Lambs losing use of back legs.

[bruce9001]

@Woolless we gave it 3 days as the Vet gave us strong antibiotics for 3 days but it hadnt improved at all and was just lying in its own muck etc so we ended up getting it dispatched by the game keeper!!!

 

[Woolless]

Slightly better news on my lamb. Following steroid injection and mineral drench (including selenium) in Thursday, he can now stand although not too good at walking yet. My guess is the steroids were the key.

 

[Woolless]

@Woolless we gave it 3 days as the Vet gave us strong antibiotics for 3 days but it hadnt improved at all and was just lying in its own muck etc so we ended up getting it dispatched by the game keeper!!!

Bummer!

 

[icanshootwell]

Have picked up quite a few lambs lately, who have gone off their back legs. Perfectly healthy lambs 4-6 weeks old, well fed and fine one day. . . . . then next day, complete lack of use of back legs. None have recovered so far . . . . . .

Any ideas?

Hi, did you ever find out why your lamb went off his legs? I just found a lamb this morning with the same symptoms, i spoke to the vet who said, give it 0.25 mil of metacam and 1 mil penicillin, unlikely its selenium as the lambs only 3 weeks old.

 

[Al R]

@CopperBeech i had a wild ewe that was cornered the other day and stood on her own lamb by accident on his lower back, he now can’t walk! She does come over to feed him a few times a day and he was 7-8 days old when it happened. We saw her stand on him and his back go :/ could this have happened with you or were the lambs to old for this to happen?

 

[Downtrodden Dad]

Haven't reread the thread but I would suspect a spinal abcess or joint ill in the spine.

 

[yellowbelly]

Haven't reread the thread but I would suspect a spinal abcess or joint ill in the spine.

^^^ +1
Especially if they're Texel or Texel cross.
A course of Penstrep may help, given over 5 or 6 days.

 

[muppet]

Just had the vet out to one here - 3 week old Wiltshire Horn, perfectly healthy twin which lambed outside. Been jabbed up so will see what it looks like in the morning. Not holding out much hope though

 

[icanshootwell]

Just had the vet out to one here - 3 week old Wiltshire Horn, perfectly healthy twin which lambed outside. Been jabbed up so will see what it looks like in the morning. Not holding out much hope though

Some long acting penicillin helped mine, had one lamb nearly made a full recovery.

 

[Sethieboy]

Had one here a while back, gave it a course of pen strep and a jab of metacam.! It was an abscess on the spinal cord! Lamb now walking fine

 

[muppet]

Put him down after 24hrs as steadily going down hill

 

[Old Tip]

I’ve had two be about a month or so old.
One died but the other is still going but something has bitten it on the shoulder and on the tail. Guessing this was because it couldn’t walk rather than the cause of the paralysis. Got it inside and it’s looking a bit brighter after a couple of antibiotic injections and some tlc. It’s mother stands over it to let it suck but we have to sit it up again if it falls on it’s side

 

[Sbond]

Have picked up quite a few lambs lately, who have gone off their back legs. Perfectly healthy lambs 4-6 weeks old, well fed and fine one day. . . . . then next day, complete lack of use of back legs. None have recovered so far . . . . .

Have picked up quite a few lambs lately, who have gone off their back legs. Perfectly healthy lambs 4-6 weeks old, well fed and fine one day. . . . . then next day, complete lack of use of back legs. None have recovered so far . . . . . .

Any ideas?

I would like any ideas about this also had a few lambs like this

 

[Woolless]

Spinal abscess sounds the most likely cause.

 

[yellowbelly]

Another vote for spinal abcess.
A longish course of pen strep usually gets them going.

Are they Texels/ Texel crosses??
IME, they are more prone to it but we only get one now and again.

If you've got a bunch of 'em all at once it would be unusual though

 

[livestock 1]

Have picked up quite a few lambs lately, who have gone off their back legs. Perfectly healthy lambs 4-6 weeks old, well fed and fine one day. . . . . then next day, complete lack of use of back legs. None have recovered so far . . . . . .

Any ideas?

Sounds like swayback to me. I’ve seen lambs look fine then show signs later usually when moving them or gathering.
Deficiencies are different each year there’s been a lot of sheep in our area deficient in various things this year causing huge numbers of empty ewes on some farms
Are you in a copper deficient area?

 

[Northern territory]

Sounds like swayback to me. I’ve seen lambs look fine then show signs later usually when moving them or gathering.
Deficiencies are different each year there’s been a lot of sheep in our area deficient in various things this year causing huge numbers of empty ewes on some farms
Are you in a copper deficient area?

For the first time for years we have had some swayback in newborn lambs, never had a lot of bother with copper. Most do seem to have come right though.

 

[Woolless]

Sounds like swayback to me. I’ve seen lambs look fine then show signs later usually when moving them or gathering.
Deficiencies are different each year there’s been a lot of sheep in our area deficient in various things this year causing huge numbers of empty ewes on some farms
Are you in a copper deficient area?

Reading the post again, you might be right although it's an unusual presentation it showing up later. I've had a couple of suspects this year, usually put it down to their mothers thinking they're being clever by spitting out their bolus

 

[livestock 1]

Reading the post again, you might be right although it's an unusual presentation it showing up later. I've had a couple of suspects this year, usually put it down to their mothers thinking they're being clever by spitting out their bolus

I have a neighbour who had problems this time and it ended up Selinium and Cobalt deficiency which had arisen around tupping time another farm had a big number of ewes empty due to a copper deficiency these folks usually have good percentages which kind of points to the fact that we could probably get away without the bolus and buckets we use most years but there’s always that one that can catch you out.
Seems like a waste of money until things like this happen.
Ive seen it appear here in lambs a few weeks old and usually when they get excited on the move. If it’s bad then it’s there from birth.
Yes you get the odd ‘anti boluser’ I find it best not to persevere with those types although it can be tempting to try again