[Jacob-list] sheep update... still need some advise

[Linda]

Two years ago, I found a ram dead in the morning. He had been perfectly fine the night before. My first thought was a broken neck as he had been fighting with the other rams the evening before. I took him to the local vet for a necropsy. His lungs were full of fluid. He showed absolutely no sign of respiratory distress the evening before. And I do monitor my sheep closely. The vet said the only thing that would cause such complete and rapid shutdown of organs was a toxin. We'd gotten a couple of bales of hay from feed store the day before and used it for the rams, so that a primary suspect. Later that afternoon, a second ram died.

Also, could it be inhalation pneumonia? 

Or possibly bacterial? I had a ewe that had consistent diarrhea for weeks, with no parasite infestation showing up in fecals. I took a sample to the vet and he didn't find anything, either. He recommended Sustain Calf Boluses (Sulfamethazine) as he felt it was bacterial scours.  The ewe cleared up a few days and has had no recurrence. I'm not sure that relates to the pneumonia, but I believe that Sulfamethazine is also used for shipping fever and forms of bacterial pneumonia.

Linda 




> Those are both great ideas.  I am going to give her some IV fluids

> tomorrow morning.  Hopefully that will give her a boost.

> I listened to her lungs.  Her breathing sounds very labored and

> raspy.

> There is definately liquid in there.  I know that she cannot go on

> breathing like this for many more days.  This afternoon we gave her

> 1ml of

> dexamethasone.

>

> I check on my animals at least once a day and this was very sudden.

> Is

> that common?  Did I just miss something?


  
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Registered Jacob Sheep, Handspun Yarn  
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