We are getting a lot of calls about downer ewes. This syndrome is the result of a lot of different conditions. The first I want to talk about is pregnancy disease. Pregnancy disease is the result of ewes that are too fat in the fall. Then as the lambs develop and compete for space, the rumen can’t generate enough nutrients to maintain a metabolic balance; a fatty liver develops and fat is broken down resulting in toxicity and pregnancy disease. The solution is keeping ewes in the right condition at breeding time, cutting them back to maintenance rations after conception, and then gradually increasing the energy level the last six weeks of pregnancy prevents pregnancy disease. Nervous symptoms and blindness without eye lesions is also a common finding with true pregnancy disease. However, we rarely see the condition anymore.
Injury is another cause and often overlooked. As ewes get heavy with lamb, particularly those with multiple fetuses, there is a lot of stress applied to their skeletal structure. They are very subject to injury or their skeletal structure may just break down.
Then you have the old ewe or a chronically ill ewe that just runs out of gas and there is a fair share of them.
So what’s the answer? Prevention is more rewarding than treatment. Keeping ewes in the right state of condition is important. Insuring adequate bunk space so all can have the same opportunity to eat is extremely important. Round bale feeders should be managed so not just the long neck ewes get adequate hay. Corn silage should be reduced or eliminated the last six weeks of pregnancy. Thinner ewes need to be yarded and fed separately. Don’t overcrowd and doorways should be wide and adequate for a number of sheep to pass at once. Another possibility is a dead fetus or abortion.
With all those possibilities, correct diagnosis and treatment can become confusing. I usually try to figure out the cause based on history. In general, the treatment of choice for pregnancy disease has always been propylene glycol. I think it is difficult to get adequate amounts into the animal without using a stomach tube. The product is an alcohol and somewhat depressing. One of our veterinarians likes to use milk replacer and he has actually got ewes to drink it. Milk replacer and electrolytes could be tubed as well along with some propylene glycol. Predef can be given along with antibiotics in the event there is an infection of some sort. The Predef may help reverse the condition. Another thought is to include Fortified Vitamin B complex containing thiamine in the treatment on the outside chance polio becomes involved.
After saying all this there was a study in Israel where Banamine alone was compared to the standard treatments and the Banamine group fared the best, so at minimum Banamine twice daily should be part of any treatment. No one could explain why the Banamine worked.
When all else fails and the decision is to save the ewe, 10cc of Dexmethasone injected will generally cause the ewe to give birth in 48 hrs. If lambs are near term they may live as well and the Dex tends to reverse the condition and stimulate appetite. All these treatments are a shot gun approach and when there are a lot of choices in treatment and causes prognosis is generally poor.
Once ruminants go down they are very difficult to get up.
