# Lamb with abdominal pain



## J G (Aug 25, 2016)

We are bottle feeding one of our lambs, and he has had very bad abdominal pain the day before yesterday, and again today. I did some research online already but I couldn't really find anything.

We fed him only goat milk (from our own doe) until he was a week old, which is when the Lamilco milk replacer said to introduce the powder. 
He has trouble standing, ears pulled back, a little bit of the whites of his eyes showing, and breathes heavy. 

The first day he had this, I gave him a mixture of vitamin C and and good bacteria, and we also let him soak a bit in a tub of warm water and epsom salt. Before that he hadn't peed, but he peed in the bath, and right after that he looked more comfortable. 
Later he pooped, and it had some mucus in it. 

He was 100% back to normal yesterday, and I hate that this is happening again. 

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Sheepshape (Aug 26, 2016)

How old is he now?

 Some young lambs do get colic,even if they are feeding exclusively from mum. You often here them make a pitiful bleating noise and they bunch up....this is usually only in the first week or so,though. The colic settles by itself, without any need to give medicines.

Is there any blood in his poop? Does he have diarrhoea? If so E.coli comes to mind. If so, give half strength milk replacer with a pinch of salt, isolate him, and give a long-acting tetracycline injection.

Any other symptoms that you can identify will help to nail down the cause.

Good Luck


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## J G (Aug 26, 2016)

He is 10 days old. 

No blood in his poop. It is normal for the most part, but the first day there was a bit of mucus. 

Those are the only symptoms so far. Today he is much, much better. Thank you for your help! I'll do some research on colic.


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## Southern by choice (Aug 26, 2016)

J G said:


> We fed him only goat milk (from our own doe) until he was a week old, which is when the Lamilco milk replacer said to introduce the powder.
> He has trouble standing, ears pulled back, a little bit of the whites of his eyes showing, and breathes heavy.



Why did you take him off the goats milk?


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## purplequeenvt (Aug 27, 2016)

What is the base of the milk replacer? Is it soy based or all-milk protein? I've found soy based milk replacer often cause digestive issues. 

Personally, I'd keep him on goat milk.


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## babsbag (Aug 27, 2016)

Ditto...but him back on goats milk and ditch the replacer.


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## J G (Sep 2, 2016)

Thankfully, he has not had any issues since we have introduced the milk replacer. We mix the goat milk in it. 

I'm thinking possibly it was a copper deficiency? He was eating the older sheep's poop when we brought him out with us, but now he no longer does.


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## J G (Sep 2, 2016)

purplequeenvt said:


> What is the base of the milk replacer? Is it soy based or all-milk protein? I've found soy based milk replacer often cause digestive issues.
> 
> Personally, I'd keep him on goat milk.


It is an all-milk protein.


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## purplequeenvt (Sep 3, 2016)

J G said:


> Thankfully, he has not had any issues since we have introduced the milk replacer. We mix the goat milk in it.
> 
> I'm thinking possibly it was a copper deficiency? He was eating the older sheep's poop when we brought him out with us, but now he no longer does.



The poop eating could be a sign of a mineral deficiency, I'd be shocked if it was a copper deficiency though. Sheep DO need copper, but not in the amounts goats do. Lambs with mineral deficiencies will often lick or eat dirt. 

I'd guess his abdominal pain had something to do with his habit of eating non-food items off the ground.


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