[Jacob-list] Flystrike scare

[dazazel at usit.net]

The ram lamb I got two weeks ago (Bravo) has been doing really well out in
the pasture with the big girls.  I have been bottle feeding him smaller and
smaller amounts and this afternoon I was planning to make it his last bottle
feeding.  Well, I was giving him his bottle when little alarm bells started
going off in my head--you know how it is, you're certain something's wrong
but you can't put your finger on it.  Bravo's tail isn't docked yet and I've
been kind of keeping an eye on it just in case, so I lifted it to make sure
he wasn't getting mucky back there.  Well, I swear I saw maggots and there
were flies all over the place anyway landing on him, so I panicked and
rushed him to the UT large animal clinic thinking he had flystrike.  To make
a long story short, the vet said she didn't see any signs of it but they're
keeping him overnight.  He's walking kind of hunched up and the vet said he
looks like he's straining, but since I saw him cock his tail and berry on
the way to the car (and he peed prolifically in my backseat), she didn't
seem especially worried.  Could a bad worm infestation cause all this?  I'm
planning on worming Saturday anyway, and the vet's going to do a fecal so
I'll know for sure.  She did say his rectum looked a little irritated.
Personally, the $35 emergency fee was worth it just knowing he's not being
eaten alive by maggots.  Ugh!  He's getting his tail docked in the morning!

These things kind of go in threes, I guess.  Yesterday one of the goats got
his hind leg stuck between two boards somehow, and one of the ewes (Ann)
knocked one of her lower horns off butting him, the old bit--uh, biddy.
They're both fine, with the application of iodine and (in the case of the
goat) a handful of treats.  Should I be more worried about Ann's horn?  I
found it--it looks like it just sort of popped off and there wasn't much
blood.  I think it must have been a scur anyway.  It's fully scabbed over
and healthy looking today.  In fact, if you didn't know she'd had four horns
you would swear she'd been born with three just by looking at her today.

Well, it's always something, huh?  I just hope poor little Bravo is okay,
but I'm glad it's not flystrike!

Katherine

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