Ewe in trouble

[McFarmer]

Hello and good day.

I have a ewe that is in some trouble. I did not notice anything yesturday, however today when I went out to check on the gang I found one of my older ewes in distress. She was laying on the ground with a small pile of feces at her rear. It looks as though she hadn't moved since last nights bed check. Here breathing is laboured and wheezy. She is too week to stand. I moved her to a private location where the others won't bother her. She is bread. Her udder has not formed yet, so I'm not thinking it's labour related. I have made sure that she is in a clean environment, with fresh hay and water. She is not mobile enough to get to the water though. I am continualy checking on her every hour. Other than calling the vet, is there anything I can try to help her out?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

It's so hard to diagnose over the net, especially sheep which are notoriously hard to treat anyways. I would definitely call a vet. Until the vet comes, make sure she is sternal (sitting up, not laying flat on her side) by propping her up with a hay or straw bale if you have to. Take her temperature, the vet will want to know what it is. How far along is she? Sounds like it could be several things, one of which is pregnancy toxemia. Good luck!

 

[McFarmer]

Good day. I have moved her into a lambing pen, and have proped her up as you suggested. As far as temp goes, I have to wait until my wife gets home as she is the keeper of all medical things. I would have to say that the ewe is probably a week or so out from lambing. But I'm not really an expert. Her udder hasn't dropped, so I can't be sure.

Would giving her a oral drench of fluids be of any use? I recall my wife has had to give electrolytes to others in the past.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers.

 

[jhm47]

Pregnancy disease. Give her about 1.5 lbs of high energy grain, and increase it by 1/2 lb each day till she's getting 3 lbs per day. Corn is great for this. High in starch and energy. The problem with these ewes is that they have a lot of their digestive tract taken up with lambs, and they don't have enough room to support themselves, let alone the lambs. Especially prevalent in multiple births.

 

[McFarmer]

Hello again.

Thank you for the great help. I have the ewe proped up in a sitting position, using two bales. I offered her some electrolyte (made from Storey's guide) and she drank a fair bit of it. I changed it out for fresh water and she continued to drink. I then moved to the corn, I couldn't believe the change, from laying there motionless to energetically eating. She downed the corn and then was willing to take some fresh hay. I think that I might have caught what ever it is in time. Of course only time will tell, but I'm hopeful.

I will continue with the corn regiment... I am using whole corn and not cracked corn as to keep dust down. I figure she's already having a hard go she doesn't need dusty food.

Now we wait and see. The Vet has said that they are not available until Monday, so we'll see what nature does for us.

Thanks again.

Cheers.

 

[McFarmer]

Good day.

Just an update. My lovely ewe met me this morning with her head held high. She's really thirsty, so I'm checking more frequently to ensure plenty of fresh water. Also she is responding to the corn regiment quite nicely. So from yesturday to today, a great change. Any suggestions for how long to expect her to remain down? I don't want to force her too quickly to get moving, but I also don't want to cause any problems by letting her sit in one place for an extended period of time.

Life would be much simpler if my wife didn't go on holidays!

Cheers.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Good day.

Just an update. My lovely ewe met me this morning with her head held high. She's really thirsty, so I'm checking more frequently to ensure plenty of fresh water. Also she is responding to the corn regiment quite nicely. So from yesturday to today, a great change. Any suggestions for how long to expect her to remain down? I don't want to force her too quickly to get moving, but I also don't want to cause any problems by letting her sit in one place for an extended period of time.

Life would be much simpler if my wife didn't go on holidays!

Cheers.

She'll probably continue to have problems until lambing, and even possibly after lambing. Just keep up with the increased nutrition.

 

[big brown horse]

Any updates? Hope she is better.

Did she lamb?

What have you done to get her through the recovery process?

I'm asking b/c I'm going through this same thing. I'll probably start a thread myself on the recovery process of a ewe that sufferes from pregnancy toxemia if I don't hear back from you soon.

 

[big brown horse]

By the way, hi Aggie!

As you know I used "rambo's" toxemia treatment and it worked. I have been tweeking the treatments lately with grass and cornmeal 'smoothie' drenches.

 

[McFarmer]

My poor ewe hasn't lambed yet, and I'm fearful that although she is responding well the the increased nutrition she might be developing another problem. I have been doing my best to keep her comfortable but I am worried that she hasn't moved since I got her penned up. She did try to move today and I helped her up, but she seems to have forgotten how to put her feet down. I'm sure it's because she has been sitting for a few days now, but I am not sure what to do for her.

On another note, I suspect that a large portion of my problem is related to the hay. I have had a couple more show signs of weakness. I have them all on an increased corn diet now, hopefully I caught the problem before we loose to many.

Thank you everyone for all your help.

Cheers.