Hi,
I was given a rescue lamb yesterday and am trying to figure out if there is any hope for her. She is a columbia and is about 5 months old. The original owner kept her in a box for the first six weeks of her life and suspected that she had naval ill. She was treated with a variety of antibiotics, banmine, and bo-se. The original owner gave her to another woman who wanted her for wool production. She is so disabled that the other sheep bullied her and knocked her down a lot.
To me she appears to be under weight and all four of her legs curve outward between the hock and the foot. The front legs are much more severe than the back legs. One of the legs is quickly becoming very deformed. She was walking on the inside of her leg/hoof until we splinted it. She has a decent appetite and is very loving. She wants to be petted and cuddled all of the time. I am really concerned about her quality of life. If she can make a good go of it I am happy to have a strictly pet sheep around. I am concerned that she have a good life. In my research on line I would guess that she has spider lamb syndrome - except she is a white faced columbia ewe. I am really worried that as she continues to grow she will not be able to manage with her increasing weight. I don't want to give up on her without an effort to make her life good. I am planning on submiting a blood sample to have her tested for spider lamb but suspect that is not the answer.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks - Deena
I was given a rescue lamb yesterday and am trying to figure out if there is any hope for her. She is a columbia and is about 5 months old. The original owner kept her in a box for the first six weeks of her life and suspected that she had naval ill. She was treated with a variety of antibiotics, banmine, and bo-se. The original owner gave her to another woman who wanted her for wool production. She is so disabled that the other sheep bullied her and knocked her down a lot.
To me she appears to be under weight and all four of her legs curve outward between the hock and the foot. The front legs are much more severe than the back legs. One of the legs is quickly becoming very deformed. She was walking on the inside of her leg/hoof until we splinted it. She has a decent appetite and is very loving. She wants to be petted and cuddled all of the time. I am really concerned about her quality of life. If she can make a good go of it I am happy to have a strictly pet sheep around. I am concerned that she have a good life. In my research on line I would guess that she has spider lamb syndrome - except she is a white faced columbia ewe. I am really worried that as she continues to grow she will not be able to manage with her increasing weight. I don't want to give up on her without an effort to make her life good. I am planning on submiting a blood sample to have her tested for spider lamb but suspect that is not the answer.
Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks - Deena
