LFHRMaryland
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- Sep 26, 2012
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I'll preface this with sharing that I am not a sheep person at all. I run an equine rescue, however animal control handed me a sheep about 2 weeks ago in a pretty rough patch.
Here's what I know about her:
She is 2-3 years old
She was pulled out of a hole - nobody has a clue how long she was stuck in it, vets are suggesting she ended up with some muscle/nerve damage. She has the most trouble with her back left leg and tends to knuckle it.
She was dewormed when they pulled her out of the hole 2 weeks ago.
She is very underweight.
She spends most of her day in a livestock sling.
She seemed to be making major improvements, she was standing on her own (a bit wobbly), but wanted to follow me out of the stall when I went to fill her water Monday evening. I was very excited.
Tuesday morning I got a call from the farm manager saying he's pretty sure my sheep is dying. I rush over, and she does look like she's dying. She's flat on her side, breathing heavily, pretty unresponsive. She had swelling under her jaw which I assume is bottle nose (I've spent a lot of time on google lately). It did not look like she had pooped at all that night. Her temperature was around 99.4. She was cold and shaking. I got her up into her sling. She was happy to eat a handful of grain and eventually started eating her hay and she more or less went back to her perky self.
In the evening, when I let her down from the sling she stood for a short while and then pawed at the ground and went down. This didn't worry me since she can't stand up for very long on her own. But then she laid her head flat out and had her eyelids half closed. Usually she's trying to nibble on everything and constantly begging for my attention. I didn't leave her until she went back to eating her hay.
A vet saw her yesterday when he was out looking at a very sick goat and dewormed her again, with something stronger - I'm not sure what.
When I came in this morning she had green scours, but seemed quite perky, until I put her in the sling. Now she seems to be going back and forth between alert and eating hay and becoming really lethargic and not eating. Her temperature when I first got her stayed around 102.7. It's still in the normal range today (101.4).
I gave her Probios today with her grain, she didn't eat it with her usual enthusiasm, but she did eventually eat it all. At one point she made a gagging sound and looked like she might vomit. (I don't know if sheep can vomit-- I only know horses can't).
Her eyelids are pale and have been for the whole 2 weeks. I know 2 weeks ago when the vet was out he gave her a shot with some B vitamins and Selenium. I have given her a mineral block that the first day she had she devoured a good bit of (this was Monday), but she hasn't touched it since.
I have called a different vet because I'm not really pleased with the one that has been out, but they can't come until tomorrow.
Can anyone offer me any insight on what I should do until the vet arrives?
Currently she has alfalfa hay in front of her because last night she showed no interest in the timothy. Her interest in it today has come and gone. She does seem like she wants to lay down as she has pawed at the ground and that is not something she started doing until last night (last night was also the first time she actively laid down instead of just crumpling when she lost her balance). Should I let her lay down? Or is she better in the sling?
Please help!
Here's what I know about her:
She is 2-3 years old
She was pulled out of a hole - nobody has a clue how long she was stuck in it, vets are suggesting she ended up with some muscle/nerve damage. She has the most trouble with her back left leg and tends to knuckle it.
She was dewormed when they pulled her out of the hole 2 weeks ago.
She is very underweight.
She spends most of her day in a livestock sling.
She seemed to be making major improvements, she was standing on her own (a bit wobbly), but wanted to follow me out of the stall when I went to fill her water Monday evening. I was very excited.
Tuesday morning I got a call from the farm manager saying he's pretty sure my sheep is dying. I rush over, and she does look like she's dying. She's flat on her side, breathing heavily, pretty unresponsive. She had swelling under her jaw which I assume is bottle nose (I've spent a lot of time on google lately). It did not look like she had pooped at all that night. Her temperature was around 99.4. She was cold and shaking. I got her up into her sling. She was happy to eat a handful of grain and eventually started eating her hay and she more or less went back to her perky self.
In the evening, when I let her down from the sling she stood for a short while and then pawed at the ground and went down. This didn't worry me since she can't stand up for very long on her own. But then she laid her head flat out and had her eyelids half closed. Usually she's trying to nibble on everything and constantly begging for my attention. I didn't leave her until she went back to eating her hay.
A vet saw her yesterday when he was out looking at a very sick goat and dewormed her again, with something stronger - I'm not sure what.
When I came in this morning she had green scours, but seemed quite perky, until I put her in the sling. Now she seems to be going back and forth between alert and eating hay and becoming really lethargic and not eating. Her temperature when I first got her stayed around 102.7. It's still in the normal range today (101.4).
I gave her Probios today with her grain, she didn't eat it with her usual enthusiasm, but she did eventually eat it all. At one point she made a gagging sound and looked like she might vomit. (I don't know if sheep can vomit-- I only know horses can't).
Her eyelids are pale and have been for the whole 2 weeks. I know 2 weeks ago when the vet was out he gave her a shot with some B vitamins and Selenium. I have given her a mineral block that the first day she had she devoured a good bit of (this was Monday), but she hasn't touched it since.
I have called a different vet because I'm not really pleased with the one that has been out, but they can't come until tomorrow.
Can anyone offer me any insight on what I should do until the vet arrives?
Currently she has alfalfa hay in front of her because last night she showed no interest in the timothy. Her interest in it today has come and gone. She does seem like she wants to lay down as she has pawed at the ground and that is not something she started doing until last night (last night was also the first time she actively laid down instead of just crumpling when she lost her balance). Should I let her lay down? Or is she better in the sling?
Please help!
