SAVING PREGNANT ERIN

PULLING A EWE THROUGH SEVERE KETOSIS

Autumn of 2000 was the first time we bred Erin, our Jacob ewe with the best set of four horns, to Sheridan, our four-horned Jacob ram. We reasoned that the lamb should have a magnificent set of horns, based on his parents' genetics. In early February, 2001, Erin went into the maternity ward with nine other very pregnant ewes. On February 13, three ewes gave birth, starting the year's lambing season.

Erin, pictured to the right, fell victim to lambing ketosis, a condition to which ewes are susceptible in late pregnancy. It is generally fatal, if not treated promptly. The major mistake we made is that we should have realized that something was wrong when she didn't want her evening grain ration and given her a dose of propylene glycol immediately. Upon realizing the extent of her illness, our approach was to pull her lamb, relieving stress on her system, then give a regular series of feedings to keep her hydrated and nourished. The day-by-day details follow.






February 14, Evening: We noticed at the evening feeding that Erin wasn't eating with the rest of the ewes, which is very unusual for any sheep. She was standing inside the barn with a light foam on her mouth. We thought that this was probably because she was going to drop a lamb very shortly.

February 15, Morning: Erin was lying on her side in the corner of the paddock, her legs stiff and straight out from her body. She was breathing, but motionless, obviously a very sick sheep. We certainly had mis-diagnosed her lack of appetite the prior evening; she had ketosis. This is a good argument for putting the ewes into the maternity ward near the end of their term. Had Erin wandered off to the end of the pasture, we might not have noticed anything was wrong until it was too late. We lost Annie, another Jacob ewe, to ketosis three years ago. After that experience, we read up on the situation and kept a couple of tubes of propylene glycol (p.g.) on hand should it happen again. We quickly gave Erin a dose orally, although it seemed impossible that she could ever recover.
             Early Evening: Erin was still down and on her side, although she had changed position a bit. On closer examination, we could see a lamb's nose and front hooves protruding from her. She seemed too weak to continue the delivery. Knowing that getting rid of the lamb would help her condition, we pulled the lamb. We easer her into one of the feeders, a plastic barrel split in half lengthwise, and used it as a stretcher to get her into the tack room. Realizing that she needed fluids and calories, we gave her a pint of molasses solution with a few tablespoons of p.g. with the oral drencher we use for worming. She seemed eager to drink the solution, but remained lying on her side. We gave her little ram lamb a bottle of milk replacer.
             Late Evening: She was still on her side, and other than some spastic kicks of the legs, seemed almost paralyzed. We gave her another oral drench of saturated sugar solution. We also put a pan of water near her head and added some powdered electrolytes.

February 16, Morning: She was still on her side and we noticed that she had a bad case of diarrhea, which continued for two days. We gave her a sugar water drench.
             Noon: Gave another sugar water drench, then rolled her onto her stomach, propped against the wall. She managed to hold her head up as sheep do in their normal lying position.
             Early Evening: She was still sitting up but had moved a bit, away from the wall. We gave her a shot of LA200 antibiotic and a sugar water drench. We noticed that she had finally passed the afterbirth.
             Late Evening: Having read that ketosis can lead to a lack of calcium and B-vitamins, we gave her a drench of the milk replacer we give bottle lambs with two B-complex tablets ground up into it. I held a bit of grain in my hand and offered it to her; she nibbled a bit, which was encouraging; I put a small tray of grain where she could reach it. We heard, after Erin's recovery, that ruminants do not absorb vitamins efficiently when given orally, so we got some injectable B vitamins to add to our medicine cabinet.

February 17, Morning: She was still lying down, though in the normal sheep position. We gave her a milk replacement drench with B-complex tablets.
             Noon: She was lying down, drinking water from the pan we had put in front of her when we went to see how she was doing. Suddenly, the other ewe in the tack room tried to escape and I had to tackle her. Erin was so startled by the commotion that she stood up! When things calmed down again, she lay down again, but the standing was a very encouraging sign.
             Early Evening: She was standing and nibbling hay when we came to check on her.
             Late Evening: She was standing and walking around a bit. We gave her a milk replacement with B-complex drench. She was obviously getting better, as she resisted the drench. Unfortunately, she showed no interest in her lamb, which we had been bottle feeding since birth.

February 18, Morning: She was standing and walking around very well. She nibbled at the grain and did some minor head butting to keep the other ewe away from her side of the feeder.

February 21, Evening: Erin had improved so much that we led her to the main pasture with the lambless ewes. She put up a bit of a struggle while being led, but didn't have her full strength back yet.

February 23, Morning: The lambless ewes were at the far end of the pasture when we brought the grain for the morning feeding. Erin galloped ahead of all the rest to get to the feeder, which indicated to us that she was cured.


From our recent experience, we recommend keeping the following items on hand to treat lambing ketosis:
If you'd like to learn more about the technical aspects of ketosis and its treatment, Dr. Joseph S. Rook has an excellent article at http://cvm.msu.edu/extension/Rook/ROOKpdf/pregtoxprodart.PDF


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