[Jacob-list] not acting right! ohoh

[Linda]

My sheep do that "quick steps, stop...head low to the ground" in the summer when flies or gnats get in their noses.  None of the other symptoms match, though. Mine always eat grain like they haven't eaten in weeks.

Fingers crossed that your ewes recover soon.

Linda
 
www.patchworkfibers.com
Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:45:21 -0500, Tom and Judy Riddolls wrote:
> it is 4 oclock and i just got home to find my two 4 year old ewes
> acting funny.  They walk and do everything in short bursts, two
> quick steps stop. two steps. stop.  They look bug eyed.  They seem
> to like the darkness of the barn, they are twitching, like a horse
> shaking flies and breathing fast. They keep their heads low to the
> ground like they are sniffing, not wobbly at all.  They look like
> they are on drugs really.  They ate the grain i gave them as if
> they have not eaten in weeks.
>
> about them: They are locked in their little barn during dark hours.
>  I give them three big handfuls of sweet COB in the morning and a
> flake of hay, then two handfuls and a flake at 6 when i shut them
> in.  I cleaned out their water bucket really good (no chemicals
> just scrubbing) only 5 days ago. They have spent the last 2 days
> locked in the barn all day to let the new grass grow.
>
> They are 4 years old and 4 months pregnant. i've only had them 4
> months. They got into the maple sap buckets a few days ago, and
> since our water smells bad i have given them a couple of litres of
> fresh sap the last two. One ewe is skinny so I have been told a few
> extra calories can't be bad. The sap is definitely fresh, not even
> hours old.
>
> Same hay, not a new bale, same grain, not moldy or damp only 1/4
> way through bag.  no change in weather, no nothing.  Oh i feed
> their minerals into their grain no more than 8g a day each.
>
> They stay on their feet and i let them into the pasture to watch
> them and they charged around all wild eyed, but still in fits and
> starts.  Could it be some toxic weed in the hay? some bug they
> picked up after two days in the barn they have slept in for the
> last 4 months (no other animals in barn) chickens, two ducks, and a
> guinea fowl do hang out in the pasture.
>
> I'm worried! any ideas? The thinner one seems to be worse. Tom
>
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