The distended belly has gone down a little in the transport, but is still as big as a balloon. The ravens pecked the eyes out. So sad. I have lost two sheep in the last week. In the grass hay they are fed, there are pockets of alfalfa. Once they find a pocket, they gorge themselves until they are so full. But that is a problem. Without time for the rumen to adjust to such rich protein, it causes gas. The sheep cannot expel the gas from the rumen, the first stomach, and they literally blow up like a big balloon, which puts pressure on their organs and they die a terribly painful death. The interior organs may bleed a little, and so might the anus and mouth as they expand beyond capacity. The first sheep to go was a beautiful Jacob ewe, a great mother who had twins and raised them perfectly. I was so sorry to see her go. Once they start to get bloated, they can die in a matter of hours, as happened this morning.
I checked the sheep this morning, and every one was fine. Some were chewing their cuds, while others were still filling their bellies. They have a hay bale in a livestock feeder and they also have another area where I throw grass hay over the fence, since a couple are very shy and hang back until the others eat. By noon, the second sheep was dead, head back and feet up. I did not even see her lying down. The first clue was that the ravens were visiting the sheep pen. They peck the eyes out and eat them first, but they do that to live lambs too, because it disables them. The puppies do not know that they should chase ravens away yet, so the ravens made quite a mess. I did an autopsy on the sheep, just to be sure there was nothing else wrong. She was an E'st a Laine Merino, a rare breed and a breed that is difficult to acquire, and she was in perfect health. The sheep are wormed with garlic fairly often, sometimes twice a month. The garlic does not kill the worms, but makes the host inhospitable and they exit. Soon, there is no worm cycle and the majority die and reinfection does not occur regularly. Still, I do the Famacha test (look at the eyelid colour) for anemia to be sure they are eating the garlic. Today, to help guard against the bloat, I mixed the garlic with sheep mineral and baking soda. Most of the sheep had a few tastes, which should be all it will take, but they need to have that daily until their rumens adjust to the alfalfa. The rest of the hay is from the same supplier, so there will be a small percentage of alfalfa in the hay. Hopefully, the sheep will all have created the proper bacteria they need to digest the rich feed and there will be no more losses. I am greatly saddened by the loss of my sheep and sorry I could not do anything to prevent death or save them from it. Today I watched them all so closely and even gave the goats some of the same mixture, as bloat can affect goats as well. I will gIve the boy sheep and goats and the ewe lambs some tomorrow as a precaution too, since all have the same hay. This is a learning experience for me and I must educate myself regarding introducing hay with alfalfa in it in such a way that the sheep do not die. Sad.
I checked the sheep this morning, and every one was fine. Some were chewing their cuds, while others were still filling their bellies. They have a hay bale in a livestock feeder and they also have another area where I throw grass hay over the fence, since a couple are very shy and hang back until the others eat. By noon, the second sheep was dead, head back and feet up. I did not even see her lying down. The first clue was that the ravens were visiting the sheep pen. They peck the eyes out and eat them first, but they do that to live lambs too, because it disables them. The puppies do not know that they should chase ravens away yet, so the ravens made quite a mess. I did an autopsy on the sheep, just to be sure there was nothing else wrong. She was an E'st a Laine Merino, a rare breed and a breed that is difficult to acquire, and she was in perfect health. The sheep are wormed with garlic fairly often, sometimes twice a month. The garlic does not kill the worms, but makes the host inhospitable and they exit. Soon, there is no worm cycle and the majority die and reinfection does not occur regularly. Still, I do the Famacha test (look at the eyelid colour) for anemia to be sure they are eating the garlic. Today, to help guard against the bloat, I mixed the garlic with sheep mineral and baking soda. Most of the sheep had a few tastes, which should be all it will take, but they need to have that daily until their rumens adjust to the alfalfa. The rest of the hay is from the same supplier, so there will be a small percentage of alfalfa in the hay. Hopefully, the sheep will all have created the proper bacteria they need to digest the rich feed and there will be no more losses. I am greatly saddened by the loss of my sheep and sorry I could not do anything to prevent death or save them from it. Today I watched them all so closely and even gave the goats some of the same mixture, as bloat can affect goats as well. I will gIve the boy sheep and goats and the ewe lambs some tomorrow as a precaution too, since all have the same hay. This is a learning experience for me and I must educate myself regarding introducing hay with alfalfa in it in such a way that the sheep do not die. Sad.
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