# Is my lamb blind?



## Olivia67

Ok, stupid question but how to I tell if a lamb is blind or maybe the question should be, how can I tell if a lamb is partially blind? 

Here is the situation: week old lamb, eating well but not enough and so I suppliment her with a bottle a couple of times a day. Sometimes she wants it sometimes not, her mom is a first time mom so we thought that maybe mom wasn't producing either enough milk or her milk wasn't rich enough. Lamb seems listless at times, other times she runs a little but hits the calf hutch sometimes with the side of her head, like she didn't see it. It's huge btw, easily fits three or four of my little sheep inside when they want to go in it. Lamb is growing but slower than the rest. So what do you think? Is she just mentally slow or could she be blind? Nothing seems wrong with her eyes.


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## bergere

There could be a few reasons why this is happening. Please remember I am not a Vet nor have I seen your lamb. These are just ideas...

One could be..

Polio, polioencephalomalacia, is a disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine and is seen most commonly in lambs on high grain diets. The first sign of the disease is blindness. If your lamb bumps into things that it ordinarily would see and avoid, he may be showing signs of blindness. An injection of 3 cc of thiamine in the muscle will correct the condition. 

If the first symptom of blindness is missed, the lamb will begin to appear wobbly in the rear end. This may be misdiagnosed as lameness. A day later, the lamb may be unable to get up but can still sit up and will be found on his side and unable to hold his head up. Finally, the lamb will die in convulsions. 
The course of the disease from the first sign of blindness to death will take approximately 5 days if not treated. The further in the disease course the treatment occurs, the longer it will take the lamb to recover. Generally, it will take 10 days before the lamb will begin to eat again.

Or Pink eye or too much dust in the area they are living.


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## Fowler

If your lamb was blind, he/she would not be able to find it's front footings, also it would run into things when it did get on it's front footing...also you can put a light on it's eyes and see if it dialates...or clap and see if it blinks....
I had a lamb born blind...but can now see.


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## Olivia67

I brought her inside today, she is very easy for me to work with and isn't flighty at all. I put her in the bathroom and turned off the light, I shined a flashlight in her eyes and they don't seem to be dilating but it was hard for me to see because of course she wasn't holding still. I'll try this experiement again tonight. I'll talk to my vet about the thiame-we don't feed grain but this year I bought 90% alfalfa hay which now in retrospect seems that it was too rich for my sheep. That in itself may have caused an imbalance since previously they have only had grass hay with a little bit of alfalfa in it. They also get bread as a treat but it's good bread, not junk. I'm going to look into the thiamine problem...Thank you guys so much!!


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## Olivia67

Well the vet says she is too young for a thiamine def, she is only a week old. Her eyes are clear and bright but he still wants me to try .5 cc of Penn for five days just in case it's an infection in her eyes. This evening she was running across the pasture and she finds her way into the calf hutches all by herself when the weather is bad-thank God because I hate going out there in a thunder storm trying to catch up lambs and stuff them in the shelter. One day, you're going to see on the evening news some crazy shepherdess struck by lightning trying to keep her lambs dry and safe. lol


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## bergere

That is good to hear! ;O)


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## Ross

We've had thiamin def. in lambs that young. Or at least a 3 cc shot of thiamin has corrected what ailed them. Brought them back from near flat out dead actually. Any eye infection/ailment benefits from an vit. AD shot


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## Ross

Yeah I thought so. Page 283 Laura Lawson's Managing Your Ewe re: Polio. Pretty much as Bergere describes in very young lambs.


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## Olivia67

Hmm, the vet that told me to treat with Penn isn't really a sheep vet, he is a really terrific cattle vet so his advice may not have been as good as I thought. Can I buy A/D at F&F or TSC, guess I can call them and find out if they have it-I'm getting lazy in my old age, you guys are spoiling me! How much do I give a 10lb lamb?


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## Fowler

Olivia67 said:


> I brought her inside today, she is very easy for me to work with and isn't flighty at all. I put her in the bathroom and turned off the light, I shined a flashlight in her eyes and they don't seem to be dilating but it was hard for me to see because of course she wasn't holding still. I'll try this experiement again tonight. I'll talk to my vet about the thiame-we don't feed grain but this year I bought 90% alfalfa hay which now in retrospect seems that it was too rich for my sheep. That in itself may have caused an imbalance since previously they have only had grass hay with a little bit of alfalfa in it. They also get bread as a treat but it's good bread, not junk. I'm going to look into the thiamine problem...Thank you guys so much!!


I fed alfalfa hay last year along with mineral and grain....conclusion: Alfalfa is hay candy for sheep...too much of a good thing is bad...my ram ended up with gall stones.

Glad to hear you little one is better. So does anyone have any info on thiamine?....why does it occur?...what is it?


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## Ross

I can't remember ever using PenG for an eye infection but the vet prescribed it so use it. Vit A/D is an addition. A 1 time shot something like 1cc is plenty. All my lambs get a 1/2 cc of Vit E Selenium and 1cc of Vit A/D. Your vet might not be as familiar with sheep as cattle but if he/she is open to a dialog you'll both learn much. They've been recomended many times here ont he Sheep board but get your self a copy of Laura Lawson's Managing Your Ewe and the companion Lambing Problems. Best money you'll ever spend.


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## Ross

Thiamin is a B vitamin that is used by the central nervous system and of course to convert starches and sugars to energy. Typically polio as Bergere describes is a problem when feedign a high grain diet, but really it's rapid changes in diet. No grain to way too much throws off the rumin production of thiamin and the animal goes down quickly, and can die without treatment. In very young nursing lambs they should be getting plenty of thiamin in the milk. At that point they are non-ruminants and so not makign their own thiamin in the gut. So either they need more than they are getting because of some digestive upset (constipation or poor motility) or they are out growing the supply? Never heard a good explanation.


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## Olivia67

Well I do give .10 of BoSe to my lambs when they are born, I also deworm the moms with Ivermectin (actually the generic Iver). I take Vit A/D for myself every day but never thought to give it to my sheep/lambs. I will look into buying the book when we get our tax refund, right now money is a little tight.


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## Olivia67

Book is on it's way...lamb is stable but running into things now. Eating well tho, the crappy thing is that I'm now getting way too attached. Don't care for the mom so I think she might be dog food when she weans the lamb and gets some meat on her. I'm trying to build up a reputation for being a good, honest breeder, not one who churns out unthrifty, unhealthy stock. Mom is two, is she too old to eat?


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