Ewe aborted - preliminary test results

norseofcourse

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When I went out to feed this evening, I found an aborted lamb in the run-in area :( It looked maybe a month or so away from being born. Tiny little hooves, completely formed body that didn't look deformed, and it looked like it might have been a ram lamb. No wool on it at all, just reddish skin all over.

The ewe that aborted it is Brosa, this would have been her second lambing. I put the ram in for a first possible lambing date of March 16, but I don't know exactly when she bred (it's likely it was within week or three of the ram going in). She had a single ram lamb last year, no problems. And now, she is acting quite normally (except for all the crud at her back end that froze, that I cut off as much as I could). Normal behavior, appetite. Although she is the only one of the four ewes who hadn't had any udder development yet.

I didn't see a placenta, not sure if she's passed it yet. From what I've been able to find, they would need the placenta for a good necropsy. Not sure if a necropsy would tell me a lot. If I do decide to go that route, do I freeze the lamb or keep it from freezing?

Do I treat Brosa with anything, or just watch her? What about the other ewes? By now they've been exposed to anything there might be. Do I call the emergency vet number? What do I ask him?
 

Southern by choice

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Having the placenta a is good but not imperative. Our lab has a freezer that is available for after hours drop off so it should be ok.
IMO taking temp and watching her is best but your vets advice is always best. Ask him just what your asking us.

Did anything "run" her possibly causing her to abort?

Very sorry for your loss. :hugs
 

OneFineAcre

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Having the placenta a is good but not imperative. Our lab has a freezer that is available for after hours drop off so it should be ok.
IMO taking temp and watching her is best but your vets advice is always best. Ask him just what your asking us.

Did anything "run" her possibly causing her to abort?

Very sorry for your loss. :hugs

It's a fridge not a freezer
You don't want to freeze
Made that mistake
 

Southern by choice

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It's a fridge not a freezer
You don't want to freeze
Made that mistake

good to know .. They have always referred to it as a "freezer" and I have never taken one in after hours ... I had wondered about that too. When I worked in vet med years ago we couldn't do anything with frozen. I thought maybe something had changed.:hu
 

norseofcourse

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Thanks for the condolences, everyone.

I just got back from checking sheep. Brosa is still acting very normally. What had appeared to be some discharge from her vulva is now gone and it looks clean (stlll some ick frozen to her wool that I wasn't able to cut off yet).

I've been reading about possible causes, there are some that fit (chlamydia, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis), although it could still be something else. I may add some vaccinations just in case. It's slightly scary, some of them affect people, too...

The dead lamb and/or the smell got Elding *very* upset. I was trimming what I could off of Brosa's wool, when he finished eating his grain (grain comes first) and started sniffing around and got really mad. He actually came at me and made contact once or twice before I was able to get the leash on him. I had gloves on and they were contaminated with what I was cutting off Brosa, so I didn't want to grab Elding with the gloves on to flip him.

Yes, I suppose it's possible Elding did something to Brosa to make her abort, but IMHO it's unlikely. He's been quite mellow for weeks now, and even during breeding season I've never seen him make an aggressive move toward any of his ewes. And the ewes seem to get along well, too.

We've got snow and ice on the ground, so the sheep aren't doing a whole lot of running, and there's no tracks in the snow indicating something got in the pasture and ran them around.

I'll be talking with my vet tomorrow, and watching Brosa closely. Not sure about sending the lamb for testing - it's contaminated from the bedding, and while I was doing the rest of the chores it may have frozen too much. And I never got the placenta.

If by chance she was carrying twins, is it possible for the other to be carried to term, or would she abort it also?
 

luvmypets

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Thanks for the condolences, everyone.

I just got back from checking sheep. Brosa is still acting very normally. What had appeared to be some discharge from her vulva is now gone and it looks clean (stlll some ick frozen to her wool that I wasn't able to cut off yet).

I've been reading about possible causes, there are some that fit (chlamydia, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis), although it could still be something else. I may add some vaccinations just in case. It's slightly scary, some of them affect people, too...

The dead lamb and/or the smell got Elding *very* upset. I was trimming what I could off of Brosa's wool, when he finished eating his grain (grain comes first) and started sniffing around and got really mad. He actually came at me and made contact once or twice before I was able to get the leash on him. I had gloves on and they were contaminated with what I was cutting off Brosa, so I didn't want to grab Elding with the gloves on to flip him.

Yes, I suppose it's possible Elding did something to Brosa to make her abort, but IMHO it's unlikely. He's been quite mellow for weeks now, and even during breeding season I've never seen him make an aggressive move toward any of his ewes. And the ewes seem to get along well, too.

We've got snow and ice on the ground, so the sheep aren't doing a whole lot of running, and there's no tracks in the snow indicating something got in the pasture and ran them around.

I'll be talking with my vet tomorrow, and watching Brosa closely. Not sure about sending the lamb for testing - it's contaminated from the bedding, and while I was doing the rest of the chores it may have frozen too much. And I never got the placenta.

If by chance she was carrying twins, is it possible for the other to be carried to term, or would she abort it also?
I really hope she has a second lamb. It is possible she aborted the not-thriving unborn lamb and there is another in there. Did I hear she didnt pass the placenta? If so that could be a reason. Hoping for easy healing :hugs
 
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