# Depressed Sheep?



## dragonfly65 (Sep 29, 2002)

We had 4 pygora goats and 2 Jacobs sheep. They have been together as a herd for several years. Last week we lost one of the goats (got her head through the fence and ate a poisonous plant on the other side). One of the sheep has been acting wierd ever since. He cannot get his head into the pasture where she did because of his horns so that's not the issue - she was also gone within hours of eating the plant. He wasn't eating feed or hay and just lays around or stands still almost like he's moping around. He does run away when he is approached which is normal. I had my son get some sweet feed to see if he would take it as that is what his previous owners fed him and he is eating a bit of that when my son takes it near him. The others are fine. I don't know what else to do for him. Any advice is appreciated.


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

I would check his health first. A ram shouldnt be all that bothered from loosing one in a herd, especially when its not a ewe.

Make sure yours sweet feed doesnt have added copper.

Check for temp, worms, etc.
Look for pale eyelids.
Look at the teeth for any possible trouble and the mouth for any sores.
Check hooves for any possible prob, hoof rot, nail, cut, etc.

Give your ram a full check over, every inch of him.

Rule out all physical before thinking emotional.

Prey animals are instinctively designed to accept loss. They know some of them will be eaten by predators. They know they are prey.
They should not go off feed and become lethargic just because a herd member died.
Being alone can devastate a herd animal but this guy is not alone. He has other members of his herd.
Looks to his physical health.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Great post, but I'll add you really should check the whole flock and reconsider how the goat died. What poisonous plant did it eat? You could also check for breathing difficulty that might not be apparent from across the paddock.


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## dragonfly65 (Sep 29, 2002)

The sheep seems to be doing better now. I saw him up and nibbling grass and my daughter said he was eating regular feed as well. 

The goat that died had been sticking her head throught the fence onto the neighboring property which is a "cow pasture" (only because the land developer puts his cows there since he can't sell the place - terrible pasture for cows, if you ask me). My son saw the plant near where he had pulled her head out of the fence. He was weed eating the other side of the fenceline for me so the other 2 goats that can get their heads through the fence wouldn't get a hold of whatever the other one did. He said it was a wierd looking plant - not one normally in the pasture. He did clip off a piece and saved it for me, but I don't know what it is either and I've never seen it before. The sheeps horns don't allow them to get their heads through the fence. 

My goats and sheep have a wierd relationship anyway. I have personally witnessed what I can only describe as them silently communicating with each other. The queen goat is definitely in charge of all of them. I have seen her walk up to one of the sheep, face him for a few seconds and then turn and lead him to a door she wanted to get through. The sheep proceeded to ram it with his head over and over again while she watched. It was really amazing and kinda creepy. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. 

Oh, and being neutered and a different species does not stop these two sheep from being "rammy" with the does when they come into heat. They will actually fight one another off to keep the other one away from whichever doe it is at that time. 

I will check the copper content of the sweet feed, it is for lambs. I don't let them have much anyway since they haven't had it in so long.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

If the cows on the paddock are eating the plants then your goat should have been fine with it. Its an easy answer to say an animal died from poison but unless you're certain it was the plant I'd assume the opposite. Something else probably killed the goat. Just keep an open mind about it for the good of your surviving animals. Did you check the rest of the flock/herd for problems?



> My goats and sheep have a wierd relationship anyway. I have personally witnessed what I can only describe as them silently communicating with each other. The queen goat is definitely in charge of all of them. I have seen her walk up to one of the sheep, face him for a few seconds and then turn and lead him to a door she wanted to get through. The sheep proceeded to ram it with his head over and over again while she watched. It was really amazing and kinda creepy. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.


 I don't think I'd attribute any high level communication to this sorta thing. Head butting is a sign of dominance, and your queen goat is the obvious one to challenge. The wether was simply acting on his instinct to butt something but his age likely is holding him back from challenging the boss. It's pretty common behavior. The wethers sounds as if they might be hiding a testicle up in their body for this sort of aggresive behavior and with their reaction to does in heat. I'd threat them as rams and be very careful when in the pen with them and especially visitors!!! Wethers shouldn't act "rammy"


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