Wednesday 27th September 2017
Sorrel and her weight!
Sorrel is rather skinny at the moment, or rather Sorrel is STILL rather skinny at the moment. She has always been thin from the day we got her but in the last few weeks or so we have been a bit more concerned. There have been times when we have seen she has put on a bit but then it slips. The last full herd worm count revealed a bit of a burden which we treated but since then, she seems to have remained just as skinny.
And so we called the vet out. It was Sam, not Rachel and whilst Rachel has seen Sorrel before and assessed her condition, in a way a fresh look by a different vet was a good idea! The bad news is that Sorrel’s worm burden was up again which may account for her being thin still BUT as she has only had a burden these last few weeks, this cannot totally account for her overall skinniness. Sam listened to her rumen and whilst it was working she said it did sound a bit 'fluidy'!!
The rumen is in essence quite a simple but very clever organ, it partly digests food and then allows it to be returned to the mouth for a bit more chewing (chewing the cud). It is full of good bacteria that enable the digestion and this bacteria needs to be kept very busy in order to function and multiply. If a ruminant animal does not eat for a while and the rumen becomes emptier, the bacteria will die which is a dangerous position for the animal to be in.
The rumen is lined with small fingerlike papillae, which increase the absorptive surface of the rumen and as Sorrels' poo is 'pats', not hard pellets, the suggestion is that not enough liquid is being absorbed and it is thus being passed out within the poo. This also ties in with Sorrel drinking a lot which is something we have observed for a while.
Sam thinks that Sorrel’s rumen may have some damage (from a previous high burden with a previous owner) and as such her papillae may be shortened and not able to do their job properly.
Without opening her up, this cannot however be proved.
The plan is to slightly reduce Sorrel’s hard feed as much does seem to be passing straight through her, and so leaving her to eat more hay (fibre). We are also going to give her some pro-rumen, which is a high mineral drench designed to really get the bacteria going again. In a week or so we will then see where we are at.
In herself, Sorrel is bright, alert, inquisitive and very happy to eat!! Her kids are VERY healthy which hopefully indicates that whatever is wrong, is specific to her!!!
Fingers crossed….
The rumen is in essence quite a simple but very clever organ, it partly digests food and then allows it to be returned to the mouth for a bit more chewing (chewing the cud). It is full of good bacteria that enable the digestion and this bacteria needs to be kept very busy in order to function and multiply. If a ruminant animal does not eat for a while and the rumen becomes emptier, the bacteria will die which is a dangerous position for the animal to be in.
The rumen is lined with small fingerlike papillae, which increase the absorptive surface of the rumen and as Sorrels' poo is 'pats', not hard pellets, the suggestion is that not enough liquid is being absorbed and it is thus being passed out within the poo. This also ties in with Sorrel drinking a lot which is something we have observed for a while.
Sam thinks that Sorrel’s rumen may have some damage (from a previous high burden with a previous owner) and as such her papillae may be shortened and not able to do their job properly.
Without opening her up, this cannot however be proved.
The plan is to slightly reduce Sorrel’s hard feed as much does seem to be passing straight through her, and so leaving her to eat more hay (fibre). We are also going to give her some pro-rumen, which is a high mineral drench designed to really get the bacteria going again. In a week or so we will then see where we are at.
In herself, Sorrel is bright, alert, inquisitive and very happy to eat!! Her kids are VERY healthy which hopefully indicates that whatever is wrong, is specific to her!!!
Fingers crossed….