Ewe down in the hind end

[kslilbopeep]

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum and am seeking any help I can get. I have a ewe that lambed months ago that no longer has lambs on her. In the past couple weeks I have noticed she is seems to be weak in the hind end. We wormed her and she seemed to get a little better. However, in the past couple of days she has gotten worse. She can stand and will walk with her back legs stiff - almost dragging them. My sheep are on pasture and have had access to protein and mineral blocks.
I do think she probably needs wormed again but am worried about how weak she is getting.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[20kidsonhill]

look up meningeal worms

 

[SheepGirl]

look up meningeal worms

That's what I was thinking.

 

[kslilbopeep]

The only thing that sort of makes me think it is not that - this is the only sheep I have that is having the problem. I have seperated her from the rest of the flock and am feeding her clover hay and have wormed her again. She is still "gimped" up but maybe a little better. Ugh! Everything is always a learning experience!
Thank you for your responses
Jan

 

[ksalvagno]

The whole herd NEVER comes down with it. You have to move quickly with treatment. You can only save them if you catch it early enough. This really sounds like Meningeal Worm to me.

 

[SheepGirl]

We've only had two ewes get meningeal worms and both died despite aggressive treatment. They were the only ewes to get it; the one died in 2008 and the other in 2009.

 

[kslilbopeep]

Ugh.. that doesn't sound good. Of course it is an expensive, papered ewe. I have to tell everyone too, my local vets refuse to look at my sheep. There is a large animal vet that is 10 miles from my house and they have told us point blank they know nothing about sheep or goats and therefore would rather not look at them. So, here I am on the forum picking everyone's brain.
Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Beekissed]

Here is a link to info on the M~worm:

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/deerworm.html