Udder Gangrene.

[Sheepshape]

This horrible condition was prevalent here last spring, down to the cold and wet weather according to our local expert.

I went out to check the ewes and (nearly weaned ) lambs to find Daisy, two year old ewe, walking poorly and smelling awful, with half her udder blue/black. We managed to get her to the shed where she collapsed down. I spoke to my farmer neighbour on that Sunday afternoon. He knows more about sheep than the majority of vets. He said that she would die......

I gave her antibiotic injections, sprayed the stinking mass with iodine spray, and gave her a large dose of metacam for pain.She started leaking foul smelling stuff constantly from her back passage and lay in the place where she fell. I stuffed clean straw under her to the best of my ability.

Over the next two and a half days I offered her food and water pretty much every hour, but she took nothing. I injected her again with metacam and painted fly repellant on her. The smell was atrocious. I spoke to our vet, who confirmed she would die....

On the Wednesday morning she drank a little water when I offered it to her (still in the same place on the floor). Thereafter she took water hourly and ate a few bits of her favourite biscuits at the end of the day. She started to pass urine again, but the foul stuff kept pouring from her back passage.

On the Thursday she took a good drink of water first thing, ate some biscuits and then made an effort to stand. She fell several times, then stayed on her feet. Over the next few days her food and water intake increased and the udder began to dry over.Thereafter she slowly regained her appetite and the gangrenous half of the udder slowly demarcated and fell off. She lost all of her fleece.

Here is Daisy in the recovery phase.

If you look carefully in the last pic. the blackened udder, ready to drop off is just about visible.

That was almost 5 months ago. The advice (of course) was to get rid of her as she now only has half an udder, but this girl fought so hard to live, that just would not be fair. Today she is a happy, very well covered ewe (but with only half an udder). Ah, and she missed the shearer's strong hands this summer as she sheared herself.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Awwww! Thanks for the post!
Poor girl! Glad she pulled through!
Good luck with her, she is one tough cookie!!!!

 

[bonbean01]

Wow!!! I didn't even know that such a thing even happened!!!! Good job of helping her pull through...as always...I love happy endings

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Wow!!! I didn't even know that such a thing even happened!!!!

Nor did I! Wow x2. Is the half udder that is left usable? Have you been able to rebreed her?

Liz

 

[Sheepshape]

Hi, Liz,Yes....the other half of the udder seems fine. She is with the ram as we speak, so time will tell.

When we first came here we took on a ewe who had only half an udder due to the same condition. She had two lambs, we left her with one. The teat tended to point down rather than out to the side, so we had to hold the lamb there for the first day or two. Thereafter he did very well.

She looks fighting fit at the moment. Her trck record is that she has had triplets in two successive years, so may well have the same again. In about 5 months I expect another two bottle lambs, then, all being well.

Sandie

 

[Sheepshape]

Hi, Liz,Yes....the other half of the udder seems fine. She is with the ram as we speak, so time will tell.

When we first came here we took on a ewe who had only half an udder due to the same condition. She had two lambs, we left her with one. The teat tended to point down rather than out to the side, so we had to hold the lamb there for the first day or two. Thereafter he did very well.

She looks fighting fit at the moment. Her trck record is that she has had triplets in two successive years, so may well have the same again. In about 5 months I expect another two bottle lambs, then, all being well.

Sandie

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Her track record is that she has had triplets in two successive years, so may well have the same again. In about 5 months I expect another two bottle lambs, then, all being well.

That is incredible! Look forward to hearing/seeing how she does in 5mths. THEN you can start writing a children's book. Get a really good artist to draw the photos etc. It would sell really well. Our kids love "REAL" animal stories & so do I!.

Liz

 

[Queen Mum]

I am happy for your ewe. Not every animal dies from gangrene. Poor girl must have really been miserable. Too bad the vets don't understand that pain is what keeps them still and that is natures way of helping them heal.

She deserves a medal for her gumption and determination.

Bless her heart. An animal that can survive that has good genes.

 

[Sheepshape]

I agree with your sentiments, Queen Mum. To have fought to be live only to be turned into lamb shops doesn't sit well with me. Daisy, the sheep in question is looking very well. If she has more than one lamb, then they can join the others I inevitably have on the bottle.

I gave her lots of metacam for pain ,the injectable sort for cattle and pigs, BUT unlicensed for sheep!. It certainly seemed to help her. The bottles of metacam are sold to me by the vet, but I always have to hear her say..."It is not licensed for the treatment of sheep, but we Do use it in them". It seems that most sheep owners won't buy it as it costs 60 for a multi-dose bottle.I hope that I am fairly humane, so I do. It's also a fact that a sheep can die if the pain is too severe, so no pain relief could be false economy. I use metacam after any birth involving having to manually extract the lambs or after any obviously painful procedure. I am sure the sheep appreciate it.

Cornish Heritage....'Daisy the Lucky Sheep'....has a nice ring to it!

 

[Queen Mum]

Good on you for taking care of the pain. It's important that an animal know they are cared for. I really beleive that will to live does include that as a factor. They will pull harder if they know someone is in their court. Some more than others.