Hello and of course, a question..:)

[Autumn Creek Ranch]

Excited to have found this group - we raise rare breeds of sheep and alpacas on our farm in the dry part of the Pacific Northwest... We also raise rare breeds of pigs.

Here is my question. We have been raising sheep for about 10 years. We have Navajo-Churro, Cotswold, CVM Romeldale and also Katahdin.

Our fiber sheep have always lambed unassisted, nursed their babies and done well. The Katahdins are new to us this year and came bred.

Anyway, lambing this year has been disastrous. We have lost every lamb but one. The lambs are born seemingly health, unassisted. Two things keep happening. If the mom nurses, the lambs still die by a week old (one died as late as 6 weeks old). Either that or the moms are totally disinterested in nursing the lambs. We even move them into a lambing pen, see that they are nursing well and the lambs are still dying.

I have just read much of Pat Coleby's book on Natural Sheep Care and also talked with local farmers. We were giving loose Redmond Mineral Salt but a local farmer said we should put in the Redmond Salt blocks with added Selenium so we did that. We also feed alfalfa pellets and BOSS twice per week since our sheep our fed hay 8 months of the year because of our climate and we were concerned about Vit E deficiency. We feed a locally grown, really nice grass hay.

I was giving DE and garlic in with the BOSS/Alfalfa but I was concerned that wasn't enough to control worms so we gave a dose of garlic/molasses by mouth to each sheep yesterday and plan to do that every other month. I also added Redmond Mineral Conditioner to their alfalfa/BOSS yesterday as well.

We are wondering if this could be a toxoplasmosis issue because of our barn cats or maybe a mineral deficiency/parasite issue? The weird things is, the ewes seem perfectly healthy.

Any insight would be much appreciated...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Maybe a necropsy on one of the lambs would give you answers?

 

[luvmypets]

I agree with FEM. With that many lambs dying there is definitley some other factor going on. I would guess some type of viral infection or bacterial disease. Were there any symptoms before they passed? Im so sorry that this has happened to you but hopefully you can find the cause and eliminate it. The fact that the katahdin ewes are new to your flock is a major red flag. I would talk to your vet about getting them tested, for various diseases.

Would love to hear more about your pigs and alpacas. We raise mangalitsa pigs and have a few pacas.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us, though I'm terribly sorry for the reason that brought you here. I'd be torn up losing that many animals unexplained. I have to concur that a necropsy is called for. You should have a state lab that will do it for you for a nominal cost. Just a heads up though... Sometimes even they can't give an explanation. Sure hope you can determine and fix the issue whatever it is. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!