Sheep People-Advice Please!

[Kelly G]

Quote:
but you know, this is how we all learn...

and there's nothing like friends who can actually be there.

You are a good teacher. I love this place - putting our minds and hands together to help each other.

 

[zzGypsy]

I love teaching.

 

[Kelly G]

It shows! Big hug for all the great in I & willingness to share!

 

[chickenzoo]

How is she this morning... it was chilly down here.....

 

[NateinFL]

I only saw her in the dark, I leave for work very early and not surprisingly she was laying down...Like Gypsy said, its going to be a LONG road to recovery if she is to make it. I have a friend coming over this morning to give her the supplemental feeding and offers of fresh greens. I was so excited yesterday evening when I brought her sunflower stems and she nibbled 5 leaves off of them. It's a start. Still trying to work out a deal with the other vet to come out...she is very busy and that must be because she is so good. Hopefully this afternoon.

The cream of wheat thing was a disaster, I sucked it up in a turkey baster, tried administering it all but about half ended up down her neck....

Keep ya'll posted

Nathan

 

[feathers4fun]

Quote:
Oh so glad to hear there's a glimmer of improvement. Thanks for the update.

 

[NateinFL]

Latest update on Marjorie:

The vet has still not called me with the resulst of the fecal

. I know its worms but I still just want to hear what they have to say.

My friend Jennifer came over today, couldn't thank her enough. She mixed up the cream of wheat with Probios and syringe fed her. Then she gave her the Nutri Drench and warm water. Marjorie accepted a few of the sunflower leaves I brought her, but is still just wanting to lay down. She has gotten up and changed positions at least once since I was home. Her head is up and she is flicking her ears (flies landing on her).

I am not sure how much cream of wheat I should keep giving her, I know its a grain and I don't want her to develop acidosis or bloat. I would love to see her up and grazing again. Just hurts seeing her lay there.

Her eyelids and gums are white. She needs more blood. I am going to keep feeding her and hopefully she will make more blood on her own. My only other option is a $400 blood transfusion which I cannot afford at this point.

It is a waiting game at this point. I really hope the vet knew what he was doing yesterday. It was sad to see her lift her head back in obvious pain after he gave her shots all over her body.

If you know of how long I can continue the cream of wheat thing, please advise.

I won't mess with her until dusk when I give her more Nutri Drench.

-Nathan

 

[zzGypsy]

eating is good, even if it's just a little. changing position is good, so's fly flicking.

we donated blood from one of our sheep for a research project and I think the vet scheduled the blood draws (a pint) 18 days apart (300 lb ram)... that gives you an idea of what it takes to grow new blood cells. I'm going to guess she'll be 2 months before she's medium pink in the eyelids, and another month before she's a good deep pink/red. I don't think you'll be baster feeding her after the first or maybe the second week... but as I said, I've not had a critical anemia, so I dont' know for sure. as long as the anemia is from worms, and you've cleared them out, and she's getting enough nutrition to have the components to make blood, she'll make more. there are some other things that can cause anemia, (part of why you want the fecal results) but i think they're not that common.

I don't think you'd hurt a 100 lb sheep with a cup of cream of wheat, maybe two, but I haven't used it so it's probably best to ask Dr. Sara that. certainly if you're getting some greens into her, it reduces the risk.

do you have access to alfalfa pellets?
what about grass hay pellets?

if you do, you could soak them until they break down, mix them with the cream of wheat, and feed that too... alfalfa is higher protien and mineral density than grass hay which will help her build up faster, but if she's not used to it you have to switch over a bit at a time.

you can feed as much grass hay slurry as you can get into her, just make sure you're getting plenty of water and she stays hydrated (check her skin with the pinch test). basically 1.5 to 2% of her body weight in dry pellets would be a normal daily ration. so if she weighs 100 lbs, you could feed her 1.5 to 2 lbs of dry pellets (weighed before soaking). you can switch some of the grass pellets for alfalfa pellets each day, starting with 1/2 cup the first day, increasing it some each day. I don't know what the volume on that will be, but I'd plan it out so it takes 7-10 days or more to switch over. if you're worried about it at all, max out at 50/50 with alfalfa/grass pellets. hopefully within the next 10 days she'll be eating on her own.

if she's not familiar with eating pellets, I'd soak them before giving them to her, even if she's eating on her own... sheep have to learn to chew the pellets, not gulp them down or they can get choak (where the pellets wedge up and block their throat)... and you don't want to add a new problem to what you've already got, choke is another vet call.

bother your vet about the fecal. you won't know what the real results are until you have that info... the fecal shows not only the severity of the worm load, but the kind of worms involved... and that may suggest different wormers. I don't know that quest is good on everything, it's not what we're currently using here (we've got a lot of resistance). it will also tell you if the problem ISN'T worms, which is unlikely, but if there's a different cause it has to be addressed.

I would expect her to lie down for a while... this isn't like a cold where recovery is rapid, she's got to make a new blood supply...

did Dr. Sara say when to set up the next fecal to check how the Quest worked?

did she have an opinion on RedCell?

I would take her out a little taste sampler, see if she'll take any of these off your finger: molases, honey, pepto bismol, applesauce, shredded carrots, bran mash. if she will, then you can add that to some cream of wheat/hay pellet slurry and see if she'll eat it on her own without being basted...

if you can baste her more often, several times a day, that will help. tough to do when you're working, but if you can do it before work and then twice after work that's better than bigger amounts less often... provided she's not freaking out.

as she starts to feel better, she may get harder to dose, or she may get easier. some of my sheep catch on, others fight more as they have more energy...

and be sure to do a pinch-test for hydration every time you're out there. you might want to bring a bucket of water for her and put it near by, where she can drink without getting up. she may not have the energy to get to the water tank. her blood volume needs to stay up while she's making new redcells... if she gets dehydrated it can cause organ failure, so make sure her skin hydration shows she's good on that count.

it's going to be a fair amount of work for at least the next week or two, hang in there and look for little signs of progress... getting up more, munching a little on her own, fighting you over the drench... for right now, any day she has her head up and can change position is a good day.

to you and Jennifer, and of course, your wooly girl.

 

[jbourget]

It takes a while but they will eventually die, its takes a really lot of drugs to kill off all the parasites once they are infested this bad, trust me i know had a yearling jacob ewe just wither away to nothing after i wormed her multiple times, and one day she was just dead. Dont mean to discourage you i hope the Vet gets to your place and help you....My vet a few of my sheep at different times, but still, he did not get back to me with my fecal he took when she was alive, and he HAD wormed her with a shot. ect... Didnt do much and i refuse to pay the vet bill for a dead animal. They keep sending me bills and i have told them i am not paying

Goodluck she is a nice ewe, and the little lamb is rooting for Ma as well.

 

[NateinFL]

I don't like being a mean person AT ALL, but I am thinking of reporting him to his vet office....here's why:

1. He never addressed my Marjorie by her name or talked to her, like a vet should. It was just me holding her down and him giving her shots. Vets should talk to their patients and show sincerity. Marjorie got none of that.

2. He did not give me any follow-up advice. I had to have another vet tell me how to treat her post-worming, with the Probios and cream of wheat...he told me to leave her alone.

3. He did not call me today with the fecal results, I had to call him multiple times before he answered, and he said it was a specific worm, and he had no clue how to spell the worm's name. How is that supposed to help me? Fecal results take less than 15 minutes once they get back to the office.

4. He never did a fecal on my other sheep, which I was told should be customary.

5. I had to ask him exactly what he gave her so I could keep it for my records.

He never gave me follow-up advice on how to care for her and said to just keep her in the field. Truth is I should be doing the warm water, Probios, cream of wheat, etc. I am not trying to ruin this guy's career with the vet office but I feel that he should be re-educated.

Do I report it or not? Opinions welcomed!