Help! Ewe down & lambs dead

[FarmFam]

I need some help quick. One of our ewe's lambed this morning. We found her with 2 dead babies when we went to do the morning chores. She wasn't due for a few more weeks. She was laying on her side and was unable to get up. I suspected toxemia and gave her Nutri Drench right away. She perked up a bit, but is still unable to stand. She is eating and drinking fine. I have never experienced any troubles with the sheep, so I am not sure this is what I am dealing with or not. I can't get the vet here right now, so I need to self-treat her.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Does she seem uncoordinated? She may need some calcium. Do you have any CMPK on hand? I'd also offer her some molasses in her water and some good hay. Did she clean (pass the placentas)? If not, keep an eye on her to make sure she does in the next day or so. I'd also temp her and make sure she isn't running a fever. If she's not interested in eating, you may have to get some propylene glycol and offer her. I found a recipe on a different forum I can look up. It works better than straight PG.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

And I'm sorry about the lambs.

 

[FarmFam]

Thanks for replying and the support! I would love to have the recipe if you can find it.

I don't have any CMPK on hand. The Nutri Drench has propylene glycol, cane molasses or beet molasses, potassium chloride, sulfur, cobalt sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium gluconate, ammonium phosphate, vitamin A (acetate), vitamin A (palmitate), vitamin D3 supplement, alpha-tocopherol (source of vit E), vitamin E supplement, thiamine, niacin, methionine, lysine, choline chloride, sucrose, fructose, raffinose. Is this sufficient or is there something better? It says it is for pregnancy toxemia.

I gave her 45 cc right away and she perked up but cannot stand. We tried to lift her but her legs are weak and she just goes down again. She ate well and drank molasses water. I also have B complex and penicillin on hand. Will any of those help? I have never taken a ewe's temp but will do it when I go back out.

I have her seperated in a pen next to another ewe that is also due. She seems relaxed, in spite of everything. Will her milk just dry up or will I need to do something for her?

She was fine yesterday, although laying around a lot. I wish I would have paid more attention

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Here's the recipe. It was on the Breeders World Forum, posted by someone named Rambo.

For all of you who have asked for it, here is the "recipe" for treating ewes with pregnancy toxemia. We've used this therapy with much success as have many others so here it is.

Daily Oral Therapy:

3.5 oz. of sheep nutridrench per day
4-8 oz. of propylene glycol per day
60 cc's of 50% dextrose, 2 times daily (total 120 cc's/day)
60 cc's of amino acid (A-Lyte etc) concentrate/electrolytes, 2 times daily
(total of 120 cc's).
Dose of probios or yogurt every other day until cud returns (can be given daily).
Peptobismol or bicarb of soda every other day (ewes that are ketotic have acidosis & will not usually return to eating until this is treated).
Water. If the ewe isn't drinking on her own, drench her with cool or tepid water...about a qt. at a time Oftentimes the treatment will cause the ewe to drink on her own.

Do not give above ingredients all at once. The trick is to break it up and administer every 2 to 4 hours (depending on severity of symptoms) so that the ewe has a constant source of energy.
For example: give the nutridrench 1st, then wait 2-4 hours and give the combo of 60 cc dextrose and 60 cc amino acid concentrate & electrolytes, wait another 2-4 hours, then give the propylene glycol. Once you have done this, you start the regime all over and continue until the ewe goes back to feed (some downed ewes won't go back to feed until the lambs are either born through c-section or are aborted). The point is to keep a steady supply of energy (sugars) going to the ewe. Dextrose tends to be shorter lasting than propylene glycol so we tend to give one of the doses of prop glycol at night, as it stays with the ewe longer & the shepherd can get a bit of sleep during this time.

The key to success is early detection (use ketone strips; notice any odd behavior...ewe slow to come into the feeder area, ewe leaving the feeder early, ewe standing by herself etc) followed by aggressive and dedicated treatment. Believe this...you will get tired doing this. With any luck, the ewe will go back to eating grain and hay but oftimes they do not go back to grain even if they are consuming hay. Supplemental energy will still need to be supplied at this point but does not require the above regime.

It should be noted that that some ewes that are severely ketotic that are close to their due date may need to be induced or the lambs may need to be delivered via c-section, depending on the condition of the ewe. Ewes giving birth naturally after being induced usually will need assistance in delivering the lambs, due to weakness on the ewe's part. Don't forget that everything the ewe is going through, the lambs inutero are also experiencing so, consequently some lambs do not survive or are born weak and will need critical care during their first hours. Ewes that survive usually do not milk well so it is important to have replacer on hand for the newborns. Ewes will also need TLC following a ketotic episode ending in delivery.

Pregnancy toxemia is a frustrating disease but we have been able to keep ewes going for over 3 weeks ending in success using this therapy.

 

[tortoise]

I need some help quick. One of our ewe's lambed this morning. We found her with 2 dead babies when we went to do the morning chores. She wasn't due for a few more weeks. She was laying on her side and was unable to get up. I suspected toxemia and gave her Nutri Drench right away. She perked up a bit, but is still unable to stand. She is eating and drinking fine. I have never experienced any troubles with the sheep, so I am not sure this is what I am dealing with or not. I can't get the vet here right now, so I need to self-treat her.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Call your vet. Even if you can't have one come out, you can get some help on what to do.

 

[dkosh]

Sorry to hear of your loss and your down ewe.
It sounds like you already got some sound advice. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[FarmFam]

Just a quick update. The ewe is acting fine, eating, drinking, but will not/ cannot get up. I got almost all of the things listed and have been giving as instructed.

I will update tomorrow.
Thank you, again!

 

[big brown horse]

How is she? (Going through this myself, except my ewe has no appetite.)

 

[FarmFam]

Sorry for not replying sooner, but we've had more sheep and goat births so we have been busy!

The ewe is doing well except she is losing all of her wool in sheets. The vet is expected to come out this week to check on her. Otherwise, she is acting fine.

Big brown horse, I hope your ewe is better. I am really looking into deficiencies as the cause. This has been a bad year for us with the goats and sheep being susceptible to so much. I am starting to suspect our local feed mill as a possible problem, as I don't like the way the feed has been looking. I have changed feed sources and I think it is helping already. I have also added Fasttrack, and beet pulp in small amounts.