# 911 lamb down



## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

I have a southdown ewe lamb that is unable to stand and keeps throwing her head back all the way. She had been losing a little weight and in the last week or two has not been as growthy as the other lambs. She has had an appetite and had not gone off feed. I have been giving her 10cc's of Dyne Sheep/Goat supplement (out of Nutri-drench) and she seemed to be coming around. Got home this evening and lamb was down and can not stand. I have NO idea what might be wrong. We have lost another lamb with almost the same symptoms. What is it? Can I give anti-biotic? Just gave her 2cc's of B-Complex, but too soon to tell if any effect. HELP!!!!!!


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## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

Oh, she is two months old and mother, who was not heavy with milk, has dried up. She has been eating hay pretty well, though.


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## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

Lamb is now having seizures. Gave her 1cc of Pen G Procaine, because of her size. Can I give her more safely? Or can I give her an Oxytetracycline?


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## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

I just lost her. Really hate this. Anyone have any ideas what another possible cause would be other than what has been posted? I am VERY thankful to those of you who offered advise and I will research the possibilities of each one. I just don't want to overlook any other causes and repeat the same situation again.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Sorry I did not get on here soon enough. A

Pretty sure it was White Muscle, if this happens again, give the lamb some Bo-Se.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

Sorry for your loss valcwby01  you stated that this has happened before?...was it from the same ewe?....I too am still learning. Do you have any plans to take her to the vet to find out exactly why this happened twice?

VA...I have read about white muscle on sheep 101 I think it was?...I will google for more info...however do you have an link that may be more informable?
Sorry I meant Bergere...

Found a link from Maryland....http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/WMD.html


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## VA Shepherd (Dec 26, 2010)

I lost one to similar symptoms this spring. My vet said that when they throw their heads back like that, it's something neurological. Her suggestions were rabies, listeria, and polio. I had a necropsy done (because if it was rabies, I would have needed shots, she vomited on me), and they ruled out rabies and listeria, but weren't sure about polio. Part of the trouble was I couldn't get her to the lab right away so she wasn't terribly fresh.  She never showed any of the early symptoms of polio, though, I have no idea what really happened, and none of the others got sick.

Just in case-- do you have a lot of ryegrass? Ryegrass staggers or some other kind of toxic plant poisoning can have neurological effects, and susceptibility is sometimes genetic, which would explain why mom & lamb are both sick. I have one that likes to eat mushrooms  and they temporarily paralyze part of her face, so her cud falls out of her mouth. Yeah, it's weird, even the vet is flabbergasted by that one. You never know what they might have nibbled on.

Sorry about your lamb, sounds like you did everything you could have! Good luck, and keep us posted on further developments.


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## Laurie J (Mar 9, 2005)

When we first started raising sheep, and didn't know about vaccinating them, we lost 4 or 5 nice lambs at about that age. After vaccinating with CDT, we haven't lost any more. Enterotoximia (overeating disease) can cause convulsions and some of the other symptoms you described. I agree that white muscle disease is also a possibility. We vaccinate our lambs with CDT and Bose. If you don't, I definitely would start! Good luck!


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Polio is extremely rare in sheep, and he has two cases of it, plus a goat kid (posted on goat board). I wouldn't rule out advanced stage of entero or cocci. White muscle usually kills sooner than two months, since I assume the lambs and kid were relatively healthy up until they quickly got sick and died. I would probably try to collect a fecal if nothing else and possibly treat other animals in flock.


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## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

Bergere, I am sure you were doing what I would have been had I not found that lamb and went into panick mode, SLEEPING. Thank you, and everyone else, for your support and advice. TWO THANK YOU'S to Houndlover, who posted advice on my goat thread as well. The Vet thinks it is Cocci, but has sent off the stool samples to the lab to confirm it. Also said that the lamb had a mild symptoms of White Muscle in the muscle tissues he collected and looked at some other samples near the area he took lab samples from. Gave me a script for Bo Se to get from our local "animal" pharmacy, which I am not familiar with its use. I was always told that we are not selenium deficient in this area of the country, per our county extension agent. But the vet said he has seen an increase in White Muscle sharply over the last two years. 
Advised to put everyone on a five day treatment of Sulmet that was in the same pen as the two recent lambs that died. Advised to start putting it in the drinking water of the kids again, just to be on the safe side. Nobody around here, with the exception of a few isolated cases, has ever really dealt with this in small ruminants. Vet said that using an enclosed barn, which I just started doing last year, could be the cause. Before, my animals were out in the open with just portable "awnings" (for lack of a better term) to keep them dry and give them shade. Now, with the barn, he says the humidity can build up just enough to help the cocci grow. Otherwise, it is too dry for it to become active? Not sure I am remembering that correctly, so those of you with more experience with this would probably know exactly what he was saying. Only thing that confuses me is this lamb and the other were in outside pens. Our humidity has been only 5-15% (no you're not reading that wrong, it is DRY) with no measurable precipitation in the last four months, so how did these buggers "activate"? Maybe it was because I am exhausted from no sleep, but I am thinking I misunderstood some of this. Anyone? We have Sulmet solution from when the kids were showing SOME of the same symptoms left, but it is over two months old now. Is it still safe to administer? Will check back on reply to this question when I get back from pharmacy. I did ask them, and they replied "Since it is not a product that was sold here, we cannot advise you on the shelf life". Great!! This situation just KEEPS GETTING BETTER!!! LOL
Again, THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO OFFERED ADVICE, OR JUST A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT!!!


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## valcwby01 (Dec 15, 2009)

Oh, just to let you know for those who brought up enterotoximia and tetnus. My whole flock has been vaccinated and the ewes and does got a second booster about six weeks before birthing. But thank you for the advice. I do need to brush up on the symptoms of those diseases since vaccines are not foolproof. THANKS AGAIN!!!


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