Maralynn Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Tonight I noticed a ewe with a blood encrusted forehead. We took her into the barn to work on rinsing it off to see were the blood had come from. At first it seemed as if her wool had just gotten soaked with blood, but as I was cleaning it, I felt soft tissue. It was almost right between her eyes, and I didn't expect to find anything like that. I stopped rinsing it off (so it wouldn't start bleeding again), sprayed the area with antiseptic spay, and gave her a shot of antibiotics. It's almost as if she had run into something and split her head open. But she is acting normal, eating, and can see fine. It must have happened sometime yesterday, as I found blood on a wall in the barn where she had rubbed up against it, but I didn't notice her face all covered w/ blood this morning when I turned them out. Right now I'm wondering if either she has a tumor there, or actually ran into something hard enough to damage her skull. Any ideas of what might have happened? Or anything else I can do besides keep her on antibiotics and watch her? I could clean her head up a bit more to see what exactly happened, but I don't want to start the bleeding again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 She'd have to run into something pretty hard to do that! I had a young ram get a hole knocked in his nose during a fight with another ram. The bone is awfully hard but it will crack. There was tough cartilage underneath but it was still freaky - and dangerous, I assume. I filled the hole with Stockholm tar and kept him drugged up on BOTH LA and penicillin. Like your ewe, my young ram was amazingly unconcerned about the hole in his head. :eek: It took two weeks but by the end of that time a hard scab had completely filled the space. In about two months you couldn't tell anything had happened other than a small hairless place that also eventually grew in. Sheep are weird. If there's no reason to believe they are sick, they'll drop dead on you. You think they're on death's door, and they just refuse to die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 While they don't go at it like rams, ewes will butt heads in the breeding season. It's especially bad if you draw ewes into breeding groups as they have to create new pecking orders within these new groups. I have also seen sheep press their heads pretty hard into corners when they have listeriosis, but you would have noticed other symptoms if that was going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mona Howard Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 The cooler weather seems to make my ewes "friskier" and they will do alot of ewe-style head butting. Sometimes they get pretty serious, backing up and charging and knocking each other down. Makes me wince to see them. These are ewes that have always been together. Rarely, they do draw blood. Just settling grudges I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Wow Rebecca! I guess I'll play the wait and see game for now - with plenty of antibiotics. Bill, I had thought about head butting, but he ewes have all been together for the last 6 months. I had also wondered if she banged her head on something while I was working with Kipp on the sheep. But I'm pretty sure I would have noticed something that hard. She still seems fine this morning - just a bit upset that she couldn't go out to pasture with the rest In true sheep fashion, her timing is impeccable. I'm leaving for a wedding in CO tommorrow. One more thing to add to the list of chores for my cousins... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Could she have run into a corner cattle panel, a piece of fence wire, or nail sticking out? I had a ram lamb rip a huge piece of skin off the corner of his thigh. Almost inside of his leg. At first I thought a dog got a hold of him, it was a huge flap. I would never have figured it out till i saw the same color wool on a piece of cattle panel wrapped around a telephone pole. didn't think it was rough enough or sticking out to do any damage but then watched the ram walk by it and the pieces fit right together. He was never fazed. Antibiotics and fly ointment would be my call. The flies are horrid right now in AR. Guess they might be gone in MI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajarrel Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Rebecca, Just a quick note on the use of LA (oxytetracycline?) in conjunction with penicillin. These two antibiotics are incompatible -- see Link (sorry for the elephant reference but it was the first I could find). The bacteriostatic action of LA200 interferes with the bacteriocidal action of PCN so you're better off using one or the other. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 This was my vet's recommendation. And NC State small ruminant specialists. Maybe it's different for elephants. I might add these were used on alternating days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Could she have run into a corner cattle panel, a piece of fence wire, or nail sticking out?Hmm, now that's a possibility I hadn't thought of. Thankfully the flies are long gone so I don't have to worry about that. Still so far so good. I'll give her another dose of antibiotics before I leave tommorrow, and leave one for my cousins to give her as well. I really don't like leaving a sick animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajarrel Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 This was my vet's recommendation.That's interesting. Here's a link to the insert. Maralynn, Sorry about your ewe. The only other thing to consider, if you think that the wound might have been penetrating (such as you would get with a nail or wire), is tetanus antitoxin. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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