My lamb died ? about feed?

Question

treated a lamb all day for bloat but could have been Thiamine disorder. anyway treated for both and still lost her. my question is I gave her some alphalfa from a new bale could this have made her sick? She got about a handful at last nights feed

Answer 1

If your lamb truly had bloat then feeding it was probably just adding fuel to the fire.  You could also have been looking at overeating disease brought on by a high concentrate ration setting off an overproduction of bacteria in the gut.  That might look a lot like bloating.   The only way you will find out what actually caused your lamb to die though,is to have the vet do an autopsy to find out.  I'm not sure how you would think you had a thiamin deficiency - those lambs usually stargaze or go blind.  They don't act like they have bloat.  It's also not actually a thiamine deficiency because the rumen manufactures vitamin B for lambs.  It's a problem with them being able to use what they do make.  At any rate, if you want another lamb to raise, you might want to call in a vet if you see these kind of problems arise.  Bloat can be relieved fairly easy early on, and then there are some feeding considerations afterwards.  It may be your little lamb was just eating too rich, too soon.  But it would take a vet to know for sure.