VERY lethargic and thin corsican sheep, fell down tonight.

[Green Acres Farm]

I agree that a fecal is the number one thing to do so that you know what you are dealing with at this point. On top of that I would take her to the vet and ask for a test for Johne's. It has been known to show up in sheep as well as cattle and if it is the problem, she needs to be disposed of as there is no cure and it is highly contagious. We had a ram that had it and he was laying down and still eating. Had tried everything else, and finally one of the vets at the practice did the blood sample and came up with Johne's. It is seen in cattle and some animals can shed it without showing clinical signs, but it is something you really need to rule out before you possibly infect anything else. Worm loads will drag down the animal and even cause death, but if they have Johne's, then they are susceptible to everything else as their immune system is compromised. Don't know if there is a fecal test for the johnes, but I would look into it as well.

But she is so young. Doesn't Johnes show up when they are older?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Put the fecal sample in the refrigerator and keep cool until you take it to the vet.

 

[luvmypets]

Good Luck, she a such a cutie.
Just a question, was she in this condition when you got her?

 

[farmerjan]

Normally, johne's shows up when an animal undergoes a stress to their situation....calving, moving, ....NORMALLY.... but never rule it out until you get a definite negative....had a heifer test positive for it on a rented pasture when she was being bred.... and had a friend bring some new stock in that infected his young stock and has paid for it in spades. Calves get it from sucking their own mothers and it is supposed to incubate for several years before actually showing clinical signs....If these are bought animals, I would get them checked. Are you sure she is young????

 

[Sheepshape]

Over here we don't have Ivermectin Plus for sheep, but we have plain ivermectin (for roundworms,lugworms and nasal bots) and in combination with a flukicide e.g Fasimec which is triclabendazole plus ivermectin (where the triclabendazole is the active ingredient against flukes).

Whatever you use, make sure that you have adequate fluke treatment if you are in a 'flukey area'

Good luck.

 

[babsbag]

The sheep is 4 months old so no Johne's test would be accurate. I have thrown the medicine cabinet at a goat once or twice, better than a dead goat. Yes, the treatment "might" kill them, but not treating certainly will.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

How is she doing, @Quarterhorse ?

And where are all the other sheep people?!

 

[Quarterhorse]

She took a turn for the worse, was laying flat when the hubby checked on her this morning while I was at work. We thought we were going to have to euthanize her. He didn't give up though and gave her 400 mls of fluids and a nutrition/calorie supplement. She got more perky and was up and walking/grazing for a few hours. We got a fecal sample tonight after she ate some (she had no stool in her earlier in the day). We are bringing the fecal to the vet tomorrow morning when they open. We are bringing her fresh grass/alfalfa/clover (she is not interested in hay). Her ears were cool to the touch, so we have a blanket on her and a board beside her to keep her sternal (she keeps laying on her side). Thank you for the Johne's thought, we will get her tested for that as well (hopefully they can do that tomorrow as well).
Thank you all so much for your compassionate replies <3

 

[babsbag]

She is too young for a Johne's test. And yes, I got this post confused with someone in BC...sorry. I hope she makes it through the night and you can get this figured out.

 

[Quarterhorse]

I just finished reading all those comments. Fecal only tomorrow, hopefully it gives results. Thank you for the kind words. She has been a tough cookie so far, hopefully she pulls through!

Good Luck, she a such a cutie.
Just a question, was she in this condition when you got her?

She was not like this when we got her. She arrived almost 3 weeks ago, all three looked great. A week into them being here, she started having droopy ears and neck and was loosing weight. That's when we did the first dose of Panacur, she kept getting worse while the others are perfectly fine. We gave them all ivermectin a few days later, she kept declining. We started the iron and vit b injections and offered electrolytes, kept declining, so I found this site and you wonderful people to get more suggestions. We are new to sheep, and looking back I should have brought a fecal in when we first noticed her symptoms (I am kicking myself for not doing that). Our goats have always done perfect with normal dewormings, but she is a very different case.