Bloated Skinny Sheep

Drk_wlf

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I just bough my first sheep last week, she has a bloated tummy and she is on the skinny side, her coat (she is a hair sheep) is also dull and greasy and she has bad skin (dry and flakey). Could all this be caused by worms? I don't think the guy I got her from has ever wormed her and he has had her for almost a year (her feet desperately need to be trimmed as well). He was feeding her sweet feed, but I changed her to all stock feed and hay because the sweet feed didn't say it was safe for sheep. I have also put a sheep/goat mineral & vitamin block in her pen with her and the goat I purchased with her.
 

aggieterpkatie

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She could need deworming. You can send a fecal sample to the vet and they'll tell you specifically which worms she has. Be careful feeding hair sheep grain, because they tend to get fat quickly. She might do just fine on good hay alone.

And about being bloated... there's a condition in ruminants called bloat where their rumen fills with gas and it can be a serious problem. In your case, I'm wondering if her stomach just looks bloated looking because of parasites, instead of it actually being a case of bloat. If it truly is a case of bloat, her left side will be abnormally high and tight, and she'll be acting off.
 

Drk_wlf

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She is acting normal and her stomach seems to be equally protruding on both sides, she was a little off when I first got her home, but she is more rambunctious now (she really likes when I take her on walks so she can graze on fresh grass. I have never owned small ruminants before but when I look at her, she reminds me of a malnourished puppy with a bad case of worms. :(
 

Drk_wlf

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it has been almost a week sense I wormed Flower the hair sheep and her tummy seems to have gone down some and she looks to be putting on some weight! I was wondering if I should give her and my pygmy goat the CDT vaccine (because I am sure their previous owners never did) now or should I weight for her to fatten up some more?
 

Drk_wlf

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Tractor Supply has a 10 dose bottle of a Goat CDT vac, but it says nothing about sheep on the bottle, would this be ok to give to my sheep?
 

aggieterpkatie

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Drk_wlf said:
Tractor Supply has a 10 dose bottle of a Goat CDT vac, but it says nothing about sheep on the bottle, would this be ok to give to my sheep?
Yes, that's fine.
 
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