Help save my sheep

[Robin2020]

It's a North of England Mule. Purchased the lamb in September. Arrived with a sore on back of neck with flys and discharge.
To cut a long story short it has had several courses of amoxicillin which stops the ug and brings the ewe back to full character. Wait a few weeks and back to square 1.
It looks like the infection is deep and never quite gets wiped out by the injections. The skin heals and traps it again.
7 days x 4ml is the most I did. I'm sure most will say cull but I only have 20 ewes and it is on such good form most of the time. Its cleverest of the lot...by a long way.
Any ideas what to try? Vet suggested flushing with iodine too but there is no great hole to put it in. It just weaps from a penny size red patch.
I can only think of a different drug...

 

[twizzel]

Not in the same area, but I had a ram with a brisket sore (both superficial skin sores and an abscess under the skin behind his shoulder that didn’t break out)... the vet gave him Draxxin- a couple of jabs a week apart sorted it really well, along with flushing the small superficial sores). Draxxin was her choice as it hits gram negative and gram positive bacteria.

 

[JSmith]

As it’s recurring could there be something deep in the wound?? Flush with salt water could be a good call,

 

[Robin2020]

I was wondering about Draxxin. Worth a punt. Becoming an expensive sheep!
There doesn't seem to be any void to flush. Tight skin on the neck bone. Only surgery would work in that respect...

 

[MRT]

Injection site abccess? Ignore it long enough and it will go away? (Sort of). Or every drug on the shelf +/- get the vet to remove and stitch

 

[Al R]

Has it had footvax? A lot of the oily injections can cause a big lump

 

[Robin2020]

It possibly started as an injection site issue but that would have been with the original farmer. Footvax was done after the problems started so not that...

 

[milkloss]

Flush it with some peroxide maybe?

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Try maggots to clean it out.

 

[MF135]

Have you tried pharmasin?

 

[primmiemoo]

Has any pus issued, or is it always weeping and sore? I'd be inclined to trim back wool, and bandage warm poultice over it - medicated animalintex gamgee from the horsey section in the ag merchant, with a crepe self-sticky bandage from same area - and see if anything softens or comes out after a few changes. She'd need to come in, I'd think, if not in already.

I have never seen a wound from a broken needle, but you can't rule out a foreign body in there.

 

[Dry Rot]

It should be possible for the vet to do a sensitivity test to find the right antibiotic but I have no idea what that would cost.

 

[Robin2020]

Have you tried pharmasin?

No but it looks cheaper than draxxin. I will suggest to vet..

 

[Danllan]

... I'm sure most will say cull but I only have 20 ewes and it is on such good form most of the time. Its cleverest of the lot...by a long way.
Any ideas what to try? Vet suggested flushing with iodine too but there is no great hole to put it in. It just weaps from a penny size red patch.
I can only think of a different drug...

One-off problems / injuries aren't a reason to cull, it's just the way of things; but she's a persistent problem for you and - worst of all - if you keep her, you're keeping the genes that have allowed this problem to persist.

So, and I'm not being funny, but... cull.

 

[Robin2020]

Has any pus issued, or is it always weeping and sore? I'd be inclined to trim back wool, and bandage warm poultice over it - medicated animalintex gamgee from the horsey section in the ag merchant, with a crepe self-sticky bandage from same area - and see if anything softens or comes out after a few changes. She'd need to come in, I'd think, if not in already.

I have never seen a wound from a broken needle, but you can't rule out a foreign body in there.

I trimmed it back again the other day. tricky job as it mainly rock hard crusty discharge. Within 2 days the wool has grown again and I have lost sight again Not sure this approach will work.

 

[Robin2020]

One-off problems / injuries aren't a reason to cull, it's just the way of things; but she's a persistent problem for you and - worst of all - if you keep her, you're keeping the genes that have allowed this problem to persist.

So, and I'm not being funny, but... cull.

Well this is the last shot and I will have to call it a day. Pretty unlucky on my first 20 ewes. I kinda blame myself for not doing certain things sooner.

 

[Danllan]

Well this is the last shot and I will have to call it a day. Pretty unlucky on my first 20 ewes. I kinda blame myself for not doing certain things sooner.

Ha! I'd say that most of us would consider losing 1 in 20 of bought-in ewes not to be the end of the World.

Don't worry about it, once you've culled out problem animals & have your own line going, you'll be fine.

 

[primmiemoo]

I trimmed it back again the other day. tricky job as it mainly rock hard crusty discharge. Within 2 days the wool has grown again and I have lost sight again Not sure this approach will work.

It will grow back, but trimming a good way around the visible wound will let you see the area to be dressed, iyswim.

 

[DrWazzock]

There is a disease of sheep that leads to chronic oozing pustules that break out on head neck area known as CLA. We once bought it in with a load of mule gimmer replacements. Hopefully it isn’t that but if in doubt cull it out.

 

[MRT]

There is a disease of sheep that leads to chronic oozing pustules that break out on head neck area known as CLA. We once bought it in with a load of mule gimmer replacements. Hopefully it isn’t that but if in doubt cull it out.

There is. There is another one named Cruels which is fairly harmless