Why do newborn lambs cause convulsions?

“Convulsion” in newborn lambs is a nutritional metabolic disorder. It usually occurs in the peak season of lambing every year, and lambs from birth to 10 days old can be affected, especially lambs from 3 to 7 days old, and the lambs above 10 days old show sporadic disease.

Causes of disease

1. Malnutrition: When the ewes are malnourished during pregnancy, the lack of vitamins, minerals and trace elements cannot meet the needs of fetal growth and development, resulting in congenital dysplasia of newborn lambs. After birth, newborn lambs endocrine disorders, metabolism Disorder and neurological “convulsion” symptoms appear.

2. Lack of milk: the ewes produce little or no milk; the ewes are not strong or suffer from mastitis; the physique of the newborn lambs is too weak to suck on their own, so that the colostrum cannot be eaten in time, and the newborn lambs will not be able to grow. Nutrients needed for development, thereby causing disease.

3. Suffering from chronic diseases: If the pregnant ewes suffer from chronic fore-gastric diseases for a long time, it will affect the synthesis of vitamin B family in the body, resulting in the lack of vitamin B in the ewes during pregnancy, which is also the main cause of this disease.

Clinical symptoms

Clinically, it is mainly characterized by neurological symptoms.

Newborn lambs have a sudden onset, head backwards, body spasms, teeth grinding, foaming at the mouth, empty throat, trismus, head shaking, blinking, body sitting back, ataxia, often falling to the ground and convulsing, four The hoofs are kicked in disorder, the mouth temperature is increased, the tongue is dark red, the conjunctiva is dendritic congestion, the breathing and heartbeat are fast, and the symptoms last for 3 to 5 minutes. After the symptoms of nervous excitement, the sick lamb was sweating all over, tired and weak, depressed, lying on the ground with his head down, often lying in the dark, slow breathing and heartbeat, repeated at intervals of ten minutes to half an hour or more attack.

In the later stage, due to the shortening of the paroxysmal interval, the prolongation of the attack time, the endocrine disorder, the extreme metabolic disorder in the body, the excessive energy consumption, the excessive air swallowing, the rapid expansion of the stomach and the death of suffocation. The course of the disease is generally 1 to 3 days.

Treatment method

1. Sedative and antispasmodic: In order to keep the lamb quiet, relieve the metabolic disorder of the body and cerebral hypoxia, and inhibit the further development of the disease, sedatives should be used as soon as possible. An injection of diazepam can be selected, with a dose of 1 to 7 mg per kilogram of body weight each time, intramuscular injection. Chlorpromazine hydrochloride injection can also be used, the dosage is calculated at a dose of 1 mg per kilogram of body weight, intramuscular injection. 

It can also be blocked with 1-2 mL of 0.25% procaine at the Tianmen point of the lamb (behind the midpoint of the line connecting the two corners).

2. Supplement vitamin B complex: Use vitamin B complex injection, 0.5 ml each time, to intramuscularly inject the sick sheep, 2 times a day.

3. Supplementary calcium preparations: calcium fructonate injection, 1-2 ml each time, intramuscular injection; or Shenmai injection, 1-2 ml each time, intramuscular injection. Use 10% calcium gluconate injection, 10 to 15 ml each time, intravenously to the sick sheep, 2 times a day.

4. Traditional Chinese medicine formula: It is composed of 10 grams each of Cicada, Uncaria, Gardenia, Fried Zaoren, Hangbaishao, Qingdai, Fangfeng, Coptidis, Mother of Pearl and Licorice. Decoction in water, it can be taken once a day or every other day for 4 weeks. Has the effect of preventing the recurrence of convulsions.