Twin lamb disease....

DK man

Hi folks

I've a nice ewe who is due in the next two weeks and she's gone down on her knees and unable to get up..

I went to vet and got dose of glucose feed called something aid....

Have been giving it to ewe for previous 24 hrs and she isn't showing any signs of improvement- she is eating a bit and her head is up but she can't get up..

Any ideas???

Thanks

rangler1

DK man wrote: »

Hi folks

I've a nice ewe who is due in the next two weeks and she's gone down on her knees and unable to get up..

I went to vet and got dose of glucose feed called something aid....

Have been giving it to ewe for previous 24 hrs and she isn't showing any signs of improvement- she is eating a bit and her head is up but she can't get up..

Any ideas???

Thanks

Very hard to cure it, if it's ''Liquid Life Aid'' make sure she's getting 150mls at least four times daily or she'll be failing, and make sure she's offered water as well as it makes them thirsty, try a bit of ivy,
We make our own dose here, as it can be expensive if they're on it for a few days, it usually works here but we'd give it as soon as they go off their food,
If you keep them dosed they sometimes get better or they abort and then get over it

Just edited to say to make sure that the rest are getting enough meal, lack of energy in the diet is sometimes the problem

DK man

Thanks rangler - it is life aid and I was giving her 100 mls so I'll up it...

There are on meal about 10 days now and also some fodder beet and grass was decent enough until about 2 weeks ago

sea12

DK man wrote: »

Thanks rangler - it is life aid and I was giving her 100 mls so I'll up it...

There are on meal about 10 days now and also some fodder beet and grass was decent enough until about 2 weeks ago

Try give her a bit of ivy. Can work wonders.

greysides

rangler1 wrote: »

Just edited to say to make sure that the rest are getting enough meal, lack of energy in the diet is sometimes the problem

DK man wrote: »

There are on meal about 10 days now and also some fodder beet and grass was decent enough until about 2 weeks ago

Insufficient energy intake is the cause. It can be that the diet is too low in energy or the ewe can't manage to eat enough of it given the squeezing on the rumen, or something has stopped her eating.
Feed that has a low dry matter content, or high water content (silage, beet, grass), will be prone to causing problems, the water diluting the energy content. Hence why hay is often fed to heavily pregnant ewes.
If she's eating try some high energy, low DM feed. Flaked maize is often suggested.
That 'something' that stopped her eating could be movement (herding/transport), husbandry procedures or another primary disease.
Of particular concern is Hypocalcaemia/Milk Fever. Basically, treat for both (subcut. calcium borogluconate).

If the ewe doesn't respond then an option is to abort her.

In many cases the lambs die and then rot inside her, poisoning her.

Ranglers advice to watch the others is well-founded. The clinical cases are just the tip of a much larger ice-berg.

DMAXMAN

if she s down but bright in herself it could be calcium, can go with twin lamb dsease. get a bottle of calcium and give her a good big shot. it will work in a couple of hours if its that. if she responds to it she will probably need some every day until she lambs

DK man

She's still down but eating a small bit of meal and some hay. I think she's not as bright today some I'm getting worried. I'm still giving her life aid.

I did give her some calciject at the start.......

Thanks for all the replies

MayoAreMagic

If I was in your position, Id be giving her some milky porridge in a dosing gun with some sugar through it. It will keep her warm and give her energy. Should perk her up noticeably.

Username John

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

If I was in your position, Id be giving her some milky porridge in a dosing gun with some sugar through it. It will keep her warm and give her energy. Should perk her up noticeably.

We would give a home made remedy of milk + treacle + eggs.
(We often gave glucose instead of the treacle as well, but I think I read somewhere that treacle is better, but I think glucose would be good too)

MayoAreMagic

Ya I have heard of that one too. I like to put something solid through it though. Porridge is a slow release energy source so they wont be hungry for a good while after it (that goes for people too!), plus I think it is good to keep their stomach ticking over with a solid food. Also, at the end of the day it is oats, so not something they aren't used to eating. It works well and works fast.

Im sure there are 101 old remedies like that out there!

Ard_MC

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

If I was in your position, Id be giving her some milky porridge in a dosing gun with some sugar through it. It will keep her warm and give her energy. Should perk her up noticeably.

Does it need to be warm?

MayoAreMagic

Ard_MC wrote: »

Does it need to be warm?

Its better if it is. It goes a bit solid when it is cold. Would be harder to use with the dosing gun. Not too hot though!

Green farmer

Have a case of twin lamb here. Only the second case over the last 5 years. One ewe got it two years running and lost lambs on both occasions. Had her culled after that. Funny thing is the current one gone down with it over the last few days is the daughter of the the first ewe who always got it . Don't know if it's coincidence or not , but could twin lamb be a inherited disease ? Or genetic flaw ?

greysides

Green farmer wrote: »

Don't know if it's coincidence or not , but could twin lamb be a inherited disease ? Or genetic flaw ?

.................or a tendency to carry twins, something genetics has a say in?