[Jukes Mum]

I have been advised to ask on here to see if you guys with your all your experience can help me.
I just got some Ryland ewes and lambs at the weekend (they are gorgeous and I'm chuffed to bits with them!).
My question is about one of the ewes. She seems really uncomfortable on her feet. She's not really limping, just taking really short jerky steps, then laying down again after a few meters where she stays down grazing until the other ewe with lambs moves off. She will then heave herself up (she's rather porky!) and follow then lay down again.
They had their feet trimmed before they were delivered on Sunday so I had wondered if maybe they were just a bit sore after being trimmed, but she has got a rather mucky back end as though she has been spending rather a lot of her time laying down previous to the weekend.
Have any of you got any suggestions as I don't want to think of her suffering 

[Foobar]

You say she's porky  -  is she in lamb?  Or has she lambed already?

[Jukes Mum]

Apparently she had a big lamb in February but it got stuck and died.

[Foobar]

Ahh ok.  She may just be a bit sore from trimming then.  Just keep an eye on her, it should clear up.  If it doesn't after a week then tip her up and have a look at those feet and see if anything is wrong.


If she's porky then you should try to get some of that weight off her if you can (I know it's tricky when you only have a few sheep).  As she has no lamb to look after don't give her any additional feed (ie no concentrates/cake), just leave her to eat the grass.


If she's got a mucky bum ... when were they last wormed?  Trim off any soiled wool to keep her clean and to keep the flies away.

[Jukes Mum]

Thanks Foobar- hopefully I am worried about nothing. Unfortunately the field is fully of very lush grass so I suspect she is only going to get fatter...

[shep53]

 Iv'e re read your post and you seem to be saying you didn't see the sheep before buying so how do you know that she wasn't  doing the same at her last home ?  it would have to be a very serious trim for her to be that bad on her feet , sounds like either a foot problem undetected or arthritis   and please why did you buy a ewe with a poor lambing history unless to be used as lawnmowers  ?

[Jukes Mum]

No I didn't see the sheep before I bought them. This is a very fair point, but I bought the ewes on trust. The guy I have bought them from is really lovely and will happily take them back if I'm not happy with them. RE the poor lambing history, I think it was just 'one of those things'. The lamb was big and got stuck and he wasn't there to assist.
I agree about the feet. Hopefully got someone coming to have a look at her feet on Friday. Can you think of anything else I should check for? Your advice is much appreciated.

[Anke]

You need to get them all wormed, ideally that should have been done on arrival and then they should have been left in a small enclosure to poo out all their worms and eggs before they have come onto your nice field.

Also when did they have their last fluke drench? Vaccinations - i.e. Heptavac?

I agree that I would not have taken on a ewe with a known history of lambing problems, but if you keep an eye on her food intake during her next pregnancy she may be ok. We all buy our livestock on trust to some degree, and may be disappointed or ecstatic further down the line - only one way to find out...

[Jukes Mum]

They were all wormed and Heptavac'd before they landed. Not sure about Fluke though- I will check.

[shep53]

 You really should check their mouths and udders 

[shygirl]

what are your plans for the sheep? lawnmowers or breeding?

[Jukes Mum]

They will get a full MOT tomorrow
They are lawnmowers but we do intend to breed from them too. If they don't have lambs, it's no big issue, but we do have room for more and would like lambs :-)

[waterbuffalofarmer]

It could be worms or a lack of something. However I would look at her feet again just to make sure.
Hope this helps

[Old Shep]

what's the weather like with you?  she may be just hot?