Hind Legs Weak

[Baymule]

I'm glad that she is showing so much improvement. Hope she continues to improve. Sadly, I understand about the vet. It's hard to spend 2 or 3 times what the sheep is worth on vet bills.

 

[AronstafFarm]

Just wanted to update- she got what appears to be all strength back in a few days with only a tiny gait difference showing. I can only imagine this was a slipped disc. Whoever had decadron for the win gets a sticker!

 

[Mini Horses]

Great to hear!!

 

[Baymule]

Awesome! Thanks for the update!

 

[AronstafFarm]

OK amateur sleuths... The rotation went back through the same paddock and now a different 3yearold ewe is showing the same symptoms. Not the mom of the prior lamb (who is still totally fine now). There is a little brush back there from where the forest is being cleared, so a chance for injury there. There is also quite a bit of narrow leaf plantain back there, and some other forbs (horsenettle is a suspect) but those are present all over and they didn't overgraze the paddock at all.

I already gave Selenium/VitE at the first sign. This time unless catastrophic I'm going to see if that alone helps. This is my best ewe, she has the best condition and most lambs... grrrr

I'm hypothesizing either poisoning or injury.

 

[AronstafFarm]

IT won't let me attach .mov files which is what my phone generates, but it let me attach the zipped... she is kind of bobbing her head. More globally weak than the last. The pasture was really rich so I am thinking staggers

 

[Baymule]

There is probably some sort of weed that is causing this.

 

[AronstafFarm]

So... lots of research. This one seems much more likely to have "grass staggers". The paddock was really rich, but its a new area I haven't limed. Lots of fresh sorghum and stuff growing fast. The cerebellar symptoms- head bobbing, eyes ticking back- and forth- fits the bill. This is insane, a completely different cause, but literally in the same paddock (out of 24 in the rotation).

Per the internet (so you know its true), this is common with fast growing pasture, since they don't store much magnesium. They had free choice mineral!

Well, either she will get better or she won't. The cure apparently is to inject magnesium and calcium subcutaneously. They don't give a dose, and I don't have that lying around. She is able to move but she isn't active. I am going to give her some multivitamin/mineral gel tomorrow and some Dyne or something.

Just odd- same sheep was grazed on newly established pasture for the last two years with no issues. I was concerned this was due to the use of sorghum (not sudan, just regular sorghum), but its what we use to establish pasture all over here.

 

[Mini Horses]

Epsom salt....magnesium. calcium pills from vitamins...I keep high dose one for animal use. Water to dissolve and syringe. Some honey or molasses makes it taste better.

 

[AronstafFarm]

Welp, I tried doing the epsom salts (good suggestion!) this morning and I can't catch her, which is a pretty good sign. I'm not going to stress her. The good thing is that she is eating the mineral, so that has at least some of the electrolytes she needs. And she pooped when I was trying to get her, so there's at least some stuff going through her.

I basically fed the whole group she is in a bunch of mulberry, and she was eating it as well. Mulberry is very mineral dense and has both calcium and magnesium.