Maddening Minx

Remember when I wrote that Minx had gotten out and we weren’t sure whether she’d gotten into the grain or not? We think she must have, even though we had the hay house where it is stored zippered down to just open enough for the chickens to get in, so they could blasted keep laying eggs where they shouldn’t, but at least where I knew.

I found her down the next day, and was just beside myself trying to figure out what was wrong. I posted about it on Homesteading Today (a great resource for small farmers, by the way) and on the ISBONA mailing list, plus called my vet. I got all sorts of ideas of things to try, as well as reading up in the Merck Vet Manual and Laura Dawson’s book as well.

It really couldn’t be worms, because we’d wormed everyone very aggressively when Maria went down, just a week ago. I was really afraid that she’d be gone, that she’d go downhill so fast like Maria did, but I was very aggressive in trying to get her back to good health, including drenching her with water every half hour all day when she wouldn’t get up, wouldn’t eat anything.

That first day was touch and go. Her lambs were clearly hungry, but I couldn’t get either of them to take a bottle, but they were crying, constantly. The vet said to put her on penicillin twice a day for five days. I dosed her with Pro Bios when I got some, but the first day I used homemade yogurt and buttermilk, just to keep her rumen working properly. I had tried all that with Maria, but none of it had worked. Minx did get better as the day went on, but was still mostly down the next day.

DSC05374 The third day was better. She clearly still wasn’t herself, but she was up. She had dark green scours, very runny, and her eyes were listless, though. We just kept up the routine — drench with iron/vitamin, probios for her rumen, penicillin twice a day. I put water down near where she was camping out, and her lambs stopped crying, so she must have been nursing them. As she got better, she started giving us a chase to catch her, which I took as a good sign.

Minx is feeling better -- she's out again I knew she was better when I found her out of the electric fence. Oy, this girl. She only had one lamb with her, and the other one crying early in the morning is how I knew we’d crossed over to the healthy side with her. At least I could stop worrying.

DSC05584Misty has decided that she must follow Minx around when she is out, and it is all very aggravating. All of the other sheep will stay where we put them, and Misty splits her time between sitting next to the sheep in the fence down the driveway and wherever Minx is. Last night, though, I saw Minx headed into the hay house — she got in the door by pushing her head up on the zipper. Arg!

DSC05573She’s now in jail, until I figure out what to do with her. She’s not very happy about being there, but I just can’t take a chance that she’ll get into the grain again. She is really trying my patience! I remember telling her that I wanted her to get out rather than be sick or die, but oy. Can’t she just be a good little sheepie please?

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