is sudden dark colored diarrhea x 24 hrs enough cause to call vet?

[Singing Shepherd]

Hello fellow shepherds! I am new to posting and have not sent in a formal new member description, but i read this site and turn to it frequently to learn how to best care for my tiny herd. I started out by helping a friend who had two newborn lambs that needed to be bottle fed cause ewe was unable to nurse. I am hooked-line and sinker included- and am planning to build a herd by yearly additions. I will take time to fill in detail another day; my immediate problem though is with my six month old ram who came to feed last night newly covered in dark feces all down his behind and back legs. Up until that point I had not noticed anything unusual or any behavioral changes. Since then I have checked on him regularly and have seen no appreciable change in the last 24 hrs. I care for him so dearly and want to call a vet immediately; my inexperience gives me concern that I have missed some sign that I have not learned about from my avid reading about sheep care, and that therefore now he is really sick beyond the obvious. I have jotted down a list of observations for reference. I do not have a thermometer to take a rectal temp, but his muzzle is its usual temperature. He is eating meals, grazing, walking around, vocalizing, etc. Any advice?

 

[Hardy&Healthy]

Keep in mind, my info would be goat/cow based. However, I would think it would transfer to sheep.

The color of the diarrhea can tell you were the problem is probable...

Green = Diet. They have most likely gotten in to something new, or over eaten something rich. Most of the time, just removing the 'something' from the diet, and battling the dehydration / keeping their electrolytes balanced is enough to help them round the corner.

Yellow = (can look "yellow" to a light tan color) Bacteria infection / "Scours". You now have a choice to make... Either way, battling the dehydration / keeping their electrolytes balanced will be equally important.
- 'Wait and see' - Adults have a better chance of overcoming. With youngsters, this is a dangerous gamble I would not recommend!
- Antibiotics - There are many easy to obtain antibiotics, that come in a variety if delivery forms.

Black = (can look anywhere from red to dark brown to black) Bleeding in the intestines. Most likely due to internal parasites. The most likely situation in adults is worms, in kids is coccidiosis, and in juveniles; it could go either way. The medications can be administered without drug interactions. Although many do, I would not give them both orally at the same time... Maybe a wait an hour in between. Or use one orally and the other an injection. Once again, dehydration=bad, electrolytes=good.

I wanted to keep the above more fact like. I do have a couple personal treatment tricks if you would like me to share...?

 

[Singing Shepherd]

Thanks so much. I am interested in hearing anything you or others have to offer...it never hurts to hear experience-based info! Based on my day of reading and your info it sounds like a call to vet is warranted...and a fecal sample to her as well. I am taking the following into consideration as I make a guess at origin of the problem: My sheep are grass fed plus one half cup of feed per sheep per day in the evening and they graze a large lot of mixed foliage. They have no access to their feed other than my measured amount at feeding time as I keep it in a separate building totally away from them and their pasture. Only one sheep is sick at moment. Normal urine flow. Not in contact with any other herd. When I first discovered problem, abdominal sounds were rumbly and obvious just standing near him, but now no rumble. His intake of feed and minerals is normal. He seems thinner under all that wool. He did have a very close call at one month of age with foamy bloat but pulled through. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[Sheepshape]

Sheep do seem to get short-lived episodes of loose bowels which clears by itself in a day or two .Here in Wales we would have given a wormer and a dose of liver-fluke treatment by six months as nematodes and liver fluke are very prevalent ....you will need to know what your local parasite problem is and treat appropriately.
If the diarrhoea persists a faecal sample to your vet will be very helpful to identify the pathogen.
Dark diarrhoea can indicate blood and that is often due to coccidia (though coccidia is generally a problem in young lambs ).
I hope your ram gets better.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

I wouldn't be too overly concerned enough to call a vet just yet!
Has he ever been wormed? If not, I would concider worming all your sheep just to be on the safe side, and it won't hurt them none!
As Sheepshape was saying, sheep do get the runs sometimes! If it continues for quite a few days and you have wormed him, or you see/hear him grinding his teeth alot and his appatite seems to drop, you might need to concider another course of action.
I hope he feels better soon!!!

 

[BrownSheep]

My sheep seem to get diarrhea for random reasons. Most times due to them finding richer feed in the pasture. Occasionally, one does just get a bit of a stomach bug. I would give him a couple days. As long as his behavior seems on par I wouldn't be overly concered.

 

[Singing Shepherd]

Thank you all for your kind responses. It is exciting to speak with people from all over and to hear different viewpoints; it makes me feel not so vulnerable to my own ineptitude! I am learning. Shakespeare's diarrhea cleared up in 48 hours but a persistent tendency to lay down in pasture much more than usual and the fact that he has lost weight has me watching him closer. I did have my first ever experience with drenching when I dosed him with Ivermethrin (sp?) Worried I would hurt him somehow, but turned out okay...he swallowed with no spitting up so guess all's well. We don't have a chute set up to restrain him, so my ex-football player husband just picked him up for me! He comes in handy Took a fecal sample in to the vet just to be sure. Waiting to hear. One thing I would like to give him is Banamene just to make him more comfortable, but I have no farmer near me who has any; so guess I will wait to see if my vet (who is a distance away) will have any when she calls with results. Thanks again for your kind encouragement.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Glad Shakespeare is doing better!!!!

 

[Singing Shepherd]

So my vet called back with fecal test results yesterday: Shakesapeare has barber pole worm and coccidiosis. So I will treat as she prescribed and go on. But now rather than the of comfort I used to have as concerns my sheep, I have this lingering sense of fear that I am unable to notice signs of illness in my sheep, and wonder how I can be sure that what I do to help is really making them healthier. How do you relax back into the flow of things?

 

[Sheepshape]

Pawnee....you DID notice the diarrhoea....it's just that diarrhoea does not necessarily mean disease is present. When you have kept sheep for a while it becomes a little more obvious which symptoms point to disease and which do not.
Black diarrhoea usually DOES mean trouble, but green and soft/liquid often mean nothing more than a change to rich pasture. Barber pole worm can cause anaemia and it is usually not too difficult to pull down the eyelid to see the conjunctiva. It will be red in a healthy sheep and very pale in an anaemic one. Also if the anaemia becomes very severe the face may swell around the angles of the jaw (termed 'bottle jaw' over here).
Warm and wet conditions favour the spread of worms....we have had just this type of summer here and I have given all my sheep an extra does of worm and fluke treatment for just this reason.
You are clearly going to be a caring and kind owner of sheep, a relative rarity in my experience.....unfortunately a bit of nail biting comes with the territory.