Once a sheep has worms, the most efficient way to get rid of them is to give an effective drench. Usually, this means a combination drench that has at least three different active ingredients, or one of the newer generation drenches, such as Startect or Zolvix.
Treatment of Scours in Lambs
Feeding electrolytes in between milk feeds is a good way to keep the lamb hydrated. Alternating bottles between electrolytes and milk is also a good way to slow down scours. Depending on the cause of the scours, D'scour may be sufficient to cure the problem.
Some producers provide free choice baking soda to their sheep and goats as a preventative for digestive upsets. Mild, non-infectious causes of diarrhea (scours) are often treated with Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol. Yogurt is commonly given to animals with diarrhea. The probiotics in yogurt help to restore gut health.
Symptoms. Lambs with coccidiosis present with diarrhoea (sometimes showing blood), high temperature, poor appetite, weight loss, anaemia and sometimes, death. The coccidial oocysts are readily identified in faecal samples. Care needs to be taken with diagnosis as oocysts are present in the faeces of sheep of all ages.
The germ causing colibacillosis is present in the droppings of sick sheep and goats. When lambs/kids eat food or drink water contaminated with these droppings they get sick. The animals are depressed and not eating. They have a watery, whitish-yellow or greyish diarrhoea that is known as "white scours".
The most common causes of diarrhea in older lambs and kids are coccidiosis and gastro-intestinal parasites (worms). Other major causes of diarrhea in older lambs and kids are clostridium perfringins, rumen acidosis, and nutritional.
Scouring is a common issue in sheep, particularly lambs. There are a few different causes of scouring so you need to know what the issue is to know how to treat it. Scour worms are one of the most common issues. They cause a decrease in appetite of affected sheep and change the ability of the gut to absorb nutrients.
A typical sign of a worm problem is unthrifty sheep. An unthrifty sheep is one that is not eating properly, is losing condition, tends to lag behind the mob when moved and, in severe cases, is clearly weak. A worm problem often (but not always) results in sheep scouring and becoming daggy.
Stools (droppings) from a healthy baby lamb are usually yellow or light brown in color and has the consistency of caulking compound. As the lamb matures (at about 30 days of age) their stools will become pelleted. Take time to observe that the lamb is relieving itself regularly.
It primarily presents with diarrhea that can be life threatening to the animal and is also contagious and threatening to the other livestock. Cryptosporidium is one of the major causes of scours and can be transmitted to humans via fecal-oral route, resulting in diarrheal illnesses.
Garlic is a natural antibiotic
I have also used it for sheep with upper respiratory infections that I've been able to catch in the early stages. (I've often used fresh garlic on myself in the early stages of a cold too -- and does it ever work!)
Supportive care to keep the lamb hydrated using electrolyte solution. Colostrum feeds should be avoided until gut distention has gone down. Use of antibiotics can be helpful although they will initially cause an increased release of toxins as the bacteria die.
Mix ¾ cup of water with ½ cup of baking soda and syringe some (carefully) into the lambs mouth. This will help neutralise the gas. Massage the lambs stomach area, this helps the gas move. The lamb may belch or pass gas, this is a good thing.
The lamb should be stomach tubed with a glucose/electrolyte solution, three times a day. This prevents starvation, relieves dehydration and stimulates gut movement. Avoid feeding colostrum or milk as they will be unable to digest the food once they have developed watery mouth.
If you cannot get veterinary help you can give the animal a home treatment of rehydration fluid. To make rehydration fluid mix six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt with 1 litre of clean, warm water. Give this as a drench (500 ml for sheep or goats) four times a day for 3 days.
Due to the damage of the cells lining the intestines, the primary symptoms of coccidiosis in sheep is sheep diarrhea, which may be foul smelling and contain mucus and blood. Sheep diarrhea may have a dark tarry appearance and, in severe cases, large blood clots can be seen.
Lambs can begin being fed milk replacer at around a day old. Newborn lambs should always receive colostrum as soon as possible after birth, preferably within the first 6 hours of life.
Despite some limitations, measuring faecal worm egg counts remains a mainstay for assessing the contribution of worms to outbreaks of diarrhoea in sheep. Larval hypersensitivity scouring is emerging as a significant cause of worm-related diarrhoea in sheep without large adult worm burdens in some geographic locations.
Begin worming your lambs when they are about 8 weeks old, and continue monthly (or at the very least bi-monthly) until they reach a year in age. Ivomec and Cydectin are recommended for lambs, and Valbazen should be used to treat tapeworms.
Lambs should be treated beginning at around six weeks of age. Mature ewes are more tolerant to high worm loads than are lambs. Not grazing lambs will significantly reduce the intensity of the deworming program for the ewe flock. When introducing new sheep to the flock, deworm with the most effective product available.
It's actually the spinal cord! A lamb chop is a bit of rib, attached to a bit of vertebra. The channel is the spinal canal, and the white stuff is nerve tissue. It's chewy and delicious, taking on the flavour of whatever it's cooked in.
Although we recommend washing your lamb's legs, you do not want to wash your lamb's body. This is because you want to keep their natural oils, called lanolin. The only time you want to wash your lamb's body is when you shear with a fine or surgical blade.
Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for Sheep and Lambs
Improves the quality and yield of wool. Reduces the incidence of urinary calculi and kidney stones. It has powerful healing, cleansing, and natural antibiotic and antiseptic qualities.
Two ounces of a 50:50 mix of corn syrup and warm water through a stomach tube will provide both heat and readily available glucose to a cold lamb. This can be repeated hourly or so if the lamb appears to be responding.