ram acting off.. *dead.. necropsy results*

[dwbonfire]

so i recently got a ram lamb and a ewe lamb about a month ago. they have settled in well with my one year old ewe.. they seem to be venturing off around the property more and more, so the possibility that he ate something could be?

when i let him in tonight i noticed he just seemed mellow. nothing too significant, but just a little mellow. i just went out to check on him and he seemed the same, stand offish as he usually is, but i was able to catch him. this is the first time i have really tried, but im a little surprised i was able to.. i checked his gums but they are mostly black so hard to say, and his eye lids seemed a little pale. i was able to catch my one year old ewe to compare eyelids and hers were much more pink. not sure if it was her struggling to get away that could make them pink? i was unable to catch the other ewe lamb that i got at the same time i got the ram lamb..

when we picked them up we were told they had just been dewormed. we got them from a breeder so i believe she would be truthful. not sure what she dewormed with, i will email her to ask.

since having my older ewe, i have not wormed her once.. and she had the more pink eye lids.. i am surprised if he were just wormed he would be pale.. what else could pale eye lids mean? im not sure what to do, i dont have any meds on hand so anything will have to wait until the morning :/ i know acting promptly is best.. should i just monitor him to see how he is in the morning or anything i should do now?
thanks

 

[dwbonfire]

can anyone give me a little advice? id like to run to TS this morning to get anything i may need for him.. was thinking ivermectin and i read of some kind of iron specifically for pigs, rather than red cell which is not good for sheep because of copper?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I wouldn't recommend Red Cell for sheep. He could need deworming again. Who knows what the breeder gave him, or if it was the right amount, or if it even worked on the type of worms he may have (sounds like could be Barberpole worms). I'd go ahead and deworm him with something good (not Ivomec...try Cydectin maybe) and he could possibly have coccidiosis too. The stress from coming to your place could have caused a bloom of coccidia. It may be worth it to have a fecal done for him.

 

[dwbonfire]

ok how much time do i have before he could go downhill real fast? i can try to get a fecal done today before i worm him that way i can worm him for what he HAS.. is there anything i can or should do in the meantime? sugarwater or something to help with anemia? of course i dont have molasses on hand i had read that is good..
to get a fecal done i am wondering how i will get a sample specifically from him.. any ideas on how to do that? i just checked the other ewe lamb, shes a little on the pale side too. not as much as him.

 

[SheepGirl]

If I were you I would take his temperature and deworm him. If he has a temp, then I would get him on an antibiotic.

 

[dwbonfire]

i will not have another set of hands here until the afternoon :/ i dont think i can get his temp by myself or i surely would, i would hate to hurt him bc i couldnt keep him still enough myself..

 

[SheepGirl]

What I do when I'm by myself is I straddle the sheep's neck in between my legs, with me facing towards their butt. Depending on how well they're doing I will inch forward so I'm straddling the flank area, right in front of their hips, so I can reach/look better to see what I'm doing. When they aren't doing well, that's when they charge away from you...but that's why you put a halter on them so they can't get too far

You can also wedge him in between a fence and a gate or a wall and a gate and take his temp that way. He may try to back out or even try to push the gate open, but if you're standing there holding onto the gate or preventing him from backing out you should be able to get his temp.

Just some ideas so that way when you run to TSC you can get an antibiotic if you need it

 

[dwbonfire]

perfect! i will go do this right now! thanks so much!! i will post what his temp is so hopefully yall can let me know what i need for him.

 

[dwbonfire]

it was 104.8 !! what is normal for sheep? i remembered i have tylan 50 on hand.. thats all for meds. could worms cause a high temp? or could an injection of some sort cause his eyelids to be pale? just wondering if this is hand in hand or two different problems..

should i take the others temps to be sure? they seem fine but just incase?

 

[SheepGirl]

Normal temps for sheep are 102-103. So I would definitely get him started on a broad-spectrum antibiotic. When my ewe had close to a 106 fever, the vet said to give her 5cc 2x/day of Pen G for five days (so total 50 cc for all five days) and her fever disappeared.

I'm not familiar with tylan 50, so I can't really help you there.

Worms wouldn't really cause a change in temp...as a general rule of thumb, if a sheep has a temp then it's an infection, but if they don't, then it's probably worms. I don't know of any injections to cause anemia, so I'm thinking in addition to an infection he also has barberpole worms, so yes two different problems.

You can take the other temps if it gives you peace of mind I know when I have a sick sheep I freak out and I over analyze all my sheep to see if they're acting normal or if they seem off