Sheep Diagnosis?

Arrow in the Knee

So far 3 ewes are not their usual selves.

They show signs of going round in circles. Weak on the back legs, trembling, looking lost and too quiet.

Their okey one minute and then the next time you go out their doing the above.

Any advice or a diagnosis is welcome.

rancher

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

So far 3 ewes are not their usual selves.

They show signs of going round in circles. Weak on the back legs, trembling, looking lost and too quiet.

Their okey one minute and then the next time you go out their doing the above.

Any advice or a diagnosis is welcome.

bit of grass tetany here at the moment..... have you himag buckets with them. try an injection of magnesium. If its tet, they won't last long
here's a list of symptoms
symptoms may include grazing away from the herd, irritability, muscle twitching, staring, incoordination, staggering, collapse, thrashing, head thrown back, and coma, followed by death. However, clinical signs are not always evident before the animal is found dead
If they're eating silage they could have listeria, which would have similar symptoms

JJayoo

How long has this been going on?

tabby aspreme

If they have a high temperature, it sounds like listeria

greysides

If they are in-lamb, consider Twin Lamb Disease.

Lastin

gid maybe but hardly if 3 are affected at the same time

JJayoo

Lastin wrote: »

gid maybe but hardly if 3 are affected at the same time

Would be odd for the 3 of them to have it. Just mentioned this to my dad and he has given me a detailed description on how to dig the tapeworm/eggs out of the sheep's brain.... I won't be volunteering for that job anytime soon.

greysides

JJayoo wrote: »

Just mentioned this to my dad and he has given me a detailed description on how to dig the tapeworm/eggs out of the sheep's brain....

Those have nothing to do with Gid.


This comment is a mistake, see post #13 for correction.

Arrow in the Knee

The 1st ewe had symptoms on the 17 March and was found dead in the field on the 13 April.

The 2nd ewe showed symptoms on the 22 March but not as bad as the 1st ewe.

The 3rd ewe showed the symptoms today but for the past 2 weeks she was a bit quiet than her usual self.

All 3 ewes in the same field and are not inlamb or no lambs at foot.

Update
So the vet came out when I wasn't there but the vet said that she has a 'chill' and to give her alamycin for 4 days in the muscle.

Farmer Ed

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

So far 3 ewes are not their usual selves.

They show signs of going round in circles. Weak on the back legs, trembling, looking lost and too quiet.

Their okey one minute and then the next time you go out their doing the above.

Any advice or a diagnosis is welcome.

Might be no harm get the ration tested. I know of at least two farmers around here who had their flocks poisoned with copper. The Co-Op sales man was trying to tell one of them it was grass tetany. Starting buying cal mag and things were only getting worse. Then he sent a sample of ration up to Anser lab up in Tyrone and found out it had multiple times the safe level of copper that should be in sheep ration. The Lab were on the phone straight away asking him was he sure it was sheep ration? It was only then that the Co-Op admited they had made the mistake. Ended up having to pay him the value of the flock of sheep as the vet said the ones still alive would have liver damage. Was at least two flocks that I know of. I'm sure they could have been more as it is unlikely only two farmers got that ration.

JJayoo

greysides wrote: »

Those have nothing to do with Gid.

http://www.nadis.org.uk/bulletins/nervous-disease-in-sheep.aspx

"Coenurus cerebralis is the larval stage of Taenia multiceps; a tapeworm which infests the small intestine of dogs. Contamination of pastures grazed by sheep with dog faeces can result in larval invasion of the central nervous system forming a cyst in the brain and clinical disease. The life cycle is completed when the carnivorous definitive host ingests infested sheep's brain."

"Many farmers may elect to slaughter those sheep fit for marketing for economic reasons although a 85 per cent surgical success rate for removal of the coenurus cyst can be achieved. Recovery after successful surgical cyst removal is rapid and there is a return to full neurological function within one week."

rancher

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

The 1st ewe had symptoms on the 17 March and was found dead in the field on the 13 April.

The 2nd ewe showed symptoms on the 22 March but not as bad as the 1st ewe.

The 3rd ewe showed the symptoms today but for the past 2 weeks she was a bit quiet than her usual self.

All 3 ewes in the same field and are not inlamb or no lambs at foot.

Update
So the vet came out when I wasn't there but the vet said that she has a 'chill' and to give her alamycin for 4 days in the muscle.

Just shows you that boardsies shouldn't be giving vet advice,its agood idea to have a thermometer,its usually the first thing a vet will use.....just for my own interest are they vaccinated against pnuemonia,

greysides

JJayoo wrote: »

http://www.nadis.org.uk/bulletins/nervous-disease-in-sheep.aspx

"Coenurus cerebralis is the larval stage of Taenia multiceps; a tapeworm which infests the small intestine of dogs. Contamination of pastures grazed by sheep with dog faeces can result in larval invasion of the central nervous system forming a cyst in the brain and clinical disease. The life cycle is completed when the carnivorous definitive host ingests infested sheep's brain."

"Many farmers may elect to slaughter those sheep fit for marketing for economic reasons although a 85 per cent surgical success rate for removal of the coenurus cyst can be achieved. Recovery after successful surgical cyst removal is rapid and there is a return to full neurological function within one week."

Sorry you are correct, I mis-read the original post. I took the 'digging out of brain' bit to be 'digging out of dung'.
A lot of folk see tapeworm segments in dung. These are segments from an adult tapeworm living in the sheeps gut. The intermediate stage, the cyst, is hosted in Orbatid pasture mites.

In the case of Gid, the cyst stage is in the sheeps brain and the tapeworm is in a dog, possibly also fox, intestine.

So seeing segments in dung is not an indication of there being Gid about.

The OP didn't give a time line. I was left with the impression that it was current and on-going so if they were pregnant Twin Lamb Disease was a reasonable guess. Given the slow onset and sheep not in lamb Gid is a good suggestion.

Sorry for the mistake and thanks to JJayoo for pointing it out.

Arrow in the Knee

All ewes Heptavac P Plus last December.

As I already said the vet said it was a 'chill' but I think its something else???

Cran

Sounds like some sort of poisoning to me, odd that they're not in lamb. Its showing a trend over time which leads to either a deficiency or poison (either chemical copper/lead or biological such as fluke or plant based)
Is there any old troughs or metal around the field, maybe hay contaminated with something? Have they been dosed recently for fluke?

Arrow in the Knee

They got Endofluke that does all 3 stages of fluke a month ago.

The ewes are not scuttery or showing no signs of fluke.

I think it could be Sturdy Gid or Louping ill from doing some research on it.

By the way. Is there any new or recently new Sheep Books that do Recognition and Treatment of Common Sheep Ailments.

I have the TV Vet Sheep Book 5th Edition 1986.

Username John

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

They got Endofluke that does all 3 stages of fluke a month ago.

The ewes are not scuttery or showing no signs of fluke.

I think it could be Sturdy Gid or Louping ill from doing some research on it.

By the way. Is there any new or recently new Sheep Books that do Recognition and Treatment of Common Sheep Ailments.

I have the TV Vet Sheep Book 5th Edition 1986.

Re books - I have these two
Vet book for Sheep Farmers

Sheep Flock Health

Second one was expensive, but its good. I would really recommend the first one tho, I think I picked mine up on ebay for very small money.
But I am a novice tho, so maybe lads would laugh at me for knowing so little...

On the diagnosis - I mean, its hard to comment on what a vet says, as thats his profession, and he has seen the animal. But if twas me, I'd be thinking that 'a chill' it is a bit suspect as well...
I would agree with Cran, that it seems to be poisioning or lack of something...
Did the vet take a blood sample for analysis?

Arrow in the Knee

No blood sample but I think it will have to be done.