A 3-week-old lamb's diarrhea (scours) is often due to infections (E. coli, Coccidia, Rotavirus, Cryptosporidium), nutritional issues (milk replacer errors, overfeeding, sudden diet changes), or stress, leading to dehydration and potentially severe illness; immediate vet consultation is crucial for diagnosis and treatment like electrolytes and antibiotics.
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.
From birth until 3 weeks old, the causes of diarrhea in lambs are associated with pathogenic infections or nutritional issues, such as low milk production by the mother, failure to suck, and maladaptation to food supplementation (Sobiech et al., 2013).
Lambs may be affected in both forelimbs, both hind limbs and all four limbs, with no evidence of any swelling. If able to stand, affected lambs have a stiff, stilted gait and an arched back; they exhibit muscle trembles and weakness. Affected lambs lie on their chest then roll onto their side and die within a few days.
Other causes of diarrhoea and weight loss in older lambs include worms (particularly nematodirosis) and salmonellosis. These diseases can occur concurrently with coccidiosis which is very damaging. Fertilised, lush grass and high protein creep feed can also cause scour.
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.
Bloody Poop
If blood is found in a chickens feces, this can be an indication that a chicken has coccidiosis. This is a serious intestinal infection that can spread to your entire flock, and can unfortunately result in death if not attended to properly (and can result in death if not attended to properly).
Diarrhoea is seen in severe cases. Swayback is seen in lambs born to copper-deficient sheep. This is a progressive hindlimb weakness due to damage to the spinal cord during foetal development. Copper should not be supplemented to sheep unless a deficiency has been diagnosed due to the high risk of toxicity.
Clinical signs of acute selenium toxicosis include ataxia, dyspnea, and depression (3–5). After an acute exposure to selenium, lambs die over 3 to 4 d, although there is variation in the severity of symptoms and lesions among lambs, even when given identical doses (4,6,7).
Symptoms of Selenium Deficiency
Drink plenty of liquids, including water, broths and juices. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Add semisolid and low-fiber foods gradually as your stool returns to what's typical for you. Try soda crackers, toast, eggs, rice or chicken.
The lamb will become progressively more dull, refuse to feed, collapse and salivate more profusely. Abdominal tympany (swollen gut, full of air, “rattle belly”), and diarrhoea is often observed. The affected lamb will die within hours.
Scours in lambs and goats are a complex, disease that can be caused by several factors, not limited to the environment, nutrition, and infectious agents. The four major causes of scours in lambs and kids during their first month of life are E. Coli, rotavirus, cryptosporidium parvum and salmonella.
Coccidiosis is a disease that causes young animals to be “poor doers,” sometimes permanently. Coccidia are protozoa that cause damage to the animal's intestinal tract so that food is not absorbed well. Diarrhea is a common symptom, as are poor growth, rough hair coat, a pot-bellied appearance, and loss of appetite.
If you don't drink milk regularly, avoid milk when you have diarrhea. Use well-cooked, tender meats such as tender cuts of baked, broiled, creamed or roasted beef, lamb, liver and pork as well as chicken, fish, crisp bacon and smooth peanut butter.
Lack of adequate selenium in sheep reduces conception rates, increases neonatal mortality, and in some instances, causes white muscle disease—nutritional muscular dystrophy. Lambs that do survive suffer from increased disease, reduced weight gain, and impaired performance.
Staggers is a metabolic disorder caused by low levels of blood magnesium. Magnesium is an essential element for sheep for skeletal and muscle functions as well as enzyme and nervous system functionality. Sheep cannot store magnesium, meaning they need a continuous supply of the element.
Signs of salt deficiency in livestock include licking stones or other objects and ingesting soil, while symptoms of salt poisoning include nervousness, diarrhoea, blindness, and, in extreme cases, death.
Calcium Deficiency
Lack of free choice calcium mineral. Clinical Sign: Weakness, inappetance, muscle tremors, inability to rise.
Note yellow coloured skin. The diagnosis of copper poisoning is based on the housing and feeding history, clinical signs and post-mortem findings of a pale tan to bronze-coloured liver and dark red or black kidneys. The diagnosis can be confirmed by laboratory identification of high kidney copper concentrations.
Vitamin B12 deficiency in sheep can cause a number of clinical signs including loss of appetite, decreased growth rates, weight loss, watery ocular discharge and anaemia. These signs can occur despite an abundance of available pasture.
They are microscopic parasites detectable on routine fecal tests in the same way that worms are, but coccidia are not worms and are not susceptible to deworming medications.
Chickens that eat large amounts of leafy greens and grass will tend to produce green droppings. A bright emerald green diarrhoea can be a sign of Marek's disease, Avian influenza or Newcastle disease although this is less likely. You should consult your vet for further advice.
Common signs in infected flocks include: