Our three year old ram is doing a lot of laying down and from what I can tell, no eating whatsoever. We separated him and two ram lambs a few weeks back to keep them from breeding the ewes and he was doing fine. They are in a stall in the barn full time instead of being out on pasture but he was doing fine initially and eating well. I am VERY worried at this point because we lost a ram a year ago to pneumonia with basically no warning. I wonder if I should just let him outside or if the ladies will just stress him out more. I wish I knew what was wrong!
Ram NOT eating at all!
- Thread starter NachoFarm
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alsea1
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I would start by taking his temp.
Check gum color
Listen to stomach sounds both sides of animal
Look at eye lid color
Try temping him with special treat
If he does not respond I would try calling the vet with all the vital info you collected.
If its pneamonia I think there should be elevated temp.
Is he pooping normal or diarhea
Cocci can sometimes rear its ugly head if they get too stressed.
Good luck. I hope he gets well
Check gum color
Listen to stomach sounds both sides of animal
Look at eye lid color
Try temping him with special treat
If he does not respond I would try calling the vet with all the vital info you collected.
If its pneamonia I think there should be elevated temp.
Is he pooping normal or diarhea
Cocci can sometimes rear its ugly head if they get too stressed.
Good luck. I hope he gets well
secuono
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Well, he went from moving daily and eating natural foods to being locked up in a box eating less natural food. His guts have slowed, nothing is really getting things moving.
Check everything alsea1 said, get him moving, separate him further to see if he is pooping.
Will he eat pulled grass or treats?
Check everything alsea1 said, get him moving, separate him further to see if he is pooping.
Will he eat pulled grass or treats?
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BrownSheep
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I would check and see if he has anything in his mouth as well. Its possible that he could be cribbing the wood and has splinters in his mouth
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The neighbour came over and took his temp, 102 which I believe is still in the normal range? He does seem to have laboured breathing so the neighbour gave him a shot of something for pneumonia and then we let him and the rest of the boys out. I thought we were making the right decision by separating them because I was under the impression that the rams would fight to the death during breeding season. So we make that choice and now he's sick. But now we've let them out so if he gets better then they may fight. Can't seem to win here. I did get him to eat a few Mini Wheats out of my hand, by far one of the strangest things I've ever done. Hand feed a sheep cereal.:/ I didn't check his gums or eyelids yet as I didn't want to stress him out anymore. And not sure what I'm listening for if I decide to listen to his stomach...?
alsea1
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A healthy active stomach makes gurgle noises. A still sick stomach is pretty quiet
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BrownSheep
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My mature probably 300lb+ ram is running with two 80lb little guys, no fighting. I have seen the little guys breeding as well. I've done the same in the past. If the rams have been together they typically don't fight during breeding. If they are being introduced that's when they fight. I did lose one ram lamb when I introduce my oldest guy back into the herd a couple years ago.
I doubt that it has had anything to do with you penning them.
I doubt that it has had anything to do with you penning them.
alsea1
True BYH Addict
Noise indicates that the gut is functioning. The stomachs are a fermentation system. Thats why if you hear nothing then you need to get it going asap.
If he is still not eating I would administer some probitoics and maybe even a shot of Vitamin B to try and stimulate his appetite.
Of course the treatment needed depends on what is going on.
When you have one animal off like that it is helpful to know if it can pass manure or not because this would indicate if the animal is blocked up or not.
Also it tells you something about the state of it's stomach. Also the color of it can tell you alot. Real bad smelling diarhea could indicate coccidea. A real green color could mean that he ate too much green grass. Diarhea can also indicate the presence of parasites.
With all that said. How is your fella doing?
If he is still not eating I would administer some probitoics and maybe even a shot of Vitamin B to try and stimulate his appetite.
Of course the treatment needed depends on what is going on.
When you have one animal off like that it is helpful to know if it can pass manure or not because this would indicate if the animal is blocked up or not.
Also it tells you something about the state of it's stomach. Also the color of it can tell you alot. Real bad smelling diarhea could indicate coccidea. A real green color could mean that he ate too much green grass. Diarhea can also indicate the presence of parasites.
With all that said. How is your fella doing?
