Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I had a yearling replacement ewe suddenly get ill, anorexic, lethargic, generally wanting to die. I figured, worms, even though her color was good and she had normal stools, and treated her accordingly. These yearlings are all on excellent graze, supplemented with a custom creep and both bagged and block minerals. Well, she got better but was still acting stupid. She refuses to follow the flock, basically would graze in place, and kept getting stuck places. Now I'm thinking things like polio - but she would have dead ages ago from that, right? She's in every way normal - no nervous signs other than the remarkable stupidity about getting stuck or tangled in places. Finally I realized she's pretty much blind. Again, she is healthy in every way except for being blind. She is fat as a tick because she tends to get left behind when we put up the rest and then she grazes all night on the nice lawn. She's got a nice fleece, is very calm if we give her no reason to panic, and has in fact kind of turned into a pet. I did a bit of research and came up with "bright blindness", which is caused by a fern that we do indeed have down between the ponds in the woods. The information I found said that animals won't normally eat this unless they are forced, but is it possible she just got a hankering for it? None of the other sheep have had a problem, but she did spend a lot of time down in the woods by herself (these sheep do that - they have little flocking instinct). So my question is, would it be safe to give her away as a pet? My landlords have expressed interest in "rescuing" her, expecially since she's a friendly thing already. Everything about this points to this bright blindness, but scrapie is at the back of mind mind, too. It seems like you have to slaughter to test for scrapie, isn't that right? Also, has anyone ever seen this and kept the animal subsequently? If she's kept as a pet, will she have a normal life expectancy? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 We had a ewe that went blind from cateracts when she was 13-14. She had started to run into us/things. I kept her penned with the feeder lambs after that and she lived for another year. She used her ears alot, and I would talk to her when I wanted to catch her for something. I think she could make a great pet, as long as she was kept inn a safe, clutter free enviroment. It doesn't really sound like scrapies to me - I don't think scrapies is that sudden, or recovers like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thanks, that's what I was thinking. I really couldn't find any info on the long term prognosis for this other than the fact that the blindness is permanent. She's very alert and the dogs are all getting used to working her nicely. She can locate them at an amazing distance, really - you see her ears swivel right round and she trots off nice as can be. It's good for me because I'm really learning to watch those ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Sounds like this has been going on for some time, but I would still try giving her a big whack of thamine and see what happens. Worst case scenario is that she has very expensive urine for a few days. I would suspect that you won't change her at this point. If it's been going on long enough for her to adapt to it and regain body condition, the optic nerve will probably have atrophied, but I'd still give her a shot or two. Scrapie is very unlikely. There are about 30 cases a year in the US, and about 28 of them are in Suffolks. Biggest danger about keeping a blind sheep around is that it would run into something that wasn't always there -- such as electronet or other temporary fencing -- and get hurt or killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted June 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Actually I did hit her with lots of thiamine - it's part of my standard course of treatment for a sheep her age (worms, polio, look for infected wounds, treat for possible pneumonia in the winter). But the rest of how she acted wasn't really typical and there wasn't any real reason for her to get it - especially with nobody else coming down either. I think my landlords are going to take her. They will treat her like a princess if they do - he's just deciding if he wants the extra work but really it's up to his wife. They are retired farmers and just keep a few animals around as pets currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordi44 Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Aren't there some non-lethal tests for scrapies? I was thinking there was, but could be wrong. I thought scrapies was more neurological than that - never heard of it causing blindness, but not up on everything about it. I would think it'd be fine if they wanted her as a pet - she might do better that way anyhow. Do they have any sheep or goats? If not, then there isn't much worry of her passing anything on. If the symptoms fit a weed, fern, etc., then I'll bet that's the culprit - and there's always one in the group that didn't read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 There is a third-eyelid test for scrapie that is of dubious accuracy or sensitivity (I forget which is the problem, or if it's both). There's also a genotype test that will tell you whether the animal is genetically resistant to scrapie -- in which case it can't be infected -- or susceptible -- in which case it could be but isn't necessarily infected. The only sure way is to test brain tissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Part of an article..... As a zoonosis, Baylisascaris-induced visceral (VLM) and neural larva migrans continues to be of concern, particularly for children; however, zoonotic ocular larva migrans (OLM) caused by Baylisascaris is actually more common and is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. Baylisascaris procyonis has been identified as the primary cause of the large nematode variant of the ocular syndrome, diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis (DUSN).(11-13) This variant syndrome is a type of OLM in which visual loss appears to be a sequela to parasite-induced inflammation of the retina, associated vessels, and optic nerve head.(12) It may be caused by a number of nematode species, including Baylisascaris and Toxocara, as well as some other helminths.(11-14) Baylisascaris also has been incriminated in a number of human cases of OLM in which retinal migration tracks or posterior pole granulomas were the primary lesions seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo&Tex Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Is there any chance that this sheep suffered a blow to the head, perhaps being kicked by another sheep? Trauma or exposure to chemicals will produce thick cataracts and ill effects leading to blindness. Of course you may not have seen her get a hoof to the head but she may have been clonked during the night. Nice to hear she is being made a princess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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