zzGypsy
Ridin' The Range
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2011
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- 242
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we had a ram who made it to 16, so I've got a little experience in elderly sheep.
teeth are definitely an issue - you can run your finger inside his cheek back along his molars to see what he's got to chew his food with... if they're sharp, or missing, or you feel lumps or sores he may have abcesses or spots where the teeth cut the inside of his mouth. a vet can help you address this.
if he's got a tooth problem, he won't or can't chew what he eats and can't get much nutrition from it. hay cubes help, but if he really has no teeth soaked pellets may be better because they're competely pre-chewed.
on our old man ButtHead (yeah, I know, but he earned it...) we fed this:
soaked alfalfa/grass hay pellets (these are 50% alfalfa) with a small amount of steamed oats, a little molasses (because he likes it), and a quarter cup of corn oil or 1/2 cup of rice bran. the alfalfa gives protien for him to build muscle with, the corn oil or rice bran ups the calorie count. sometimes the problem is they don't have enough appetite to eat all the feed they need to rebuild. adding fat calories can help up their calorie intake without risking the bloat issues that can occur if you increase their sugar intake.
if he's got treats he likes, things like carrots, add some of those grated up too.
we set up pellets to soak at the previous feeding - so in the morning we filled a bucket with pellets and water for the evening feed, etc.
other things we did:
probiotic powder to make sure his gut flora was up to snuff.
B vitamin shots can help stimulate appetite (talk to your vet about dosing)
whatever weeds we had that he found tasty (he particularly liked mallow and bamboo)
SweetLix protein block for sheep - this is a protien, mineral, sweet pressed block they can free feed on to suplement what they need. get the sheep block, the goat block is too high in copper. if he's got front teeth he'll be able to eat this. your goats will make short work of this as well, so you'll either need to separate him or plan on buying these regularly. we do keep these for our goats as well.
white salt block available free choice.
offer electrolyte water and see if he's interested.
offer water with a little molasses and see if he's interested. small amounts of molasses won't hurt, and if they like it, it can encourage appetite. large amounts aren't good as they can cause bloat (as with any sweet feed.) molasses has minerals in it as well, so that's good.
if it's hot, cool water is good, but if he's got tooth problems, tepid water may be more comfortable for him to drink.
sometimes a few doses of sheep drench will help get them feeling good enough to eat.
sometimes a twice daily shot of banamine will help supress any pain they have so they feel good enough to eat. it's hard on their liver, so it can't be used long term, but in an older guy, giving them a few days pain-free can perk them up enough to start on recovery.
since he's been sick and is under weight, keep an eye on his wool growth, he may not put on the wool he should for winter. if he doesn't put on some wool for the cold season, you may want to blanket him at night. sheep are remarkably cold-tollerant, but they are designed to have winter wool so that you'll have to make a jugement call on.
teeth are definitely an issue - you can run your finger inside his cheek back along his molars to see what he's got to chew his food with... if they're sharp, or missing, or you feel lumps or sores he may have abcesses or spots where the teeth cut the inside of his mouth. a vet can help you address this.
if he's got a tooth problem, he won't or can't chew what he eats and can't get much nutrition from it. hay cubes help, but if he really has no teeth soaked pellets may be better because they're competely pre-chewed.
on our old man ButtHead (yeah, I know, but he earned it...) we fed this:
soaked alfalfa/grass hay pellets (these are 50% alfalfa) with a small amount of steamed oats, a little molasses (because he likes it), and a quarter cup of corn oil or 1/2 cup of rice bran. the alfalfa gives protien for him to build muscle with, the corn oil or rice bran ups the calorie count. sometimes the problem is they don't have enough appetite to eat all the feed they need to rebuild. adding fat calories can help up their calorie intake without risking the bloat issues that can occur if you increase their sugar intake.
if he's got treats he likes, things like carrots, add some of those grated up too.
we set up pellets to soak at the previous feeding - so in the morning we filled a bucket with pellets and water for the evening feed, etc.
other things we did:
probiotic powder to make sure his gut flora was up to snuff.
B vitamin shots can help stimulate appetite (talk to your vet about dosing)
whatever weeds we had that he found tasty (he particularly liked mallow and bamboo)
SweetLix protein block for sheep - this is a protien, mineral, sweet pressed block they can free feed on to suplement what they need. get the sheep block, the goat block is too high in copper. if he's got front teeth he'll be able to eat this. your goats will make short work of this as well, so you'll either need to separate him or plan on buying these regularly. we do keep these for our goats as well.
white salt block available free choice.
offer electrolyte water and see if he's interested.
offer water with a little molasses and see if he's interested. small amounts of molasses won't hurt, and if they like it, it can encourage appetite. large amounts aren't good as they can cause bloat (as with any sweet feed.) molasses has minerals in it as well, so that's good.
if it's hot, cool water is good, but if he's got tooth problems, tepid water may be more comfortable for him to drink.
sometimes a few doses of sheep drench will help get them feeling good enough to eat.
sometimes a twice daily shot of banamine will help supress any pain they have so they feel good enough to eat. it's hard on their liver, so it can't be used long term, but in an older guy, giving them a few days pain-free can perk them up enough to start on recovery.
since he's been sick and is under weight, keep an eye on his wool growth, he may not put on the wool he should for winter. if he doesn't put on some wool for the cold season, you may want to blanket him at night. sheep are remarkably cold-tollerant, but they are designed to have winter wool so that you'll have to make a jugement call on.
I hope, he gets the point now.
