Bottle jaw

[Fluffy_Flock]

hey guys, learning curve with sheep is steep. I'm learning a ton being here though. So I have been checking famacha score on all my sheep fairly regularly and up till last week never had an issue. My bottle baby ram started to get pail eyelids so decided to worm him (all the rest look good). Wormed him 2x last week as was recommended by my sheep lady but I used ivermectin only to find out that its completely ineffective here.

Baby developed bottle jaw suddenly last night so I have been treating aggressively. Gave him a dose of cydectin and prohibit today with an iron shot and B complex. I didn't realize that the prohibit wasn't fully dissolved though so that was likely underdosed but cydectin was a full dose. I have also given him nutri drench too. His face swelling looks a lot better this afternoon. Last night it was like a softball on his chin. Very startling to see it happen so quickly.

Here are my questions:
Do I need to repeat the cydectin or prohibit?
Do I need to repeat the iron or B complex and if so when?

I really will be heartbroken if I lose him. I lost his mom a few months ago from something unrelated and she was my favorite ewe. At this point I'm just kinda throwing everything I can at him and hoping I'm doing the right thing.

 

[Mike CHS]

We learned the hard way that bottle jaw needs to be dealt with as quick as possible or you lose sheep. By the time the signs are visible, the sheep may well be dying.

We have used both meds that you used but give give them once a day for three days in a row. We do our own fecals so in two weeks we pull a fecal and based on that we decide if a follow up is needed. Give the iron and B vitamins also each day. This was on the recommendation of our vet.

Our experience with Famacha is that it is often better than nothing but we have found it wrong more often than it is correct.

 

[Fluffy_Flock]

We learned the hard way that bottle jaw needs to be dealt with as quick as possible or you lose sheep. By the time the signs are visible, the sheep may well be dying.

We have used both meds that you used but give give them once a day for three days in a row. We do our own fecals so in two weeks we pull a fecal and based on that we decide if a follow up is needed. Give the iron and B vitamins also each day. This was on the recommendation of our vet.

Our experience with Famacha is that it is often better than nothing but we have found it wrong more often than it is correct.

I really want to get a regular vet that I would consult but with the world gone nuts its been hard findingone. FEC would be ideal. I have a microscope that would be capable of doing it but I need to learn the process and get the plate.

So if I understand correctly I should repeat what I did today for the next 2 days as well? So cydectin, prohibit, B complex and iron both tomorrow and the next day?

 

[secuono]

I repeat the prohibit in a week if still white, if pinked up any, I wait.
Did you move him to a brand new paddock after deworming? If not, he'll get infected again real soon and it'll be an endless cycle of deworming until you move him. Or he'll just drop dead one day.
If real pale, vit b & e and iron daily for several days.
Higher protein food just for him, too.

 

[Fluffy_Flock]

I repeat the prohibit in a week if still white, if pinked up any, I wait.
Did you move him to a brand new paddock after deworming? If not, he'll get infected again real soon and it'll be an endless cycle of deworming until you move him. Or he'll just drop dead one day.
If real pale, vit b & e and iron daily for several days.
Higher protein food just for him, too.

I wish i had another field to move him to right now. Our property is less than a year old so our second field doesn't have a secure fence yet or else I would in a heart beat move them.

I'm kinda shocked how quickly he responded to treatment tbh. Maybe its because I caught it early (bottle jaw is not "early" I know.... rater late in fact, but the swelling is what I mean.) But he is looking damn good today! He is back to harassing the ladies at least and giving penny (LGD) a good warning head bump when she gets too playful. Swelling looks to have gone away too.

I don't think the worm issue came from the field they are in as much as the corral. They get up to eat so early and for some silly reason would rather chew the half inch stubble covered in poo than the huge round bale of hay i gave them (i gave them the huge bale to avoid them eating the ground to dirt..... oh well ) ..... I have started setting my alarm for the ass crack of dawn to let them out before they get up and get hungry.

 

[Sheepshape]

So sorry to hear that you have had a horrid start with your sheep. It does sound as though your ram has turned the corner, though.

Bottle jaw is just fluid collection around the jaw as a consequence of anaemia and often low serum proteins. Fluid leaks from the blood vessels and collects in 'dependent' places like the jaw (sheep feeding with their heads down), but also inside the belly (ascites) etc. there is no one single cause for bottle jaw. Often intestinal parasites which suck blood are the cause e.g Barber Pole worm. Other conditions such as liver fluke can cause it too, in endemic areas (interference with serum protein formation in the liver)

Sounds as though you have caught the right pathogen, but need to get those sheep off that land. Time to fence off the other field.

Oh and sheep have a wonderful rabbit for finding the most inappropriate things to eat. One of the many ways in which they are trying to find a way to die from the day they are born!