Sick lambs, Lost 2

[Leigh Ann]

Hello, I really need help. All my lambs are 6 mo old. I have lost 2 lambs in the last 4 days. Had only 6 to begin with. One I lost, I bottle fed from 3 hours old to 6 mo. Mother would not take her. She was a twin. I now have the sister also. All of mine are from the same herd. I feel I have a couple of things going on. 1st one, Grace, my bottle fed baby, I noticed was not eating and acted puny. We had just turned them out on the big pasture 3 days before. Her poop was pellets. She was keeping to herself more and when I fed one afternoon she did not get up and come to me. She always came to me because we would spend time one on one everyday. i could tell she was weaker. The next morning, day 3, I checked her early and she had passed. Broke my heart. I proceeded to research illnesses in Sheep. I raised Boer Goats for 10 years then sold out and had nothing but horses for 10 years. When we wanted to put something on our pasture again we decided to try sheep because they were not as rambunctious, as we were getting older. People told us they were easier to raise and handle. I thought they could not be much different than Goats. I know Goats. It turns out they are very different. My research into this illness gave me several options that it could be. Then another lamb looked puny, ears down, bloating, not eating. Poop looked good. Nice pellets. As before her gums almost white. I was feeding Alfalfa hay, medicated lamb start grow, had wormed twice, 3 weeks a part. Also had minerals out. Well, I lost the 2nd lamb yesterday. Such a fast decline. Today, two have scours and all but one look bloated. Gums look pinkish. All are eating, drinking and grazing in the pasture that we turned them out on over a week ago. I have also changed food in the last couple of days, but mixed it with the old for 2 days. I am at a loss. I wish I knew about the CD&T vaccine they should have had months earlier. Now I wonder if it is overeating, change in their food to quick, mineral deficiency (magnesium), or toxic weeds out of the pasture. Please help me save my lambs. Thank you in advance for reading such a long post and responding.

 

[Baymule]

Barber pole worms. Sounds like a heavy load. With no diarrhea, it’s not coccidia. Take a fecal sample to the vet immediately and wait on results. The vet can guide you to the proper treatment and dosage. Vets usually have wormers on hand, especially now that we can’t buy antibiotics anymore.

If there is not a livestock vet around, go to feed store, Atwoods, Tractor Supply and buy wormer. I usually use ivermectin in the horse wormer tubs and adjust dosage with the little dial. There also is Safeguard, also known as Panacur.

Get some B vitamin injectable and give all 1 ml. Also get some pig iron and give 1 ml. You can buy Power Punch and give orally or Nutri-Drench for sheep, orally. The pig iron is for anemia.

Please let me know if I can give you any more help or support. I’ll check back on here later today.

ETA: for heavy loads like this sounds, get Dectomax. It’s a cattle wormer but works on sheep. Give 1 ml I think it’s sub q , under the skin, read the bottle to make sure. I only use it in extreme situations. Then the next day give oral wormer. Can give Power Punch or Nutri-Drench every day.

 

[SageHill]

Definitely check on worms as @Baymule said.
Only thing I can think of it seems that it happened right after you let them out to the pasture so ~~maybe they ate something?? You can take pics of the weeds and identify them on your phone. Though the white and pale gum suggest worms.

 

[Leigh Ann]

Definitely check on worms as @Baymule said.
Only thing I can think of it seems that it happened right after you let them out to the pasture so ~~maybe they ate something?? You can take pics of the weeds and identify them on your phone. Though the white and pale gum suggest worms.

SageHill, I am going to worm with Safeguard. I am looking into toxic plants.Thank you for your reply to my post.

 

[Leigh Ann]

Barber pole worms. Sounds like a heavy load. With no diarrhea, it’s not coccidia. Take a fecal sample to the vet immediately and wait on results. The vet can guide you to the proper treatment and dosage. Vets usually have wormers on hand, especially now that we can’t buy antibiotics anymore.

If there is not a livestock vet around, go to feed store, Atwoods, Tractor Supply and buy wormer. I usually use ivermectin in the horse wormer tubs and adjust dosage with the little dial. There also is Safeguard, also known as Panacur.

Get some B vitamin injectable and give all 1 ml. Also get some pig iron and give 1 ml. You can buy Power Punch and give orally or Nutri-Drench for sheep, orally. The pig iron is for anemia.

Please let me know if I can give you any more help or support. I’ll check back on here later today.

ETA: for heavy loads like this sounds, get Dectomax. It’s a cattle wormer but works on sheep. Give 1 ml I think it’s sub q , under the skin, read the bottle to make sure. I only use it in extreme situations. Then the next day give oral wormer. Can give Power Punch or Nutri-Drench every day.

 

[Leigh Ann]

I appreciate your advice. I have ivermectin injectable that I give orally. This is what I wormed with recently. I also have Safeguard and sheep nutri drench. I have a bottle of vitamin B 12 injectible. Can I use that? Last night I gave the 4 lambs only alfalfa hay. Did not give the new food. This morning they looked good and were hungry. I fed them a small amount of food and hay. They are drinking and eating well. Do not look as bloated. Closed them off the big pasture. Their stool is better. Not pellets but pellet looking in a solid mass. I clean their housing daily and give fresh water daily. Their food and hay is up off the ground. I plan to worm again with Safeguard, per your advice, ASAP. I can give the sheep nutri drench also. Not sure about the vitamin B 12. I have for them all mixed a packet of Electrolytes with water as their only water source. Changed it daily. They had that mix for 3 days. Now plain water. Should I give a bigger dose of Safeguard than they call for? Should I worm twice, 2 weeks apart? Or more? Do I need to give the CD&T vaccine when the are better? Thank you for your help.

 

[Leigh Ann]

I appreciate your advice. I have ivermectin injectable that I give orally. This is what I wormed with recently. I also have Safeguard and sheep nutri drench. I have a bottle of vitamin B 12 injectible. Can I use that? Last night I gave the 4 lambs only alfalfa hay. Did not give the new food. This morning they looked good and were hungry. I fed them a small amount of food and hay. They are drinking and eating well. Do not look as bloated. Closed them off the big pasture. Their stool is better. Not pellets but pellet looking in a solid mass. I clean their housing daily and give fresh water daily. Their food and hay is up off the ground. I plan to worm again with Safeguard, per your advice, ASAP. I can give the sheep nutri drench also. Not sure about the vitamin B 12. I have for them all mixed a packet of Electrolytes with water as their only water source. Changed it daily. They had that mix for 3 days. Now plain water. Should I give a bigger dose of Safeguard than they call for? Should I worm twice, 2 weeks apart? Or more? Do I need to give the CD&T vaccine when the are better? Thank you for your help.

Gave Safeguard and sheep drench.

 

[Baymule]

Sorry I didn’t get back on here today. I was working my own sheep. LOL. I wormed a few, sorted out 7 young ewe lambs, moved 4 heavy bred ewes, had a ewe limping badly. She cut her hoof from the crown and it looks bad. So I doctored her, put on vet wrap and put her in a small pen so she doesn’t have to fight for a place at the feed trough. Of course it rained, I just worked through it. LOL Had some other stuff going on , I apologize for my absence.

I had a parasite storm this spring, lost 11 lambs out of 31. I’ve never had 2 month old lambs with parasites. Never. Conditions in East Texas were horrible. I have a friend who list 25 grown goats.

Vet protocol was Dectomax day 1, Safeguard for 5 days, then totrazil ( I can’t ever spell that) on day 7 for coccidia. Aaaaannnd watched them drop dead. The survivors were damaged except for some that miraculously cheated death. If the worms didn’t kill the lambs, the toxins released by dying worms killed them. I finally got them to stop dying, kept 7 ewes, took rest to auction.

You can give safeguard for 5 days. Then I suggest a shot of Dectomax.

Yes the B12 will be good for them. Get the pig iron and give 1 ml.

CD&T will not have any effect on worms. Let them recover, then vaccinate.

In 2 weeks, worm again with a different wormer.

Please let us know how the lambs are doing.

 

[Baymule]

I’m truly glad you joined the forum. After this crisis is over, stay around, we are a friendly community.

 

[farmerjan]

Welcome to the forum, but sad for you.

I am going to give you a little different advice than @Baymule .... and we are good friends so not a slight to her.

Do not give nutridrench when you worm... you are feeding the worms. Any type of nutritional support should be given 36-48 hours later.. and they should get straight water for the 24-48 hours after worming. You want them to flush out the worms, not give them additional nutrition which can counteract the wormer.
The B-12 is a shot and is an appetite stimulant as well as nutritional boost, that can be given anytime... I would also wait 24-48 hrs. for the iron if oral... iron shot would be fine.
Severe worm infestations will become toxic as they die in the gut tract... I will not do such a harsh worming so fast... But that is me...I am NOT a vet... I would do the ivermect, 2 days later do nutritional support for 3-4 days... 7-10 days a second ivermect... nutritional support again after 48 hours.... then after there has been at least a decent reduction in the worms and eggs, hit them with a different wormer which will be like coming at them from a different angle... I like prohibit for our sheep after an ivermectin treatment... and we use ivermectin oral FOR SHEEP... it is a little different strength I think, than the injectible. All literature says to not use cattle ivermectin for sheep and goats... especially not to use the pour on as a drench. Then go back with prohibit about 2 weeks later.... It is an oral product.

Again, that is strictly me. Oklahoma State U... has a good website with alot of information on sheep and goats. Also Georgia State has some extensive info.