[Jacob-list] marginal vitamin deficiency???

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/10/2004 10:14:34 AM Central Standard Time, 
buffgeese at yahoo.com writes:

> Yesterday, about 30 minutes after feeding, I happened back by the feeding 
> area and found a ewe lamb flailing uncontrollably in the feed trough.  I 
> figured she had gotten herself cast.  She was hyperventilating and undergoing what 
> appeared to be grand mal seizures.  
> 
> I figured the best thing would just be to sit there and hold her while she 
> died.  Well, after about 15 minutes, she was starting to hyperventilate less, 
> but was continuing to have seizures, eyes were unequal in direction and 
> movement.  I brought her on in the house and gave her a dose of vitamin B complex 
> that would be pretty hefty---just in case she had depleted her available 
> stores in the stress of whatever happened.  I also thought she might have 
> overheated (my son had febrile seizures when he was really young), causing the 
> neurological symptoms.  Therefore, I put her in the bathtub and cooled her off.  
> Her panting slowed to a stop at this point except for times of exacerbation of 
> the seizures.
> 
>  I wrapped her up in a couple towels to get her dried up and held her for 
> half an hour.  Since I had to leave for church services, I put her back out in 
> the field with her mom.  She flipped over and over once again.  My hubby 
> couldn’t stand that, so he spent the next couple hours holding her on the front 
> porch.  We finally put her in a box and snuggled her up for the night.
> 
>  This morning, came back out and she was still alive.  Crying regularly, but 
> unable to control her movements.  We took her in to the vet and had her put 
> to sleep.
> 
>  The vet made mention that she might have been treated initially with 
> vitamin B complex to improve her prognosis, but other than poisoning, he didn’t 
> have lots of other suggestions.  
> 
> We are fairly confident that one of the ewes slammed her in the feed trough 
> and she was hit in the head in the wrong way—causing the damage.  
> 
> This vet told my husband that the juvenile cataract appearance to her eyes 
> could also be caused by vitamin b deficiency---which makes no sense whatsoever 
> to me.  Our regular vet (phoned him last night for advice) had mentioned 
> that with one genetic problem, it could also be likely that she had a second 
> problem.  He felt there might be a liver problem and she had become liver toxic 
> and that the neurological symptoms could be also related to that.
> 
>  Any knowledgeable advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.
> 
> 

Because of tremors and Parkinson symptoms I can't use the computer much and I 
am late and it takes quite a bit of time. 

The symptoms you describre whcij may happen in another's flock could be (1) 
tetany from being weaned (stress event) to a lush spring growth pasture and 
feed, (2) coccidiosis (3) overeaters disease (no shot or shot squirted thru the 
sub cue envelope, anaphhylactic shock, (4) and trauma as you suspect.  In fact, 
the trauma need not be to the head; spinal damage can come from a body blow.

The treatment for each of these is lightly different but basoically the B is 
supposed to be therapeutic for nervous disorder.  Oftyen it is helpful to have 
the temperature since temp can help tell what the probabilities are rather 
than a range of possibilities.

You mentioned Lawson's book and I would suggest that it would be very helpful 
for anyone that does not have a sheep vet close at hand ... not a substitue 
but a very helpful guide.

Fred Horak
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