the mouth or throat. Had one this year that had the later, and couldn't be let go on.
 

twizzel

Member
If it’s watery mouth he needs to come off milk and onto an electrolyte based drench (rehydion, life aid) as the milk will feed the e-coli bacteria in his tummy.
 

Sonia350

New Member
Yes, watery mouth can do that. It can be toxins from the infection causing what can look like a delirium, iirc, but it's also colic inducing, which can be a more usual factor in the behaviour, ime.

Poor thing. He has an appetite, which is good, but it can be tricky not to overfeed if he's keen - especially if he's taking in air with his feed.

I have given about 5mls of olive oil as a drench (drawn into syringe, and dosed) to help move on any blockages and help sooth cramps. It won't harm to try that.
Did the vet give an anti-inflammatory?
Bless you,, thank you so much for your advice, i shall try the olive oil, poor little lad has had a real rough time of it since he was born, his mum rejected him after day 2 ?, tried to persevere with her but she kept butting him away,, now hes got this,,

Yes the vet gave him pain killers, anti inflammatory and anti biotics,,
Yes, watery mouth can do that. It can be toxins from the infection causing what can look like a delirium, iirc, but it's also colic inducing, which can be a more usual factor in the behaviour, ime.

Poor thing. He has an appetite, which is good, but it can be tricky not to overfeed if he's keen - especially if he's taking in air with his feed.

I have given about 5mls of olive oil as a drench (drawn into syringe, and dosed) to help move on any blockages and help sooth cramps. It won't harm to try that.
Did the vet give an anti-inflammatory?
If it’s watery mouth he needs to come off milk and onto an electrolyte based drench (rehydion, life aid) as the milk will feed the e-coli bacteria in his tummy.
Ah really?, why would vet not tell me to use that i wonder?
 

Sonia350

New Member
Poor thing. Do you know if he had enough colostrum?

It's difficult to say without seeing, but he could be short of vitamin B complex, or, he could have an abnormality in the mouth or throat. Had one this year that had the later, and couldn't be let go on.
The vet did check his mouth and throat, all seemed to be ok, his temperature was ok too,
Yes im pretty confident he had his colostrum in the first 2 days,, his mum just turned on him for no reason??
 

Sonia350

New Member
Got one here. First day he would drown himself as if he couldn't swallow.Second day he sucked about 1/8 of a bottle,walked round in a circle and went down. Stopped breathing and eyes were dead( not blinking when touched ) so I assumed it was dead. Chucked him out onto some straw ready to put in a bag while I fed another,saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and he was walking round! Then realised he's gone blind. He didn't breathe for about two minutes so maybe brain damage
How is he now? has he recovered?
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Bless you,, thank you so much for your advice, i shall try the olive oil, poor little lad has had a real rough time of it since he was born, his mum rejected him after day 2 ?, tried to persevere with her but she kept butting him away,, now hes got this,,

Yes the vet gave him pain killers, anti inflammatory and anti biotics,,

It's about the most infuriating thing when a ewe rejects her own lamb.

Sounds as though your lamb needs some recovery time now he's had medicines, and hope he improves and begins to thrive.

As @twizzel says, the e-coli bacteria need to be starved until the antibiotics work - shouldn't take long - so careful not to give big, rich feed. I haven't used electrolyte drench with lambs, but I know it helps with calves, so I defer to greater knowledge, there. I have given warm water before to help keep hydrated, but that's not to be overdone in a young lamb, either.
 

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