Pneumonia in bought in draft ewes

[cjt]

Having problems with what I think is pneumonia in old ewes that were bought in 6 weeks ago. 6 have died so far. The first two had large lumps of puss and discolouring in the lungs. The second two had less puss but the lungs looked more red and were possibly swollen. Ewes seen with mild symptoms do not seem to respond to tetroxy La. Will two hepatavac injections help the problem, I'm worried that getting them in to do this will add to the stress and cause more losses. Any advice on treatment or management would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[neilo]

Bugger!
Heptavac will supposedly not protect until a fortnight after the second dose. If you're going to get them on the system for lambing anyway, it might be worth starting them on it early though.

It could well be that the strain of pasteurella (if it is that) isn't responsive to Oxytetracycline. Have you tried a different ab (and supportive anti-inflammatory)? Only way to tell for certain is PM & culturing, which would surely be a sensible course of action if lost several already.

 

[Jim75]

Similar situation after buying in a large mob from several sources. Had the last one pmd which came back as pneumonia and not liverfluke which was first thought. The recent weather isn't helping with 20'c swings in a day. On vets advice I'm leaving them for the moment to avoid extra stress. If deaths carry on at a similar scale we'll maybe vaccinate early but would rather hold off so we only need to do them twice.

 

[johnflimston]

Although they need 2 jabs to get them on the system if you don't know their vaccination history they may well have been vaccinated in the past so one jab may well give them a boost in immunity and stop the problem.
Can give them second jab month later to be sure.
How good will the passive immunity be via colostrum if 2nd jab is 3 months before lambing? It will get a bit expensive to give them a third!

 

[RushesToo]

@cjt You may not be the only one:
https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/diy-post-mortem.148946/

There may be something in here that helps

 

[yellowbelly]

It will get a bit expensive to give them a third!

At about what, 72/75p a dose, it won't be as expensive as losing a couple of in-lambers. Don't know how much you paid for 'em but if it was, say, £120 you could vaccinate over 160 for the price of losing one.

 

[Man_in_black]

At about what, 72/75p a dose, it won't be as expensive as losing a couple of in-lambers. Don't know how much you paid for 'em but if it was, say, £120 you could vaccinate over 160 for the price of losing one.

Agreed the value of ewe with twins easily justify an extra dose. But hope @cjt didn't pay £120 for draft ewes... I begrudge going over £35 for Welsh draft I buy.

 

[yellowbelly]

Agreed the value of ewe with twins easily justify an extra dose. But hope @cjt didn't pay £120 for draft ewes... I begrudge going over £35 for Welsh draft I buy.

Didn't read the title properly. I was assuming they were bought in as in-lambers - saw some sold a couple of weeks ago at that money.

 

[Man_in_black]

Didn't read the title properly. I was assuming they were bought in as in-lambers - saw some sold a couple of weeks ago at that money.

Too busy with that bloody selfie stick !!

 

[bovine]

Have you actually had your vet involved? Finding out what is wrong is likely a lot more use than a half arsed description of (what sounds like) a DIY post mortem. Or just keep watching them die. You need a diagnosis, not to randomly start vaccinating/injecting.

 

[andybk]

someone down the road had similar issues with draft ewes , turned out to be clostridial , went from hard farm to lush pasture , a proper PM is important to prevent further problems .

 

[rancher]

Have you actually had your vet involved? Finding out what is wrong is likely a lot more use than a half arsed description of (what sounds like) a DIY post mortem. Or just keep watching them die. You need a diagnosis, not to randomly start vaccinating/injecting.

Never waste a dead sheep !!!!

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Never waste a dead sheep !!!!

You eat them?

 

[It was already broken.]

Never waste a dead sheep !!!!

Remind me not to choose the lamb curry if over near @rancher

 

[rancher]

Remind me not to choose the lamb curry if over near @rancher

Needn't worry,..PM nearly everything here, PMs here cost only 60c more than knackery,
Can be some surprising results

 

[cjt]

Thanks for responses. @bovine vet involved now. 'Half arsed' description on here was just to look for some advice in the short term.