Smitten

Is it okay to admit it? Okay ...I am smitten with Katie. She is a little delight. He little friend Noah, who she paired up with a few weeks back, has been sick and is being treated in my basement. Noah had a bad case of coccidia which knocked him down fast. After over a week of treatment, I am seeing him show signs of recovery.

Coccidia is a protozoa that lives in the intestinal tract of many animals. It can come on fast,especially in lambs, and damage the intestinal lining resulting in improper or reduced absorption of nutrients and weight loss. The first thing I noticed in Noah was weight loss. I ran a fecal on him and wormed him for Haemonchus Contortus....I missed the coccidi....

Within a few days he started severe diarrhea. It is labor intensive and stressful to deal with a sick lamb. Keeping him clean was the worst.

This morning his little eyes were bright and his "baaa" not so weak. I will take him outside in a bit to enjoy some fresh air and then run another fecal. I cannot stress enough the importance of fecals. If you know what your animals have you can treat them correctly. I know Noah had another type of worm, which I treated him for, but I missed the coccidia.

We live and learn I guess ...fortunately this outcome should be good. I cannot wait to put Noah back in with Katie, she seems so lost without him.