Stools (droppings) from a healthy baby lamb are usually yellow or light brown in color and has the consistency of caulking compound. As the lamb matures (at about 30 days of age) their stools will become pelleted. Take time to observe that the lamb is relieving itself regularly.
Lambs may scour (have diarrhoea) at any age and for a variety of reasons. Scour can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, nutritional issues and many other factors. The cause of scour cannot always be easily diagnosed for rapid accurate treatment.
The most common causes of diarrhea in older lambs and kids are coccidiosis and gastro-intestinal parasites (worms). Other major causes of diarrhea in older lambs and kids are clostridium perfringins, rumen acidosis, and nutritional.
Lambs born after prolonged second stage labour may be covered in meconium (the first faeces) and appear yellow, green or brown in colour at birth. This is an indication of foetal distress before birth. This is reduced by ensuring ewes are monitored regularly and interventions are carried out in a timely fashion.
Mucous like blood can indicate a number of issues. It could be a sign of a worm, a parasite or a bacteria causing diarrhoea. Coccidia, Campylobacter, Salmonella as well as worms can cause diarrhoea with blood. It is something to monitor closely.
The germ causing colibacillosis is present in the droppings of sick sheep and goats. When lambs/kids eat food or drink water contaminated with these droppings they get sick. The animals are depressed and not eating. They have a watery, whitish-yellow or greyish diarrhoea that is known as "white scours".
Stools (droppings) from a healthy baby lamb are usually yellow or light brown in color and has the consistency of caulking compound. As the lamb matures (at about 30 days of age) their stools will become pelleted. Take time to observe that the lamb is relieving itself regularly.
The animals may abruptly go off of feed and become lethargic. Affected animals may show signs of stomach pain, such as kicking at their belly, repeatedly laying down and getting up, laying on their sides, panting, and crying out. Diarrhea may develop; in some cases, there is blood visible in the loose stool.
Due to the damage of the cells lining the intestines, the primary symptoms of coccidiosis in sheep is sheep diarrhea, which may be foul smelling and contain mucus and blood. Sheep diarrhea may have a dark tarry appearance and, in severe cases, large blood clots can be seen.
- Meconium- what is it and what does it mean? Meconium is a brown/ yellow staining seen on the lambs when they become stressed during lambing.
There are many different Eimeria species that can infect sheep but only two cause disease; therefore, faecal egg counts are not necessarily a good indicator of infection, as they cannot distinguish between the species. Coccidiosis is a disease of young lambs, usually from 3-8 weeks of age.
If you cannot get veterinary help you can give the animal a home treatment of rehydration fluid. To make rehydration fluid mix six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt with 1 litre of clean, warm water. Give this as a drench (500 ml for sheep or goats) four times a day for 3 days.
It usually affects strong lambs under the age of 2 weeks. Symptoms include sudden death, listlessness, recumbency, abdominal pain, and a fetid diarrhea that may be blood-tinged. On post-mortem, intestines show severe inflammation, ulcers, and necrosis.
Diarrhoea can also be caused by coccidiosis. This is mainly an issue where lambs are run under crowded conditions, particularly if there is water lying around. Good immunity usually develops after exposure, which is why adult sheep are less likely to be affected.
Once a sheep has worms, the most efficient way to get rid of them is to give an effective drench. Usually, this means a combination drench that has at least three different active ingredients, or one of the newer generation drenches, such as Startect or Zolvix.
A lamb requires 10-15 % of their body weight in milk. For example a newborn 4kg lamb needs 400 ml-600 ml total of milk, split into 6 feeds of 75-100 ml. As the lamb grows, the amount of milk can be gradually increased. 1 litre daily split into 3-4 feeds should suit most lambs over 3 weeks old.
Scours in lambs is a dark green to black colour with a very pungent smell. While the cause is often a bacteria such as E Coli, Cryptosporidium or Coccidiosis, another common cause is when a lamb is introduced to new milk. This could include the change from colostrum to powdered milk or from Mum's milk to powdered milk.
The most common symptom of the disease is blood or mucus in chicken droppings. However, reddish chicken droppings aren't always an indicator of coccidiosis. Chicken droppings may also appear brownish red in color due to the normal shedding of cecal cells.
A typical sign of a worm problem is unthrifty sheep. An unthrifty sheep is one that is not eating properly, is losing condition, tends to lag behind the mob when moved and, in severe cases, is clearly weak. A worm problem often (but not always) results in sheep scouring and becoming daggy.
Lambs prefer less volume of milk in more feeds during the day as it is closer to their natural suckling behaviour. If feeding using multi lamb feeders or bottles be prepared to feed lambs 3-4 times a day (depending on your system and age of lambs).
Newborn lambs need to be fed every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks of life (the night feeds can be stretched to 4 or 5 hours) and then every 4 hours for the next few weeks, depending on how well they are doing.
Liver disorders
Disorders of the liver, such as cirrhosis and hepatitis, can lower or eliminate bile salts in the body. Bile salts are essential for the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. The removal of these salts can result in yellow stools.
Problems with your liver or gallbladder
If your liver or gallbladder are having trouble making bile or if the bile is blocked from getting out, your stool may have a pale or yellowish color and your poop may be diarrhea at times.
Clinically, yellow lamb disease is characterized by depression, anemia, icterus and hemoglobinuria. Occasionally, sudden death may occur. Gross findings include generalized icterus, red urine in the bladder, enlarged, pale, and friable spleen, enlarged liver with an acinar pattern, and dark, swollen kidneys.