# Severly coughing ewe and lamb>



## PotterWatch (Sep 22, 2012)

I have a ewe that has been having symptoms of a respiratory disease.  She coughs a lot to the point of prolapsing, though the prolapses have corrected themselves fairly quickly.  She has lost weight and is too skinny at this point.  She has a lamb she is nursing that is also coughing.  We treated her with pen-g for three days about two weeks ago and the coughing cleared up.  It is back now though.  I have dimethox 40% on hand and am wondering if we should try that.  If we do use the dimethox, should we inject or dose orally?  Do I treat the lamb as well or would she get it through the milk?  This is a very sweet ewe and I would hate to lose her but she isn't doing well, her lamb is the only one that survived a dog attack we had earlier this year and we are very attached to her as well.


I don't think it is lungworm as we are in a dry area and lungworm problems are very uncommon in this area.


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## Queen Mum (Sep 22, 2012)

Pen G for three days is NOT long enough.  You should always treat for 7  to 10 days.  The reason is this...  Three days will knock down the initial infection and make the animal look better, but it won't kill all the bacteria that is making the animal sick.  Thus some of those little bugs can hang around and come back with a vengence more resistant to the Pen G.  

Now you may need to use tetracycline or some other antibiotic.  You probably need to see the vet at this point.


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## PotterWatch (Sep 22, 2012)

Thanks for the info about the pen-g. We were following the bottle instructions that said to use it for one day longer than the symptoms persist but not longer than four days in a row. We will make sure we dont do that if we need it in the future. Sheep/goat vets are very hard to get around here. The one we have used in the past is super expensive, cost almost $1000 to treat a buckling with a broken leg. It would cost about what the ewe is worth just to have the vet come out. Would the dimethox be worth a try?


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## Queen Mum (Sep 22, 2012)

Not sure on dimethox.  Someone else might know better than I on that one.  I don't know sheep very well.  It would be worth a try.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 23, 2012)

First, I would wean the lamb. The lamb taking nutrients from the ewe is probably not doing your ewe any good, especially if she's sick. Then I would take your ewe's temp. If it's elevated, it's likely an infection but if it's not then it's likely lungworms.

Call your vet and ask their advice--you don't have to have them come out to the farm. If you can't get advice from them without them coming out, give Pipestone a call.


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