[Jacob-list] mystery case

[dave & katrina]

To those detectives out there...I have a case here that could use a little insight.  This year we gave 4 cull lambs (mostly wethers) to my brother as a house-warming gift for his new 10-acre pasture.  One of these lambs was a little ewe lamb that I had been watching while she was here... something just seemed weird about her, so I took her out of the breeding stock.  She seemed to be always squatting, sometimes peeing, sometimes not.  She was very submissive so it is hard to know if this was phys or showing her acceptance.  She was also on the dumber side. (*smile* Well, it's true!)  Didn't seem to be too much of a problem so I sent her along with the group and told him to watch her.

A week later, his wife called and said the lamb was down, sometimes tried to get up but then went in circles. One time she thought the lamb was convoulsing. They mentioned it looked like her hind leg(s) were bowed or out of joint, (although they are not used to sheep and this lamb did seem to look bowed when she squatted) 

As a side note, this ewe lamb was laying near a fence and when my brother's dog come up barking on the other side of the fence, they told us the other lambs all came over to her and pawed at her to get her up and out of harms way. 

We thought she would probably die, but a day later we were told that she was up and seemed to be hanging out with the other lambs. There was not any interference that I know of... That was a few days ago, haven't heard anything since, which probably means she is the same.

Side info:  If urinary tract was a problem, it could have been made worse by the fact that the water on the property was a creek that the lambs did not venture out to very often.  They finally just put out some water.  Don't think there was a diet change, she was on pasture here and there, unless types of grass or something poisonous was a factor.  The dog was penned out of the pasture, so chasing was not a factor.
Any thoughts?
Katrina Lefever
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