New kid on the block!

Hi all.
Just joined up (been on the to do list for a while, but fencing took priority!). I'm Susie, based in Waimauku (north of Auckland) and have gone head first into the lifestyle game! Bought my 10 acre block as my first home & followed it up with 8 Chooks, 10 pregnant Wiltshire ewes (bought up from Rotorua) and one young (unrelated) Wiltshire ram!
Had to learn to fence in a hurry; previous owner had steer on the block and though the fences were in fair condition, they were mostly 3 wire & electrified! Currently learning how to sort out the water to fields - seems to involve huge rolls of alkathene pipe and a pump in the stream that won't work!
Successes so far? The lambs arrived with no issues! All ewes lambed well, the first timers having singles and the experienced ewes having twins! Must be beginners luck. Flock now totals 25 sheep.
Think I'll need to sell off my ram lambs though.

HI Susie

welcome to the forum and the area..sounds like you are doing what i did 25 years ago block of land, chooks, goats, horses, no fences and no clue!.. good times...
well done on your lambing success ..

Cheers Steph.
Just spent the day trying to lamb proof a fenceline, vaccinating the lot of them and then spliting the lads from the lasses! Fun & games all round. Also discovered one of my ewes has an abscess on her neck. It hasn't been visible to now as she has only just started shedding her fleece. I've cleaned it out and tea tree oiled it; the local vets call out fee is huge & she doesn't seem to be off her food so thought I'd look for some advice before I ring the professional! The wound its self is like a small cavity, but the it doesn't seem to have a blood supply - there was minimum blood when I cleaned it & the flesh underneath looked a health pink. I'll be giving her an anti biotic shot (once I've bought one) and she's just had a the 5 in 1 vaccination.
Any ideas/ advice anyone? (except for get the vet - if there's no improvement I'll be taking her there on tuesday).
Cheers
Susie

Welcome to Falcon's Rest from Hawkspur![]

So, you live at Falcon's Rest too, Hawkspur?

Heheh
Ed

Hi Susie, wlecome to the forum, did you name your place after the programme ? I am also maybe guessing are you English, calling them 'fields'? I got so many people laughing when I first came here and called them fields instead of paddocks:confused:

welcome!

i have had wiltshires with abcesses before. one time i cleaned it out, it left a large hole in her neck but it healed up no problem. the other seemed well in itself so i left it and it resolved on its own...

so i would watch her but not worry unless it gets infected or she seems unwell.

How long ago did she have the 5-in-1 vax, and was this the 2nd (the booster) shot of the two that is given 4 to 6 weeks after the first?
Sometimes 5-in-1 causes huge abcesses, especially in goats and cattle. With our animals it is always the 2nd shot that causes the reaction. I am certain that it is the vaccine that does this and not my technique, because I have no abcesses with injections of other things.
Another cause of abcesses is Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis known as Caseous lymphadenitis. This looks like a big lump, and when opened, thick greenish-yellow pus that is odourless oozes out. I push the pus out and then spray with iodine or Aerotet Forte antibiotic. BUT ..... this pus is very infective so pick up everything from off the ground so that other sheep cannot get any on them, and spray your equipment with iodine afterwards, and don't handle other sheep before thoroughly washing your hands

I'd come across Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis on the internet and have cleaned up & burnt the used cotton buds & pus covered wool.
I bought the ewes from Rotorua so have no real idea of their vaccination/drench history other than what the guy who sold them told me. Hence I vaccinated them at the end of July and boosted them a little later than recommended in October. The lambs have all been vaccinated too now.
I'm hopeful it is an abscess from the first vaccination - she had been in good condition prior to lambing - but am a little concerned with her drop in weight. We have lots of grass here (rye and Kikuyu mostly) so there's plenty of feed, but she has had twins maybe too much energy into milk?. I've split the ram lamb off to give her a break but she still has a full udder and her ewe lamb for the time being.
When I found the abscess it had already ruptured but the wool on her neck seemed to have caught the pus. I've cleaned it out (3 days in a row) and have packed it full of Manuka honey & used tea tree oil in excess to put off any organism that might attack the wound. Thankfully it's looking much better. The hole is still there, but it's got a proper scab forming & there's no more pus.
Thanks for the help by the way - it's good to have other peoples experience and recommendations!

Hi Bev,
No, sadly I've not seen the program! The name comes from our resident falcon who uses every gate and fence post around the block to perch on! His preferred spot seems to be a gate post in full view of the lounge window. He's also very interrested in the scrub round our 'pond' (read as "rather wet hollow with a dam and lots of rushes in it that could one day be a pond"). I suspect he may be looking for nesting sites.
Yes I'm 'another ruddy pommie"! How long have you been here?

Hi Falcons Rest, Yep we are from the UK been here for 8 years.

With the booster, I understand that it "takes" better if it is given later than earlier. The problem with giving it later is that the animal might get infected by what you are vaxing against and will not be protected.
Do you know how to age a sheep? How old is she?
What are her teeth like? If there is a tooth missing, or there are gaps of more than about 3mm, or the level is uneven, then she will not be able to eat as much, or cud as well as if her teeth were good. She will then need better feed than ones with good teeth, if you can. We supplement our old ewes, or sick ones, with Multifeed pellets.
Do all the sheep have access to multimineral salt blocks? If she has a salt or mineral deficiency this might help. Also, ask the local sheep vet what the mineral status is of the soil around your area.

Hi LongRidge;
From her teeth I'm guessing she'd be about 5-6 years old. They are is good condition - level & all in line with the pad and have none missing from the front - bit hard to check out her molars! I've had a feel along the jaw and it felt 'normal'; no odd bulges, missing teeth hollows, unbalance in jaw thickness or flinching from the probing! I had a quick sniff of her breath but appart from belching in my face it didn't smell bad. She also has a fairly well rounded belly and chews cud without any problems I can observe. There's a little lix block in each field so she has always had access to it - though none of the girls seem interested in it. I've tried to get them eating the pellets, but they aren't interested in them either! Apparently the hedge is nicer tasting. (I've check for toxic plants, and have removed any I thought suspicious from the garden already!).
After that I'm out of common sense! I'm hopefull still that she'll come right and the abscess will turn out to be nothing. It's healing fine and shows no sign of redness, swelling or secondary infection. I'm still cleaning it and using the Manuka honey daily on her(worked wonders on my grandfathers sores & scars - I have his active manuka prescription still!). The tea tree oil seems to also do a good job of keeping flies etc from noticing the scab or honey! (mental image of a bee swarm chasing my ewe across the fields sprang to mind the 1st time)
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

It sounds as though you have done all you can.
With our sheep, they get culled at 7 years old unless they have raised good lambs without having problems. We sometimes get Facial Eczema, but because we don't get it often we never treat against it. So some of our ewes could have underlieing liver problems without our knowing it, except by being poorly and not doing their lambs well. This ewe of yours could have that problem, because where she has come from and gone to, FE is an annual event. If she was not treated every year then she may have liver damage from FE, or if treated too much she could have problems with excess zinc caused some damage at some time.