New to sheep, one not doing as well (sorry long)

[norseofcourse]

Hope I'm in the right category. I got my first ever sheep on March 9. Two young ewes a little under a year old. One may be pregnant and seems to be doing well, the other probably isn't and needs to put on some weight. I know they had CD-T shots in November 2012 and were wormed with Valbazin. A couple weeks before they came here, the thinner one was again wormed with Valbazin and they were stalled so they could be given pellets to help put weight on.

I have them in a 16' by 20' area in my barn, nice dry dirt/clay floor. I started them on 14% sheep pellets, starting about a 1/2 cup a day (one cup weighs 5 ounces), and slowly increasing. Also some soybean meal (tried it moistened, they hated it, so I started sprinkling it on the pellets dry and they now eat it), and a week ago I added in corn, again starting real slow. They're currently fed twice a day, 2 cups pellets, about a sixth of a cup of soybean meal, and a quarter cup of corn each per feeding. They love the food and they also get timothy/orchardgrass hay free choice to munch on. Their appetites are good. Oh, and loose mineral mix, Moorman's sheep minerals, free choice.

The skinnier one has had an occasional minor runny nose, but it seems clear, not colored. I heard an occasional sneeze/cough at first, but not for awhile. I figured they were stressed from the move and just needed to settle in, plus some days have been darn cold here. I watched their berries and they were good. Yesterday I started seeing berries clumped together, not sure which one but my guess is the thinner one. She seemed fine all other ways so I figured I'd wait to see how she did. This morning I saw poop that was more like dog poop, I couldn't see individual berries, but again she still looked fine, ate fine, acted fine. Tonight I was looking around the pen and found one area where someone had had a pretty loose stool with some formed berries in it. I watched to see if either of them was 'off', but they acted fine, ate well, and started munching hay as usual when they finished their feed.

Their area is open (fenced) on one side, so they have plenty of fresh air and sun, but winter is hanging on here in Ohio so it's been cold and snowy, and I've only had them out twice so far to start exploring (this past Sat and Sun), there is little grass and they were too busy looking around to nibble at it much. This property's never had sheep that I know of, and I have ponies but they're in an adjacent pasture.

Do I just keep an eye on them, maybe one of them nibbled more grass than I thought and their system is adjusting? Is loose stool by itself a call to the vet? Are there other symptoms or signs to look for? Should I have increased their food more slowly, should I back off the corn or something? Is it ok to let them out again in another day or two when it dries up/snowmelts again? Any other advice is appreciated, I found this forum a couple months ago and thought it wouldn't hurt to get some feedback from other sheep people too. Thanks!

 

[SheepGirl]

I don't think that is something I would worry about. Sheep will sometimes have different types of poop, even day to day on the same diet. If it becomes runny (the sheep starts to scour), then you need to take a temp and start treating them appropriately.

 

[littlelambx3]

I'd keep an eye on them to be safe, but then again, I'm just a worried mother. ;p

But really, from what all you said, they sound like they are happy and healthy. But I guess I always think "Rather safe than sorry".

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

If you are worried about her, just keep your eye open for anything bad, like going off feed, scours, and what not. It doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me! Sounds like you are treating them like royalty! Luck sheep! Keep on with what you are doing, it should be all good!

 

[bcnewe2]

sheep poo varies with moisture content. Lots of moisture will have the berries sticking together. Spring grass will have very large dog poopy slopy look to it and green.
Unless it's loose or runny I wouldn't worry about it.
You sound like you are doing everything right, way more than most.
IF they have any access to green growth of any kind my sheep will balk at eating hay. Any kind of hay!

Sometimes I think if we look to hard for something wrong will find it. I study my sheep probably once a day unless we're lambing then I check more often. if no one sticks out from the others I consider them fine.
I think Sheep can get cabin fever and look tired of being confined but I don't worry about that.

I might treat the runny nose if it was constant with Nuflor or LA200 but only if it was all the time and getting worse.
Dry Coughing can mean wormy. Valbazan is great but not for bred ewes. Prohibit is my favorite wormer right now with cydectin coming in 2nd. When I know all my ewes are open (not bred) I will use Valbazan but only then and with a ram running wiht my ewes most of the time I don't use it very often.

Enjoy your new sheep!
Kristen

 

[norseofcourse]

Thanks everyone! I've been keeping an eye on them and both are still eating and acting well. Yesterday there were droppings that looked more like dog poop; today there were some droppings that looked like dog poop, and some that looked like berries all squished together. There are also normal droppings, most likely from the other sheep.

I haven't seen much of a sign of a runny nose, and have heard no coughing or sneezing. The mud is drying up so they get some outside time now, even though there's little grass. I'll keep in mind what you've been saying, and watch their droppings and expect some change as spring comes and their systems adjust to new grass.

I *think* the smaller one is gaining some weight. I don't have a scale, so I'm using the body condition scoring method of feeling their backbones. She's also looking just a tad bit less 'angular' at the back end.

Thanks again!

 

[norseofcourse]

Just an update - both sheep had seemed to be doing well, the smaller one still seemed to have an occasional runny nose so I just watched them.

Yesterday the smaller one was breathing fast, in the morning when it wasn't that warm yet. She just didn't seem comfortable. She still ate, though. This morning she was breathing fast again and sounded congested, her nose was runny again. I call the vet and he was able to come out today. He checked both sheep - slightly elevated temps, listened to their lungs, saw some nasal discharge. He gave them bo-se and a long acting antibiotic shot, said keep watching them but they should be ok. He said the weather's been hard on them (we've had some wide temperature swings lately). They seem to be doing slightly better already tonight, so I'm hopeful they'll be alright now. Maybe the stress of the move got something started, and then they weren't able to shake it off totally because of the weather? Anyway, thought I'd update this thread.

The only bad thing about the vet visit is now they don't trust me again... back to the beginning in taming them down...