Sheep People-Advice Please!

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I wormed her with Ivermectin several weeks prior, and Safeguard 2 days before the vet came out. I gave her some warm cream of wheat and she actually stood up for more! So that's something. But when she lays back down she just kinda flops her head back. Something is bothering her in her head, she kept shaking her head and holding it to the side as she was eating up the cream of wheat.

Besides the Vitamin B Complex, I was wondering if it would be okay to giver her Red Cell. My friend Kelly has some for her horses, has anyone heard it being used on sheep before?

Do sheep get encephalitis or meningitis? I would think its possible as most animals can.
Crossing my fingers and sending prayers!

 

[Tracydr]

Sorry, forgot red cell has copper. It's been years since I needed it for anything.

 

[NateinFL]

Thanks for the good info Tracy. I was told by the GOOD vet that she would never give Quest to a downed animal. That is the past and she is on the mend, for now. She is bone thin but I have not seen her lay down all day long, and she is grazing on the hay, pellets, and anything green. She also is running from me now when I come to see her with anything small in my hands. When its hay, she looks up and accepts it, but as soon as she notices it is a syringe, she starts moving along. I want to thank everyone for the great advice, the kindness of others amazes me on here.

I would like to thank "beekissed" for the advice on apple cider vinegar recipe. I gave that to her today, even though she was eating it can't hurt. She liked her lips a lot after I gave it to her and started eating some more.

Here's a new question:

What can I give/feed to her to get her to put on weight the quickest? I am on my way to pick up some T&A hay that Kelly G graciously left for me at her house. M eats the coastal but I'm sure the T&A is more nutritious.

Also, does anyone have any input as to the "poisonous" plants she is eating? She still goes for my black cherry trees, I don't want her to relapse from them. Is there a chance that some breeds have developed a resistance to the toxins in them?

 

[zzGypsy]

so here's what I know about poisonous plants...

in general, if an animal is raised around noxious plants, they tend to 1) not eat them and 2) not be as quick to become ill if they do. the local extension agent and my good vet in CA both said the same thing, they learn what not to eat, and they build a little tolerance to it.

that said, some things are poisonous only under certain conditions - for instance, johnsongrass is great forage unless it's been frosted, or it's under drought conditions, in which case it can be lethal. same for plants like maple which are dangerous only when starting do dry, wilt, frost-kill, or other environmental stress. the problem is some of these that are poisonous can become so overnight after a frost... so the animal grazes/browses them one day, no problem, there's a frost, and the next day the same plant can kill them if enough is consumed.

many things are sometimes poisonous... we've got poison hemlock... what the pros tell me is cattle, goats, sheep can graze it in small quantities, and around here often do, with no ill effects. but if forage is sparce, they may eat too much and die. it's not a 'first choice' plant for most animals if there's other things to eat. I think a lot of things that are considered poisonous may only be poisonous during certain times, or under certain conditions, but it's more prudent to just say Poisonous, rather than Poisonous If...

my horses eat milk weed, no problem. none of my animals will eat jimson weed... that one is something they're apparently wise to. all of them will eat the bark off of trees, including CA pepper which is said to cause stomach upset... except that my sheep and horses seem to have no problem and think it's very tasty. I've seen my sheep eat castor plants, another thing that is considered poisonous, when they escaped the fence, no harm done. my goats love the fallen maple leaves - doesn't bother them at all... but it's hard to know what quantity they actually eat. as with many things, a little may not do any real harm, but a large quantity might be fatal. other things are bad from the first bite.

so kill off or control what you can, fence off what you have to, provide enough other feed that they like that they don't need to eat the stuff they don't like, watch what they actually consume.

aaaaaand... this is part of why one would want to do a fecal first before treating, because as I mentioned somewhere earlier, worms are the likeliest cause of anemia, but not the only one... so you really need to know a bit more to be sure you're treating properly, not just "anemia".

another overlooked issue is copper... feeds/blocks/suplements/minerals for horses, cattle, goats shouldn't be used for sheep because the copper content can be too high and be fatal.

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for weight gain:
the T-A hay, as much as she'll eat, switching back to all grass once she's closer to normal weight.
small amount of oats (a cup or so) with molases if she likes that. we use oat/corn/barley mix with molasses, or dry.
some treats if she'll eat them (a carrot or apple) but not a lot of these.
probios.
you can add some dry powdered milk (a half cup to a cup) to her oats if she'll eat it... we use this for weight gain in horses too.
free access to sheep mineral / protien block like SweetLicks (make SURE you don't get the one for goats, but the one for goat/sheep)
free access to a white salt block
free access to grazing

expect her to gain a little slow at first - the worms will have done some damage to her gut and that needs to heal before she can really use everything she's taking in.

 

[Laingcroft]

Quote:
Glad to hear your sheep is getting better. Having her up, grazing and running away is great news. Just going to share one thing - patience is a virtue with animals. By all means give her the best you can provide, but don't try to rush things. Doing so - throwing too much at her at once or switching around alot of different feeds - could make things worse. Like giving an infant one new food at a time, you need to give your sheep time to adjust to each new item so you can eliminate something that doesn't sit well without having to figure out which thing it actually is.

Relax a bit, she's making progress.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
That sounds so wonderful!
I believe some of the extension agencies have really good PDF files in toxic plants. I was looking through some last summer with great pictures and information. May just do a quick search, I don't remember it being hard to find.

 

[Tracydr]

This looks like a good one because it includes species commonly affected by the poisonious plants and the pictures, too.
Some common plants that I would recognize in AZ would be datura, oleander and foxglove. Frequently planted in gardens but datura and foxglove are often found in the wild as well.
Black walnut can be very toxic.
Here's another great site.
http://www.sheepandgoat.com/poison.html

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
Glad to hear your sheep is getting better. Having her up, grazing and running away is great news. Just going to share one thing - patience is a virtue with animals. By all means give her the best you can provide, but don't try to rush things. Doing so - throwing too much at her at once or switching around alot of different feeds - could make things worse. Like giving an infant one new food at a time, you need to give your sheep time to adjust to each new item so you can eliminate something that doesn't sit well without having to figure out which thing it actually is.

Relax a bit, she's making progress.

yes. this.

 

[NateinFL]

Don't worry, I am not rushing her into getting better, I know it takes weeks. Her shots are over, those were stressful but undoubtedly brought her back into existence. Thanks Gypsy, once agian, for the toxic plants info and other info. Thanks to everyone else for their 2 cents. If anything changes, I'll let you know

 

[zzGypsy]

any time.

the extension office is a really good resource, as someone mentioned, they'll have a list of your state's poisonous plants, but I'd also talk to them about their local experience. the MO poisonous plant list includes johnson grass, and it's also listed in the noxious weeds that the state wants to eradicate. however some folks grow it for hay... it's prolific even when other grasses aren't, makes a high-value hay, and is no problem to graze ... most of the time. except when it can kill your animals.

neither the poisonous plant list or the noxious weed list talk about the details of when it's ok, just say "poisonous", but the extension agent who specializes in grazing taught me quite a bit about the subtle background info.