As some of you might know, my most favourite Arapawa Ewe is Girlie. She was the first “wild” Arapawa that trusted me to let me feed her by hand. She is also the most doting Mum out of all the Ewes.
About 4 years ago, Girlie had a daughter to an Arapawa Ram that was not part of my main flock, so we decided to keep Girlie’s Daughter, as Girlie herself was an excellent Mum, I thought her Daughter would be too.
Girlie’s Daughter was very unlike her Mum… she became one of my fiercest Ewe’s and was always a challenge to handle. I really didn't mind as I was impressed that she chose her own path and developed an identity of her own.
About a week ago, Girlie’s Daughter unfortunately became the victim of Barbers pole worm, a blood sucking parasite that causes severe anemia and sudden death in sheep. It’s something to watch out for during wet summers or the start of autumn. There is very little in the way of warning signs, and generally when you discover it, if you don’t drench immediately the sheep can die within 24 to 48 hours. Signs include pale mucous membranes (eyelids/gums) and lethargy.
Initially the first thing that I noticed was that she was following her lamb around a lot. Nothing that would alert me to anything, just something I noticed… as Girlie’s Daughter tends to lead from the front. The following morning Girlies Daughter was hanging back with her lamb, and then I knew something was wrong. When a sheep isolates herself from the flock… it generally means the sheep is sick.
I walked over to her to investigate, and she just stood there, didn’t run, nothing. Which given how fierce she normally is, it became apparent that she was lethargic. I walked her into the holding pen, which there was no objection from her at all. I checked her eyelids and they were white as paper. They should be salmon pink. She was severely anemic and as she was lethargic, and her poop was normal, my confident conclusion was that she has Babers pole.
I immediately drenched her, and at this point in time, it's a 50/50 chance as to whether she will survive or die. I separated her from her lamb, so the lamb wasn’t using the little energy that her mum had to keep producing milk.
The following morning, I checked in on her, and she was still alive! That was a huge relief.
However, she didn’t look great, and I had the feeling that there was still a very good chance that she would die. I also noticed that she seemed to be blind… her eyelids were still white, and she was still extremely lethargic.
To help her regain some energy for her body to produce the blood that she had lost, I made up a homemade tonic. A glucose/electrolytes mixture. Basically, 500ml water, 2x tablespoons honey, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and I gave her 50ml 4 times a day. Along with some grains, hay, sheep nuts and water.
I checked in with the vet and was basically advised to allow time for her to recover.
After about 4 days, she has recovered to a stable position, but she’s still not right, and I am confident she has gone blind in both eyes. She is eating, pooping, drinking, standing and takes a few steps at a time, although walks in a lefthand direction.
I’m not sure what I should do with her now.
I’m glad she is alive, I’m glad she is stable. But if her sight doesn’t recover…I don’t know what to do.
I feel terribly sad for her.
She has lost her Arapawa spirit.
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