Finding lambs dead

[Jordi44]

Help! I'm about hysterical. I had a wonderful fall lamb crop - mostly bucks, but I can live with that. One was an Aug. lamb the others the first of Sept. I separate my ewes out from the others when they lamb - but had them together in their own little group. Over the last week, I've gone out to find a dead lamb in the morning - 3 in the last week. All from different mothers - the first was a twin about 10 days old. The second was a single about 4 days old, and today, my pride and joy who was about 5 weeks old. No signs or symptoms - they seemed fine the day before. I thought the first two had been smashed by stupid mothers - they were inside in or near a corner. The one today was just inside the shed (which is falling down so is more open that closed) and didn't appear trapped - but could have been trampled in a stampede type situation. Lying partially on his side. Is it just one of those bad years where they are getting smashed or trampled (found it hard to believe this large and old of a lamb would have been) or does any illness come to mind to anyone? Only lambs effected - I've had sheep for years, but never had anything like this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I have 3 lambs left and don't know what to do - seems like whatever I do is wrong. I had turned the ewes with lambs out with the rest of the flock yesterday - and then lost my older lamb doing that. I'm just in shock (he was very unique - born with brown legs, brown points, with a mottled black and white body).

[Bill Fosher]

Three possibilities, in descending order of likelihood based on my experience:

 

1.) Starvation. Mothers have inadequate milk for some reason. Easily diagnosed on necropsy on the farm -- cut open the lamb and see if the stomach has cheese in it or not.

 

2.) White muscle disease. Can be diagnosed by necropsy, but you'll probably need to use a vet if you don't know what you're looking for.

 

3.) Coccidiosis. Least likely in this case because you don't mention any scours in the lambs, and some of them seem too young.

 

Another possibility is pasturella pneumonia. I'm not sure quite where to rank that -- probably about equal with WMD on the older lamb and below coccidiosis on the younger ones. And yet another possibility for the older lamb is some sort of clostridial disease. although at that age they should still be carrying passive immunity from the ewes. Were the ewes vaccinated before lambing?

[Jordi44]

Thanks Bill,

No, the ewes weren't vaxed - never had a problem. No scours, nothing out of the ordinary. The older lamb was starting to eat fairly well and his dam is good (has raised lambs before with no problems) - in fact, she's been bawling all morning for him. I could have believed starvation on the first one - his dam isn't as good, but he was growing. They didn't display any symptoms of WMD - lost a kid to that last spring. I'm just stumped. If they showed some symptom(s), at least I'd have something to go on. I thought about parasites, but I would think the two young ones would be too young to lose to parasites. For the most part, I don't have much disease problem. Sore mouth in older lambs - usually about June - and usually triggered by bringing in new sale lambs. Have had a few with Se deficiency symptoms - again, older lambs, and we get some problems with liver flukes in the fall - but I've never had them in lambs this young. I lost the kid last spring to what I believe was WMD, but that was a quad and I didn't even recognize it until it was too late because I haven't had a problem in over 20 years, if ever (had a few suspected cases when I was a teenager at home yet). I've also considered a toxicity - poisonous plant, that sort of thing, but the first two weren't on pasture - just a small lot with a bit of grass. Again, no signs - just lying there dead - no signs of kicking, thrashing, or anything you'd suspect with neurological symptoms. The ewes and older lambs (a couple from this spring) seem fine, so do the couple of goats we have. I have a buck lamb (surviving twin of the first one that died) and a set of twins that are frisking about like young lambs should.

[Bill Fosher]

Well, with lambs that are less than five days old, the number one killer is always starvation. In fact, there are very few other causes of death in lambs that age. They may get laid on or trampled, but it's usually because they were too weak to free themselves or get out of the way. The lack of kicking or thrashing would point further in that direction, at least on the two younger ones. Remember that past productivity doesn't guarantee that your ewes are producing adequate milk now. And even if there is adequate milk, that doesn't necessarily mean that the lambs are getting it.

 

White muscle disease can produce sudden deaths with little or no advance warning, particularly in lambs that are just a few days old. It attacks the heart muscle and stops it. If you have a history of it on your place, I would try to at least rule it out if you have another death.

 

Also, white muscle disease can affect the muscles that lambs use to swallow, which would inhibit their nursing. So WMD can cause starvation.

 

If it's been very hot in your neck of the woods (90 degrees plus) you can run into a situation where the lambs are not able to cool themselves. While this is seldom directly fatal, it could contribute to mortality from other causes, particularly starvation. The ewes might be reluctant to let the lambs suck, and the lambs might be too lethargic to fight for the milk. The heat stress could also lead to a rapid heartbeat, which if the heart was already weakened by WMD, could be more than the muscle could withstand.

 

I would just about dismiss toxicity. Lambs that are just a few days old are only going to be nibbling solid food if they're even doing that. It's pretty unlikely that they would eat enough of anything to cause sudden death. I'm not aware of any plant poisons that would make it through the ewe into her milk in concentrations high enough to kill a lamb.

 

The main thing is that the next one that keels over (if there is another one) should be taken the to vet for a proper post mortem exam.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I'm wondering about Se deficiency as well. It can cause difficult births and letdown problems in the ewe, also - so Se deficiency is a real holistic problem. I had a scattering of young lamb deaths until I had my soil and forage checked and found it severely deficient in both Se and Ca (needed to metabolize Se in both plants and animals).

[Jordi44]

Thanks for the input guys. We have had some putrid days - hot and humid. Think I'm going to round them all up and give Se injections. I have some here and even if it's not the problem, it won't hurt. After that, I guess cross my fingers and pray. If I lose my one ewe lamb, that's when I'll come totally unhinged. At least my ewe that lost her lamb today has stopped bawling. That's always the last straw - drives me nuts and makes me feel even worse at the same time. If my goat was milking now, I could almost talk myself into pulling the ewe lamb and hand-raising her. Pain in the butt, but I was seriously hoping to have some ewe lambs to show and sell next season. After going through a ram that wasn't getting them bred last year (aka, no lambs), I was thrilled to have some nice fall lambs - then this happens. Some days I seriously have to wonder why I even try. Thanks again.

[kajarrel]

Another thing to consider is E. Coli - I've had some lambs die suddenly from E. Coli without developing diarrhea. I used Spectam scour halt to resolve the problem.

 

Kim

[Bill Fosher]

I've been using white muscle disease as a synonym for selenium deficiency, but it is possible to have a selenium deficiency that doesn't cause white muscle disease.

 

In the meantime, someone has pointed out that the thing to do is be watching the lambs like a hawk, and if there's any sign of hunching up, hollowness, or lethargy, offer a bottle.

[jimahall]

Definetly treat everything with BoSe ASAP. Also vaccinate for the normal stuff and give Covexin-8. It can't hurt and may solve the problem. Someone suggested molassases in the water when ewes are ill. Check about electrolytes. If you lose another, take it to the vet. If it saves the rest it will be money well spent. Hope you have no more problems.