Sick Ewes

[Jonny_2]

Another sheep conundrum!

10 days ago we gathered a ewe up that had been out with her lamb 4/5 days, walking round in circles, star gazing and stumbling. Caught it up and its mouth was rammed with un-swallowed grass. Within 15mins of fetching it in and ringing the vet she had filled her gob again with silage (ended up penning her up on sawdust). Vet wasnt too sure, so tried Pen Strep, Metacam and a Vit B1 jab. She has lived although lost every ounce of flesh. Whilst sorting this one out, we found another in the same field showing all the signs of staggers, jabbed her with mag but not much better next morning so started her on the same as the first one but died 24hrs later. This one seemed to eat and drink fine, but did die suddenly an hour after feeding her so maybe choked on a roll.

Put all this down to one of those sheep things, however now a third is on its last legs from what is left to lamb. She has been housed 8 weeks, showed a touch of twin lamb on friday dinner time so drenched her, no better by tea time so Pen Strep and Metacam. Been trying to drink but cant, try to give it some electrolystes and starts to choke. Done lots of walking in circles and thrashing. Been in a coma most of today so will get knackerman in the morning,

Anyone any ideas? All getting the same sheep cake and outside sheep get Crystalix blocks. Inside sheep are on hay which was made off the same field the outside sheep are grazing. Vet thought it could be plant poisoning but cant find anything that would cause it

TIA

 

[Al R]

are the ones inside on mineral blocks? I’m finding my ewes inside go through as much if not more minerals being inside than when out on grass, I was giving my single ewe lambs a mineral tub every other day but they were brawling over it so now it’s ad lib.

I had a ewe lamb die the other day and a fair bit of haylage was in her mouth/throat and I pulled it out, as if she choked on it or had a coughing fit like they do while chewing her cud.

How old are the ewes your having problems with? I’ve got some brokers which are going down with TLD a few days post lambing and some of the same group are breathing very heavily so treating with amoxicillin to incase of an infection

 

[M-J-G]

Did the vet take bloods?

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Sounds very much like Listeriosis.
We have had some like this as well but before they lambed.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

I think it sounds like listeria. Lost one like that before lambing

 

[Jonny_2]

The ewes inside just on rolls tbf but we do get extra minerals in them. We have a known iodine problem but jab for that in the autumn and some ewes got a bolus as we ran out of jab. Did record the ewes which got a bolus so will check on the computer.

Two are definitely 5 crop and i think 3rd is too. Coincidently i have picked 2 floppy lambs out of this group, about a week old and strong. Can’t stand though. One lasted 24hrs and other was alive at 6pm. Blamed miss-mothering so far

 

[Jonny_2]

Did the vet take bloods?

Not yet, if one is still alive in the morning I’ll ask

 

[Jonny_2]

Am I right in thinking Alamycin is better for Listeria?

Thought it could be Listeria but been off silage a week; maybe a delayed infection?

 

[Becs]

I had a very sick ewe with listeria a few months back and the vet advised Betamox but in a much more frequent dosage. I think it was Betamox LA twice a day at 1ml per 10kg. And metacam. Most important thing is to keep them hydrated so syringe tepid water in if they won’t drink themselves. I also fed lamb creep as less likely to choke on it. It took a good week of fairly intensive nursing but she paid me back at lambing with a good pair of lambs.

 

[Al R]

This is the best I can find for you,
“
Antibiotics such as tetracycline and penicillin may be successful if caught very early but those that do survive are usually brain damaged and eventually have to be destroyed”

 

[Jonny_2]

Thank you I think we have cracked it! Pretty sure 2 are singles and one could be a fat twin, so all out of the same pen in the shed.....

Haven’t had any noticeably bad bales of silage, and must have been one of the last bales we gave them 3 weeks ago before we dropped them onto hay.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Meningitis ?

 

[sticky]

Listeria can manifest its self up to three weeks after being ingested. I know this as I've just had three weeks of picking dry ewe lambs up out of one bunch, 7 in total.
I gave them 5mls of a steroid once and a double dose of pen and strep, 6mls a day for five days, plus several shots of ewe go for energy. They are all still alive in the shed and going on.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

Certainly the Vet left with a tube of blood? Look at Ca levels and Cr/Bun ratio. If they are wacky, then I would suspect toxicity. Kidneys working overtime allready? The secret to eliminating any toxic substance is dilution. Force drench if you have to, but only if they can swallow. You can add individual water soluble minerals that may be needed to the drench if her blood levels are not within normal range.

Hope you figure it out.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Pen and strep seemed far better than Alamycin ( which vet recommended) in in my experience as above double dose and keep it going for a few days

off topic but what’s metcam for herd a few here using it an antibiotic?

 

[Becs]

Metacam isn’t an AB, it’s pain relief and anti-inflammatory.

 

[Lili]

Metacam = ibuprofen/aspirin for sheep

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Metacam = ibuprofen/aspirin for sheep

How much is it for 100ml

 

[Highland Mule]

How much is it for 100ml

£80-£130, depending on your vet.

 

[steveR]

£80-£130, depending on your vet.

Be careful if buying 50ml bottles as they can be costly...

Short shelf life once opened on Metacam, and similiar.