Please help - sick lamb

[Coolbreeze89]

I have three, 26-day-old Barbado ewe bottle babies (triplets). They have been doing GREAT! Taking bottles (3-5 oz) 4-5 times a day (they tell me when they’re full - i don’t press them, and I’m ok with more “grazing on the bottle” throughout the day whenever I go out to them). They have access to coastal hay and alfalfa hay as well as Dumor medicated sheep pellets. They’ve also been out grazing with my goats, nibbling what little grass we have. Weather has been warm (Texas - 60-70s) and now wet the last 24 hours.

Last night, I noticed one of the girls didn’t drink as much, though she took the bottle with enthusiasm. I figured she may have eaten more solid food. This morning, again, hopped right up and fought for the bottle, but dropped off after an ounce or so. I went back out now and she barely sipped at it. Temp is 104.7. No runny nose or eyes. Eyes look clear. She didn’t seem constipated when I took her rectal temp. I would say she’s breathing a little fast, but no obvious crackles/pneumonia sounds. She is “sighing” with breaths.

I brought her inside so I can watch her urine/poop output and keep an eye on her. She’s lying on her side, head up looking at me. NOT COMPLAINING which worries me. I planned her first CDT at 1 month. She has not been wormed. The stools I’ve seen out of the girls have been transitioning nicely from formula poop to some almost-formed balls. I have not given any probiotic (I had posted a previous question about if this was a good idea).

I would greatly appreciate thoughts/guidance.
@Baymule @Ridgetop @Sheepshape

 

[Coolbreeze89]

Update: she just peed, so definitely not dehydrated. As I’ve been sitting with her, she is breathing harder than even an hour ago. I gave LA-200 SQ at 1ml/10kg dosing (she is 4.2kg) (she fought nicely!). Watching her closely. She’s taken a few sips of her bottle with encouragement (she is still on Dumor lamb milk replacer that they were originally started on by the seller - I tried switching them to whole milk+buttermilk, but they all refused to take it).

 

[Sheepshape]

Do you know if they had colostrum at birth? They will be more prone to getting infections if they did not.

Any change in the breathing would suggest a respiratory infection, I would be inclined to discuss with and get antibiotics from your vet.

Fingers crossed....they are so vulnerable in their first few weeks of life.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

Do you know if they had colostrum at birth? They will be more prone to getting infections if they did not.

Any change in the breathing would suggest a respiratory infection, I would be inclined to discuss with and get antibiotics from your vet.

Fingers crossed....they are so vulnerable in their first few weeks of life.

Yea, they had colostrum. It was an older ewe who didn’t want to nurse, but she was put in a milk stand so the babies could get colostrum the first 24 hrs.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

Good news - fever is down and she’s perking up. Vet scheduled to see her tomorrow if she’s still symptomatic.

 

[Baymule]

Sorry I haven't been online. It's good that she is perking up. I really haven't had the experience with bottle babies-never had one, in 5 years that I've had sheep. I guess it is a testament to my ewes that they are good mothers.

Please keep us posted on how she is doing.

 

[Ridgetop]

Sounds like the onset of pneumonia. It also sounds like the LA200 you gave her has started kicking in on the infections. Good catch on this! Lambs and kids can catch pneumonia quickly and go downhill fast. It is often not noticeable till their breathing gets labored. The lamb or kid stops eating because they can't breathe well enough to suckle. Drinking from a bottle or mama is hard work and if the little one can't get enough oxygen due to a respiratory problem, they just don't bother nursing.

I would vaccinate with CDT now. There is no reason to wait until they are 30 days old. We vaccinate at 3-10 days old sometimes earlier depending on when we are planning to castrate, dock, etc. We give a tetanus antitoxin shot at the same time as the CDT at 3-7 days old when we dock. The tetanus antitoxin kicks in immediately while the CDT can take a week or 2 to give effective tetanus protection and we don't want any infection. We no longer dock the ram lambs that are going to be castrated for meat, but the ewes are docked leaving 1"-2" of tail at 3-7 days. This is because I am old- fashioned, used to no tails, and prefer the cleanliness of having the vagina visible on my ewes. It is easier to check estrus, kidding, and udders without catching the ewes. The lambs always get a booster 30 days after the first one. We give the shots while weighing lambs. The mamas get a booster, and are wormed right after giving birth. The ewes are easy to handle in the confined jugs, and worms tend to flare up right after lambing.

Again - good catch on the respiratory problem! You probably saved your lamb's life with that quick action.

 

[Sheepshape]

Glad to hear she's improving. Keep a very close eye on her for now as you want to ensure that she continues to recover.

Vaccination schedules over here are quite different. We vaccinate the mother ewe at 4-6 weeks before lambing with a heptavalent vaccine (confers protection against Pasteurella pneumonia and various Clostridial diseases, pulpy kidney etc). The antibodies raised by the mother ewe cross the placenta and confer immunity on the lamb via the colostrum for the first approx. 6 weeks of life. As that passive immunity wains (4-6 weeks) we then vaccinate the lambs to confer active immunity. A second dose of the vaccine is given at a further 4-6 weeks. Thereafter animals get an annual booster. I use Heptavac P Plus.

With regards to docking, I'm an 'anti'-docker by nature. Having looked at the literature, there's very little evidence to show that docking reduces the incidence of fly strike or long tails interfere with birth. However, most folk buying sheep expect them to be tail-docked and to have a particular appearance. Certain breeds of sheep are expected to have very short tails, some intermediate length, and some (mainly hill/mountain breeds) don't get docked at all. So.....much of a tradition/fashion thing. As most methods of docking by the farmer (in the not-so-United-Kingdom) have been banned, only banding shortly after birth remains a viable method.

Castration is much the same....banding shortly after birth. Mine don't get 'done'. Leaving ram lambs intact opens you up to them getting aggressive when puberty kicks in, but I'm lucky in very rarely having aggressive rams. Some ram lambs don't develop their 'good looks' for a while and a wether isn't going to be a lot of good for breeding!

SO....again, welcome to the World of Sheep.......according to our vet 'White things which lie around on hills thinking of a way to die'. That about sums it up.

 

[Ridgetop]

We don't castrate until 2 months since the ram lambs grow so much faster. Here in the US we don't have the restrictions against docking that you have in the UK. Docking is really a personal decision for the breeder/owner here. For me I like the look of the docked ewes. Since I have Dorper sheep now I don't have to breech my ewes before lambing but if I did not dock them, it would be a mess since in Southern California the referred lambing season is winter - less flies nd some forage from rain. I used to clip the hair on my dairy goats' tails and around the vulva during winter kidding too not to have so much mess. Now we stopped docking the ram lambs that are going to meat. I don't keep any ram lambs entire since I prefer to buy my rams outside my own flock. I don't have the amount of space or grazing to keep my ram lambs until they mature, and not enough buyers for breeding rams if I did. I prefer to buy good rams from larger breeders who bring in genetics that I want. They pay the big buck for a top quality ram then I buy a son and get the benefit for much less money, All my ram lambs sell to the butcher - it is a win win for me.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

Sounds like the onset of pneumonia. It also sounds like the LA200 you gave her has started kicking in on the infections. Good catch on this! Lambs and kids can catch pneumonia quickly and go downhill fast. It is often not noticeable till their breathing gets labored. The lamb or kid stops eating because they can't breathe well enough to suckle. Drinking from a bottle or mama is hard work and if the little one can't get enough oxygen due to a respiratory problem, they just don't bother nursing.

I would vaccinate with CDT now. There is no reason to wait until they are 30 days old. We vaccinate at 3-10 days old sometimes earlier depending on when we are planning to castrate, dock, etc. We give a tetanus antitoxin shot at the same time as the CDT at 3-7 days old when we dock. The tetanus antitoxin kicks in immediately while the CDT can take a week or 2 to give effective tetanus protection and we don't want any infection. We no longer dock the ram lambs that are going to be castrated for meat, but the ewes are docked leaving 1"-2" of tail at 3-7 days. This is because I am old- fashioned, used to no tails, and prefer the cleanliness of having the vagina visible on my ewes. It is easier to check estrus, kidding, and udders without catching the ewes. The lambs always get a booster 30 days after the first one. We give the shots while weighing lambs. The mamas get a booster, and are wormed right after giving birth. The ewes are easy to handle in the confined jugs, and worms tend to flare up right after lambing.

Again - good catch on the respiratory problem! You probably saved your lamb's life with that quick action.

Thank you! I had a piglet who presented the same way with pneumonia, so I felt fairly confident, but I appreciate your experienced knowledge. (I was in medicine in my old life, but humans are so different than my animal babies). Great about CDT. I’m a big believer in vaccines, and I was surprised when I came across 30d/60d as “recommended“ for sheep CDT (These girls weren’t a planned acquisition as I have goats delivering “any day now”, but a great situation arose. i didn’t do my usual obsessive research!). As soon as I’m sure she’s turned the corner, I’ll do the CDT. Regarding worming: I have ivermectin - I read 1ml/30pounds (repeat in 10 d). Do you agree? I also have safeguard but need to look up the dose. Your preference on meds?

Regarding tails: since they’re pets and hair sheep, they have adorably “long” tails. I don’t plan to breed them. However, I didn’t plan to adore these babies as I do, either....

UpdTe: Well, I hoped she’d have her appetite back this morning, but she really isn’t interested. Had several nice pellet poos and urine spots overnight (she’s inside on puppy pads). One stool was a little yellowish and softer (more like her “baby” poo). She is alert, though. I’ll keep encouraging little sips all day.