Copper Poisoning

[Mindi]

Hi Everyone, we recently lost Blackie our ewe to copper poisoning and it's been heartbreaking. She had 400x the amount and her kidneys were huge and discolored. Vet said it's been the first time in about 15 years he has seen this and we are just bewildered. Not sure where or how she ingested it. She's in with 2 other ewes and they have not come down sick nor have our ram or lambs. Vet said everything we're doing is right. Has anyone had a mystery like this with your sheep? I need to check with the vet, but is it possible to have other flock members' copper levels checked? We also need to have our feed tested. If this happens again, I don't know what I'll do. Thanks!

 

[Hens and Roos]

sorry to hear of your loss , hopefully those who have sheep can provide some information!

 

[OneFineAcre]

You can get mineral analysis blood work done on an animal, I have for my goats.

 

[Bunnylady]

I may be barking up the wrong tree here, but do you have any pressure treated wood in any building or fencing that your sheep might have access to? Arsenic is no longer a concern since CCA use was discontinued, but there is still a lot of copper in ACQ. I wonder how much copper an animal might ingest, just licking/chewing on treated wood? Just a thought; it may just be me, looking for zebras.

 

[goatgurl]

wow, so sorry to hear that. will be watching to see what you find out. i worry about copper poisoning in my sheep all the time. i have goats and keep minerals with copper for them but in a place the sheep can't get to. don't trust them tho because they can be sneaky.

 

[Mindi]

We have I think finally figured out what the source of our ewe's death...we had the feed tested for copper and that was 3 parts per million and we also had their protein tub (that was for sheep) tested and it came back 512 parts per million for copper. I'm so mad I can't even tell you. I told the hubs that tub is coming out TODAY! Not sure what I'll do from here, but Blackie must have gone to town on that lick tub. The other 2 ewes are still doing fine.

 

[samssimonsays]

I am so sorry you lost her but glad you have narrowed it down to what! Hopefully no one else comes down sick.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Wow, I wouldn't think that something made for sheep would have that much copper! So sorry you lost a ewe

Do you think it was a bad batch? I would contact whoever made it. We got a bad batch of chicken feed once, we didn't lose anyone but the producer said it was a bad batch that had way to much protein.