Barber Pole Worms

[norseofcourse]

Ram20 - have you checked the inside of their lower eyelids? The paler the color, the more anemic they are. I dealt with it in a ewe lamb last year, her gums were very pale and she had bottle jaw, it took nearly a week to start getting some color back in her eyelids, and about the same amount of time, maybe a bit longer, for the bottle jaw to go away. I was giving her some nutridrench and sheep pellets for extra energy and nutrition, and I had wormed her with Valbazin. Her color continued to improve and within a few weeks she was nearly back to normal.

I have heard that older sheep can take a little longer to bounce back than younger ones. Good luck with your sheep. If anyplace around you ever has a FAMACHA class, it's worth taking, check with your county ag. extension or google it.

 

[hilarie]

Oooh! Ooooh! Thank you Southern!

 

[Ram20]

norseofcourse eye lids are white. I did worm with valbazin. Supplement feeding and just put a vitamin tub in pasture. Hope they get better. Thanks.

 

[purplequeenvt]

If you've used Valbazen a lot in the past it might not be as effective. Also, are you sure that you are dosing your sheep for the correct weight? It is better to overestimate weight than underestimate it.

If these were my sheep, I would pull them off pasture into a paddock with no grass. I would deworm them heavily (a fecal would be good to determine what type of parasite), and dry lot them until fully recovered. All feeding would be in dishes and off the ground so as to limit re-infection.

Talk to your vet about parasite drug resistance. So many dewormers have been under dosed and over used that the parasites have developed protection against them. In my area, Safe-Guard and Valbazen (Ivermectin to some extent too) are not as effective. I am able to use them still because we don't over use them.

 

[Ram20]

Up date. I took a fecal sample to vet today. It is barber pole worms. I guess I just have a bad case. Lambs have coccidiosis. Treating that with corid. Never seen a sheep where the whole head would swell like this. Just thought it might help someone else.