purplequeenvt - Ivy Knoll Farm

[ILuvSheep]

Oh, and heres for your sister

 

[purplequeenvt]

It has been an aggravating couple weeks.

I've been away at our church's youth retreat (great time!), but now that I am home there is so much to be done.

Most of the sheep are very anemic and it doesn't seem to be parasites. We had 3 sheep (1 lamb and 2 ewes) that got bottle-jaw last week. I de-wormed (again), gave them B complex and the bottle-jaw cleared up. I got back Saturday afternoon and shortly afterwards one of the ewes died. I did an autopsy of sorts and got some samples of poop and liver. I have to call the vet in the morning and have them come out and help me figure this thing out. I hate this time of year.

Another stress is that a predator has found my birds. I have lost most of the chicks that I purchased and hatched this year. I suspect a possum. My strategy for right now is to lock up all the important birds in dog crates to keep them safe. I also have a radio playing in the coop. I'm going need to do renovations to make the coop more secure.

My sister is home (after 3 weeks) from the hospital, but she is far from well. It is going to a long time before she is truly healthy again.

Ya know, all i ever did is see your pics, but you need a hugs!

Hope you can figure this bottle jaw out!

and OMG what happened to that cuty little lamb???!!!! I love all your animals, their all so cute (again)

Thanks ILuvSheep!

I'm feeling better today. Nobody else dropped dead and I had the vet come out to look over the sheep. We collected fecals from the sick lamb, a lamb that has diarrhea, and an adult ewe, plus I gave her the stuff I collected from the ewe that died. The sick lamb and the dead ewe had really high counts (2,000 and 3,000 eggs per gram), the ewe lamb had above normal, but not excessive (850 eggs per gram), and the adult ewe had very low numbers (50 eggs per gram). Parasites are most definitely the problem. The dewormer we've been using isn't working here anymore.

The vet was hopeful that the sick lamb, Athos, would pull through, but we shall see. He is extremely dehydrated, skinny, and anemic, but he gets up and down and drinks and eats. He is also very responsive. The vet put her stuff in his pen and he immediately went over and started eating her gloves.

All of the lambs are on dry lot right now and I have to go through all of them to check body condition, eye color, etc. I'm planning to sort them into 2 or 3 groups so that it is easier to give them exactly what each one needs. Some need deworming, some need to be treated for coccidia, others just need more grain. It will be a challenge because I don't have any of my helpers this week.


In happier news....I have a couple ducklings! They hatched last week while I was gone.

This is Little Blue

LB had a little accident today. She (wishful thinking! ) ran from her mother and sister (more wishful thinking) and got herself into the wading pool - "but Mom....it was really hot!". She swam around for a while and but then she couldn't get out. Thankfully I was outside and heard her crying. Bu,t because she is too young to get that wet, she was really cold. I had to bring her inside in a towel for a bit to dry her off. I don't think she likes me......

I don't have any pictures of the other baby yet because she had an injured eye when I got home (not sure what happened...poked it on an eggshell maybe.)

 

[CochinBrahmaLover=)]

It has been an aggravating couple weeks.

I've been away at our church's youth retreat (great time!), but now that I am home there is so much to be done.

Most of the sheep are very anemic and it doesn't seem to be parasites. We had 3 sheep (1 lamb and 2 ewes) that got bottle-jaw last week. I de-wormed (again), gave them B complex and the bottle-jaw cleared up. I got back Saturday afternoon and shortly afterwards one of the ewes died. I did an autopsy of sorts and got some samples of poop and liver. I have to call the vet in the morning and have them come out and help me figure this thing out. I hate this time of year.

Another stress is that a predator has found my birds. I have lost most of the chicks that I purchased and hatched this year. I suspect a possum. My strategy for right now is to lock up all the important birds in dog crates to keep them safe. I also have a radio playing in the coop. I'm going need to do renovations to make the coop more secure.

My sister is home (after 3 weeks) from the hospital, but she is far from well. It is going to a long time before she is truly healthy again.

Ya know, all i ever did is see your pics, but you need a hugs!

Hope you can figure this bottle jaw out!

and OMG what happened to that cuty little lamb???!!!! I love all your animals, their all so cute (again)

Thanks ILuvSheep!

I'm feeling better today. Nobody else dropped dead and I had the vet come out to look over the sheep. We collected fecals from the sick lamb, a lamb that has diarrhea, and an adult ewe, plus I gave her the stuff I collected from the ewe that died. The sick lamb and the dead ewe had really high counts (2,000 and 3,000 eggs per gram), the ewe lamb had above normal, but not excessive (850 eggs per gram), and the adult ewe had very low numbers (50 eggs per gram). Parasites are most definitely the problem. The dewormer we've been using isn't working here anymore.

The vet was hopeful that the sick lamb, Athos, would pull through, but we shall see. He is extremely dehydrated, skinny, and anemic, but he gets up and down and drinks and eats. He is also very responsive. The vet put her stuff in his pen and he immediately went over and started eating her gloves.

All of the lambs are on dry lot right now and I have to go through all of them to check body condition, eye color, etc. I'm planning to sort them into 2 or 3 groups so that it is easier to give them exactly what each one needs. Some need deworming, some need to be treated for coccidia, others just need more grain. It will be a challenge because I don't have any of my helpers this week.


In happier news....I have a couple ducklings! They hatched last week while I was gone.

This is Little Blue
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/7587482402_87ccb50f88.jpg

LB had a little accident today. She (wishful thinking! ) ran from her mother and sister (more wishful thinking) and got herself into the wading pool - "but Mom....it was really hot!". She swam around for a while and but then she couldn't get out. Thankfully I was outside and heard her crying. Bu,t because she is too young to get that wet, she was really cold. I had to bring her inside in a towel for a bit to dry her off. I don't think she likes me......

I don't have any pictures of the other baby yet because she had an injured eye when I got home (not sure what happened...poked it on an eggshell maybe.)

Awww, LB is sooo cute!

Hope you can find a wormer that will work ! If I could I'd come down there and be your helper
How old is LB and was she hatched Broody or incubator and how hot was it? We let our ducklings swim when its 70ish or colder out, in 40ish temp. water, and we never dry 'em

 

[purplequeenvt]

It was almost 90 today, but since she is less than a week old, she doesn't have the oils necessary to keep her dry. The babies were hatched by a broody duck. Mama isn't the best mother in the world though.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover=)]

It was almost 90 today, but since she is less than a week old, she doesn't have the oils necessary to keep her dry. The babies were hatched by a broody duck. Mama isn't the best mother in the world though.

OOh, lol.

Well, they are usually a week or so

 

[purplequeenvt]

It's been another awful, terrible, no good day. It started out pretty well (expect for the dog waking me up at 5:30). Athos was quite perky, he ate a couple handfuls of grain, and I gave him his daily treatments. A couple hours later he was pretty much comatose. I have very little hope he will survive the night. And then, when I went out to check on Athos around 2, I found a ewe dead. She had been *fine* - no bottle jaw, not at all lethargic or appearing sick in any way only an hour and half before. 2 ewes and 2 lambs have developed bottle jaw today too.

I borrowed some Cydectin from a friend and treated the sheep with bottle jaw plus a few other pale ones. I didn't look through the whole group as it was after 5 when I started and there is only so much 1 person can do. The rest will have to wait until the morning.

These sheep are NOT going back on pasture until this stupid problem is sorted out. We may even keep the lambs on dry lot for the rest of the summer. Did I mention that I hate this time of year. I work so hard to give the lambs a good start, they are growing well, and then you turn your back for a second and they are dropping dead.

 

[TTs Chicks]

 

[purplequeenvt]

I was outside fiddling around with Athos a little bit ago and I decided to try to make him more comfortable. He is now on a plastic board with holes so when he pees or poops he won't have to lay in it. I also propped him up between 2 hay bales. He isn't able to keep his head up on his own otherwise. I put towels across the bales to shade him from the sun and towels under his knees for padding and by his head so he won't hurt his eyes.

He drank a bunch of water this morning and he also ate some hay and a couple handfuls of grain. Treatment plan, if he is doing ok later, will be his 2nd dose of Sulfadimethoxine for coccidia and some liquid vitamins. His color is a little better, his eyes aren't as sunken (maybe we've defeated the worst of the dehydration??) and his head and ears are warm, but not hot. I am encouraged, but not getting my hopes up. It is heartbreaking how much this lamb wants to live. I have never seen a sheep in this condition that just keeps fighting.

 

[Ownedby3alpacas]

 

[SheepGirl]

Could Athos have meningeal worms?