Raising Lambs, have a question?

Question

I saw there are some knowledgeable sheep farmers on here, hope you can asnwer some questions for me.

I aquirred 11 ewes last fall, turned a ram out with them in Oct. but it turned out that 10 of the ewes were bred before I got them so I had a crop of 10 lambs in Jan.

They all seemed to be doing really well. About 3 weeks ago we found a ewe dead in the morning. No sign of what she died of, just some blood from her nose. Her lamb was good size so I didn't need to bottle feed her.

Well, this morning found a dead ewe lamb. Again, no sign of trauma. The sheep are fed well and seem to be in great health. All the ewes were wormed last fall, I vaccinated the lambs about 2 weeks ago.

I've had some folks say, sheep just do that, sometimes they lay down and die. But should I start looking for a cause? I feed a pretty rich alfalfa but I started mixing it with 1/2 barley straw to make sure I wasn't over feeding in case this might be a bloat issue.

What can I do.....

Answer 1

Sheep I'm afraid do seem to die for no apparent reason, I've lost a couple recently. Yours don't sound like they have bloat. Pneumonia is a hidden killer. It might be worth giving all your ewes/lambs a shot of long acting penicillin as a precaution. If you have anymore deaths it might well be worth getting in touch with your vet. Also how old are your ewes? As they get past about 6 shear they do tend to die very easily esp if they have been bred from yearly. I'd also put out some mineral buckets this time of year which is high in magnesium, as the grass grows they are prone to calcium deficiency (staggers)

As for your triplets, make sure you really feed the ewe well on a high protein feed as she will soon fail trying to feed 3 lambs, also offer the lambs the bottle to 'top them up' a few times a day. If you can get a lamb creep (make your own?) get the lambs onto a lamb pellet from about 3 weeks old, only give them a little bit to begin with or they might get blow up.

Don't get too disheartened, you are probably doing everything right, seriously sheep do have a tendency of dying very easily.

Answer 2

I know sheep can be sensitive to nutritional imbalances/deficiencies, so you might want to re-evaluate your feeding program and the requirements of sheep. If you aren't feeding any kind of mineral/salt supplement you should look into it. You need to (or should) have the feed you are feeding your sheep (be it grain or hay) analyzed and have a mineral supplement formulated specifically for your sheep based on what they are and are not getting from their feed. A general pre-mixed mineral salt is better than nothing, but can be a money waster because it tends to not have enough of any one thing if your sheep actually are deficient in something. By chance are you feeding them grain that is not specifically for sheep? Sheep are very sensitive to copper and cannot process it efficiently. It stores up in their bodies and can cause them to drop dead. Even an occasional feeding of grain high in copper can, over time, cause them to die. If another of your sheep dies without apparent cause I would certainly call your vet and try to figure out why.

As for the triplets, keep a close eye on them and the ewe. Make sure everyone is getting enough to eat and drink, particularly the ewe. It may be helpful to seperate her and her lambs from the rest of the flock so you can be sure she is getting enough to eat. You don't necessarily need to supplement the lambs, but make sure you are keeping track of how much they are eating. It would be helpful to mark them in some way so you can tell them apart and to have some lamb replacer on hand. One of my 6 yr old goats had triplets last June and raised them all by herself with no problems. They were actually the biggest of any of the kids I had last year. I gave her extra feed and kept a close eye on her, but never needed to supplement. I know this isn't always the case, however. Good Luck!

Answer 3

if an UN shorn sheep happens to be on her back, she cant get up on her feet again, but that shouldn't cause bleeding from the nose

Answer 4

the problems MIGHT not be related.. you need to get a vets guidance here as well - also talk to other farmers in your area to see if they have had any outbreaks..

do you know the age of the ewe?  what about Tuberculosis. (spelling?) or pneumonia?  both are transmittable to humans.. and visa versa

about the lamb.. was this her lamb or another lamb?? if another lamb it is possible the mom of it laid on it..

we lost one this way this year too...

I feed mostly grass hay.. not too much alfalfa as I heard this could be an issue for them..  - probably not bloat though..

if you have another death FOR SURE get a vet to autopsy the sheep..

Answer 5

Your sheep didn't die of bloat I can tell you that. They have none of the classic signs of bloat but mixing the barley is a good precaution. Sometimes, sheep just do die I know from personal experience.  If you are real worried about it you can have your vet run test on the lamb. As for the triplets, make sure all lambs are healthy and feed the ewes the extra feed maybe an supplement such as grain or cake. You may need to supplement all the lambs with milk replacer but make sure you supplement them all so they all smell the same.

Answer 6

This is not a solution. But, I spent years as a poultry husbandman, large turkey flocks. We had a lot of our best toms die from aortic rupture, and other husbandmen were in the habit of just writing aortic rupture on the daily report without checking all the symptoms, without of course doing an autopsy.  When I found out about this, I discovered that none of the others in charge of flocks had ever been given even the 4 hour course in doing an autopsy on turkeys.

One flock had run deeply into a cholera outbreak because the reports had all been for aortic rupture. One look at the skin should have told them these were not aortic rupture. One look at the skin should have told them that an autopsy was needed.

If you are going to raise sheep, or any species, it is well worth while taking the 3-4 hour autopsy course for that species.

Answer 7

go to    www.sheep101.info/201/

There is an article on sheep diseases from A to Z.  Perhaps you can skim through it & find something similar.  Then go to an accredited livestock site for info about treatment.

  The vet is probably also a good suggestion, like someone said here.  Ask if the vet. if it is the disease you think it is.

Answer 8

You say you vaccinated them, what was it for?  Entertoxema (also called over eating disease) will cause otherwise healthy lambs to keel over dead in a span of a couple of hours.  Older ewes can die in the space of a half a day.  It usually affects the biggest, healthiest lambs and can be brought on by a change in feed or sometimes for no reason at all.  In bigger ewes, shortly after death the skin on their belly between their hind legs will have a green tinge to it and they'll start stinking very much sooner than if the die from something else.  The entertoximia causes them to hemmorage internally.  The suddeness of death by entertoximia is why people say sheep just lay down and die.

Answer 9

Call a vet and have him do an autopsy. Your sheep are not just dropping dead for no reason. Better to find out what's going on and stop it before you lose more. Good Luck.