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[Blackbelly] Ewe behavior - unwell or over pregnant?

Tracy Wessel
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:28:59 -0700

I have a ewe that is very pregnant - she looks to have twins or triplets.
After breeding she had a pelvic injury as did several other ewes. I can
only guess the ram head butted them as I have seen him do (he's got an
appointment with the butcher but I can't move him myself, so I'm playing
phone tag with the mobile butcher).

Anyway, she seemed to get over being lame behind but still walks a bit odd
- made me wonder if she had a dislocation or even a fracture. Anyway, I
notice her lying down a lot. She looks plump. I mean aside from her belly,
she doesn't lead me to believe that she is under nourished due to the
pregnancy, her back has good covering and I handled her two days ago and
didn't feel boney, nor obese.

Anyway, I notice she is slow to get up in the morning, is slow to join the
flock enroute to the pasture each morning, but does bed down with her
girlfriend and the two rams.

Saturday I noticed one eye swollen, cornea cloudy, weepy. I gave her 4.5ml
LA200 and flushed the eye, and gave her a dab of Banamine on Sunday.
Couldn't catch her this morning and didn't want her going nuts so I left
the injection in the barn to try again tonight, but actually the eye looks
much better. Still cloudy, but open and not weeping.

Any guesses or suggestion on the eye and the frequent lying down? I don't
have reason to believe that she has a dead lamb as there is no discharge
or smell... I think as big as she is she must be uncomfortable. I am a tad
concerned about lambing. I've never had a Blackbelly have difficulty
lambing, but the only one that ever looks big like this is my ewe that
always twins. But that ewe never exhibits this behavior of discomfort.

Tracy
Boring, OR
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