New born lamb can't stand up update & pics

[susaq]

I have hair sheep and they are lambing. So far so good no problems with 13 lambs now on the ground which includes triplets. Yesterday I went down to the barn and just happened across a new born lamb laying in a small stall all by herself. She was almost dry and her umbilical cord was real fresh. She was laying flat out and could not lift her head. I grabbed her up and took her to the house. This lamb was HUGE! She makes all of the others look like midgets. If it weren't for her umbilical cord I'd swear she was at least two or three months old. She makes number 14.

I got colostrum down her and she wouldn't suckle but could swallow. She has one eye that droops (you can see a lot of the white on the top part).  I got her warmed up and cleaned off (little muddy) and put her in a crate with two bottle baby lambs. She was holding her head up before the night was over. This morning she was hungry and looking for a bottle. This evening she was in the back of the crate and she scooted herself to the door of the crate when she heard me open it. Now I know she can hear me.

She has been righting herself up on her brisket. Don't know if that's the right term but Y'all know what that means. She suckled on her bottle tonight. I had not seen her use her back legs at all until tonight. When I was feeding her she was moving them! Soooo I put her on the floor and let her do her thing. I have been moving her legs and massaging them. Her front legs look like they have contracted tendons. This girl is huge! I think maybe she didn't have any room in the womb and it has caused her some problems like a big calf would have. She has made a lot of progress in just over 24 hours. The weather has been bad and as soon as I can manage it I'll get her to a vet.


I have not had to deal with white muscle ever! Can Y'all tell by the video if that may be the case? I'm thinking it may be a birthing trauma related issue because she was HUGE! Here's the video and I would appreciate any suggestions. This does not need to be in the 911 section. 

I named her Bella and she already knows her name. You'll see that in the video. There's some pics also. Click on the first pic to see the video. Max loves the baby lambs and is really good with them. You will see him close by watching over his baby.

[mollymoo]

She certainly seems to be sitting very oddly! I had to admit - with my hair sheep I have only had one or two problems in over 15 years (flock size ranged from 5 to 25 depending on the year!). I'd be more inclined to think like you that this is birth trauma related. We did have a deformed lamb born that was never able to stand - it's spine was deformed and back legs were all crooked. Necropsy confirmed it wasn't a spider lamb - just said "birth defect" (that's the one I wondered if it was cause by the Mom having a really bad parasite infection when the lambs would have been embryos - had to treat with ivermectin and levamisole to bring her round).
Only other hair sheep lamb we lost was to cold - a first time Mom, 10F cold and only a hoop house for shelter.
The vet told me contracted tendons is more likely to be crowding than white muscle in our goats last year. Splinting if it doesn't resolve itself after a couple of days has worked for us (this in goats - haven't seen it in sheep).
I hope she makes it! She is really pretty

[kim'scows]

If you suspect possible selenium deficiency, give her a teeny shot of BO-SE, like 1/4cc. I've seen that make all the difference in weak lambs that are having trouble walking. They come around in no time. BO-SE is prescription only so if you don't have it, you'll have to get it from a vet.

[westxgrl13]

susaq, your voice is so sweet that if I were a lamb, I would do everything I could to get "lined out" and come running to you as fast as I could! Ha, ha! I do hope she makes it. The couple of times she flopped so hard she rolled actually looked encouraging to me, like she is going to get better and everything start working together soon.

[susaq]

mollymoo her spine seems straight and her legs are not deformed. She had no movement in her back legs the first 30 hours. I thought she was paralyzed. Now she can use her right back leg a little and is moving it but the left one lays straight out when she lays down. When I flex the left rear leg she will apply pressure and try to stop me from moving it. That's been encouraging. I have been holding her up and letting her put some weight on her legs in the standing position. Tonight she put some weight on her legs. Her first joint knuckles under on her front legs. Your goat babies with the contracted tendons sounds like Bella. She was so big I think she was cramped in there. I had 21 sheep which includes some rams that need to go to the auction before the lambs came. I don't usually have this many. In my 7 years of having sheep this is a first. 

kim'scows I have a bottle of BO-SE but it's a few years old. I don't think it's any good. The roads are icy and I can't get out to take her to the vet yet. None of the other lambs are having this problem. Out of the 14 lambs so far this is the only one that hasn't gotten up. All the others are up and nursing in a matter of minutes. It always amazes me at how fast lambs get up. I will get a new bottle of BO-SE when I can get to town. I thought about that as one of the problems.

westxgrl13 thank for the compliment! Most of the critters come pretty fast when I holler for them. I thought it was the food. Maybe it's just the voice.  I thought the same thing when she flopped. It's so hard to watch her struggle but she needs to to get those legs working.

I hope she makes it too. This summer I am getting a ram lamb that is a dairy breed. He needs to be born first. I want to have ewes that produce more milk to grow the babies fatter, faster! 

Bella is starting to suck on the bottle now. She is up to 5 ounces three to four times a day. She lets me know when she's hungry.     

[susaq]

Bella is still alive and seems to be a happy little girl. Her favorite thing is the bottle. She gets so excited when it's time to eat. I have a ram lamb that got sick during that real cold snap we had. I put him in with Bella. I named him Hershey. Hershey has become Bella's best friend. I put them in a plastic tub with high sides. It helps Bella stay upright. The other day Bella stood up! She is very shaky and has to have the side of the tub on one side of her and Hershey on the other. She was resting her head on him to help steady herself. Here are some pics of the two of them.

Here they are laying together.



Here are a couple of Bella standing up!




That little girl is a fighter! 

[mollymoo]

That’s awesome susaq! Especially that she has a friend. I just remembered - I used usnea extract for my kids with neurological issues/wobbly backs - may be worth a shot for your lamb?

[susaq]

Feb 23, 2021 23:49:11 GMT -5 mollymoo said:

That’s awesome susaq ! Especially that she has a friend. I just remembered - I used usnea extract for my kids with neurological issues/wobbly backs - may be worth a shot for your lamb?

What is usnea extract? I'm gonna have to look it up. Do you have a link to where to get it? I'll try anything. She reminds me of a child with Cerebral palsy. She is shaky and has little control over her muscles. She really tries hard to stand and do things.

[mollymoo]

It’s a lichen extract. www.amazon.com/Herb-Pharm-Extract-Cleansing-Detoxification/dp/B00014UJMO
I can’t guarantee this made a difference - but maybe!

[susaq]

Thanks, mollymoo. I will order some and see if it helps. It can't hurt!

[elnini]

They look so huggable :-)

[susaq]

Feb 24, 2021 7:39:00 GMT -5 elnini said:

They look so huggable :-)

They are.  They got to spend  a couple of hours outside today. Warm temp, sunshine, and fresh air. 

[mollymoo]

Today was just glorious here in TN too - almost 70F and sunny - a week ago it was 10F and snowing!

[susaq]

We had 12 inches of snow that just melted completely yesterday! I'm so glad it went back to nice with a side of sunny!

[jerseyrose]

Is your baby still improving? I have had many kids who were large or overly long legged drag themselves around for anywhere from a day to a week and then suddenly be standing, I give all my kids Vitamin E / selenium gel right after birth and it seems to help them when they have that issue too.

[susaq]

Feb 25, 2021 14:57:30 GMT -5 jerseyrose said:

Is your baby still improving? I have had many kids who were large or overly long legged drag themselves around for anywhere from a day to a week and then suddenly be standing, I give all my kids Vitamin E / selenium gel right after birth and it seems to help them when they have that issue too.

She's a fighter. She tries so hard and there are times she can stand wobbly on all four legs. She was crawling on her knees last night. She is a really good eater too. I told DH that I need to figure out how to make her a wheel chair. I think it would help her a lot.

[jerseyrose]

If she can stand I think you have a good chance. It may just take a while. I am glad she has a good appetite that makes a world of difference in keeping her strong to keep fighting.