Sheep People-Advice Please!

[NateinFL]

Hi, I have a ewe hair sheep...Dorper/Katahdin cross about 9 months old. She is very sick and I am probably going to have to get a vet to come out in the morning, but please tell me if I am doing things right:

She had bad scours several weeks ago, so I wormed her with Ivermectin, she cleared up but lost a lot of weight.

Past few days, she has gone downhill. Friday she took a bite of feed and just turned around and walked away. Saturday she made it halfway through the field and never came to eat. Lays down alot, very thin. The breeder told me to give her a shot of LA 200, I did that yesterday. 4 cc's. (My first time putting a needle in an animal but it wasn't that bad) Then I shot some nutri-drench down her throat that has all the viatamins/minerals to"rapidly deliver energy and essential nutrients". I also shot some Gatorade down her throat.

This morning she was no better. I gave her more Nutri-Drench. And about 40 ML's of Gatorade.

She is still laying around and not doing much. I am guessing at this point what is wrong with her.

Question: Is it okay to give her about a half cup more of Gatorade using the turkey baster?

Question: Can I give her Safeguard today since she had Ivermectin a few weeks ago? I am worried about possible interactions. I am also going to give her more Nutri-Drench.

This sheep means alot to me, I even named her after my Grandma. She comes from VERY good stock and was very thick and tough when I got her. I will do whatever it takes to get Marjorie better. Please let me know if you have any tips or tricks that you have used on a sick sheep and if my plan of action is okay.

Her poops are normal now, very small quantity, but I did not "see" worms.

VERY concerned and sad, any and all help would be greatly appreciated so I can keep Marjorie alive.

Thanks All,

Nathan

 

[cassie]

Chronic pneumonia and Johnes can both cause the symptoms you mention. You do need to know if she does in fact have worms or other internal parasites before worming her again. It is possible that the worms she has, if any, are resistant to what you used. The vet needs to do a fecal. You didn't mention what the animal's temperature is.

 

[NateinFL]

I did not get her temperature, I don't have a rectal thermometer, but I have a regular one, could I get her temp. using that? I am pretty sure the vet needs to be onsite to do a fecal as you said. Her eyelids are white, no pink to them at all.

 

[boykin2010]

I would try me best to contact a breeder of any type of sheep near you and get that experienced person to come by and look

 

[chickenzoo]

So very sorry about your sheep. I too would get a vet out ASAP. Did you post on BYH in the sheep section ?

 

[Ksane]

They can have coccidia without having diarrhea (found that out the hard way). Albon or Corid will work for that.. Also-Ivomec isn't going to kill much of any worms, same as in dogs and chickens. You need Safeguard paste. I'm assuming you can use Valbazen also but I never have because Safeguards so easy to get and effective against most all worms. Let us know what the vet says after he does a fecal. I honestly believe it's worms.
Edit: The vet doesn't need to be there with her to do a fecal. You can take a sample in yourself.

 

[Laingcroft]

If it's been going on this long you need a vet. Loading this poor animal with a whole bunch of stuff may be doing more harm than good if you don't know what's wrong. I'm not a vet but I can give you few things to look for with worm loads.

Gently roll her lower eyelids so you can see the inside conjunctiva. If it is very pale, almost white then the sheep likely has a heavy worm load and is suffering anemia. Another clear sign of heavy worm load is bottle jaw or a lot of puffy swelling of the lower jaw - it's unmistakable.

 

[zzGypsy]

definitely need a vet.
fecal test, yes.
coccidia, yes, have your vet test for it.

the white eyelids are a real concern, ask your vet about that too. that may be a worm-load emergency.

what you're trying to do now is keep her from crashing before the vet gets there. this is what I've done with sick sheep in the past, but keep in mind I'm not a vet, just someone who's raised sheep for a dozen years.

if it's a work-load emergency (anemia) you want to make sure she doesn't crash for things you can do something about, so check for dehydration (see below) and you want to make sure she's got some calories in her, but starving overnight isn't the issue.

yes, you can give more gatorade, but if you've got drench I'd just use that. if you don't have enough drench, you can give gatorade. if she weighs 100-150 lbs you should be able to give a quart of gatorate, over 12 hours or more, and alternate with giving water (see below). however drench has electrolites in it so I'd go with that if you have it.

check for dehydration... pinch up a tent of skin on the thin skinned area behind the elbow on the ribs - if it stays tented and doesn't go back down in a second or so, she's dehydrated, you can give her water, a cup or so at a time, wait 15-30 minutes between doses, check her hydration level each time.

you might offer warm water with molasses in it, or honey, or sugar... see if she'll drink any of that. don't give a lot of sweetener because it can upset her gut flora and cause bloat or other issues on top of the trouble she's already got, but she needs some calories and the sweetener may make her more interested in drinking. if she's getting drench, just add a little sweetener to see if it makes her want to drink it. if no drench, you can give 1/2 -1 cup of sweetener spread over 12 hours.

when sheep feel sick it can be hard to get them restarted, their metabolism shuts down and they don't want to eat. b vitamin shots can help with restoring appetite, talk to your vet about dose, once or twice a day, it may take 3 or 4 days or more to work.

talk to your vet about what wormers are effective in your area, ivermecting doesn't work on worms out here, they're resistant to it.

make sure any feed or suplements or salt/mineral blocks she has access to are marked for sheep, not goats. goat feed and general purpose mineral blocks may have fatal levels of copper for sheep.

we may give banamine shots to sick sheep to help them feel better, 1cc/100 lbs, sometimes just some pain relief makes them feel better enough to eat and drink. shots can be given twice a day, for a day or two. any more than that you should be talking to your vet, it has side effects. we keep some on hand, but usually call the vet before giving it and get a phone consult first. if you're using her milk or might cull, read the insert on withdrawl times. banamine brings down fever too, and a fever can make them not eat or drink. banamine works in 15-30 minutes, so if it's going to help you'll know 30 minutes after you give the shot because she'll start to eat and drink.

try tempting her with other things you know she'll eat, treats, carrots, a few oats, warm/wet wheat bran... I had one sick ewe I picked mallow weeds for because that's all she'd eat for about a week. most of our sheep think peppermint is nirvana, so you can try offering her a taste of pepto bismol. if she likes that, maybe mix a little in some warm water, or with some bran mash and oats. don't make up more than a cup or so, just enough to see if she'll eat it. if she does, you can give her a cup or two. remember we're not trying to keep her from starving tonight, but enough water and some calories will help.

good luck, hope your vet can help in the morning. let us know what you learn.

 

[Kelly G]

Nathan - I have banamine if you need it. Call me.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

the white eyelids are a real concern, ask your vet about that too. that may be a worm-load emergency.

That's a definite worm load emergency.

She needs a vet NOW

She also needs LOTS of fluids, Iron, Vitamin B, and worming with something that will work, such as Levamisole or Cydectin.

Ivomec is pretty much useless in the Southeast​