Sheep Diseases

We have been learning about sheep diseases this year. We have expeienced the diseases of pregnancy (one the result of not enough nutrition the other the result of eating too much), a rare form of pneumonia that only on occasion has been known to affect sheep, hoof rot, and now Bluetongue of a form never before recorded.

Bluetongue is a virus vectored by nasty little gnats. As with many viruses there are a three known strains for which the sheep can be vacinated. Those strains cause the sheep to run a very high temperature, to break out in mouth sores, to cause a blue discoloration to the gums and tongue, to develop sores at the top of their hooves, to loose their appitite, and in general become lethargic and depressed.

Then there are our sheep: No temperature, normal behavior, no sores, no blueness, just ears that swell up. In June we had the first case of swollen ears. We put the ewe in the barn checked her temperature everyday--she was normal--administered a round of antibiotics, a good dose of electrolites, the best hay and a little grain. She appreciated the attention but her ears stayed swollen. We finally said, "Oh well" and sent her out to be bred. Over time the swelling abated but her ears were left deformed; she now has cauliflower ears. (See photos)

About a month later we found another ewe with a single swollen ear. We decided to ignor it and see what happened. Her ear swelling ebbed and we had another cauliflower ear. John and I decided that if there were anymore swollen ears, we would take the sheep into UC Davis Large Animal Clinic for an evlauation.

September 1st we brought home a new Tunis ram named Ranger. After holding him in isolation for 30 days, we put him to work with the all the ewes with the hopes that he would breed any ewes that the other rams had missed. About mid October we were moving the ewe band and Ranger and we noticed he had a swollen ear. We pulled him out of the flock, hooked up the old horse trailer and took him to the clinic. By the time we got there the swelling was gone! We felt embarassed but asked the vets to give him a good once over anyway. The vets gave him a clean bill of health except for a foxtail seed in his ear. They could tell that the ear had been swollen but they had no idea what the cause.

I had done some online research on various sheep ailments and had found a mention of rare cases of swollen ears under a Bluetongue description. The vets all said since he had not exhibited anyother symptoms the doubted that was the problem. They thought perhaps he had gotten his head stuck in a fence. We asked that he be tested for Bluetongue anyway.

The next day we got a phone call from the vet: Ranger had tested positive for Bluetongue. Since he was asymptomatic no treatment was recommended. The vet asked if we would meet her with Ranger and the other two affected ewes so she could draw blood for a determination of the strain of Bluetongue that hit us. They suspect the strain has heretofore been unknown. No matter, next year we will vaccinate against the three known strains that California gnats carry.

Rain, Rain

It is raining! That is something to celebrate after having been in the grips of a drought since January. However, we are still irrigating as no matter how much it does or doesn't rain today, it will not be enough to quench the thirsty ground and keep the grass green.

We advertise grass-fed, grass-finished, all-natural lamb so keeping grass green and fresh is a top priority for us. We love it when mother nature helps out. Here's hoping for an end to the drought!