🫎 MOOSE UPDATE 🐑

A while back, it was looking like many of the Bluenosers (who came to live at the sanctuary just before Christmas) were pregnant! Their symptoms came on fast, but their checks were inconclusive.

Not knowing the pregnancy status of new intakes is pretty common. We always keep a close eye during the first 5 months for signs of pregnancy. After all, Gracie, a very sweet, peaceful gal, arrived at the sanctuary still inside her mom, Betty, and was waiting to be born!

However, given the time that has passed, we can safely say that none of the Bluenosers are pregnant. It’s suspected that they were, and lost their lambs, but we’ll never know for sure.

Moose, one of the Bluenosers, has continued to struggle with dribbling urine (a common symptom of urinary incontinence). While we’re still waiting on some test results, the vet found possible nerve damage today, including a lack of feeling in the lower parts of Moose’s tail.

Nerve damage, which can happen while giving birth, isn’t surprising, given her age, where she came from, and the fact that nothing else has helped so far.

In fact, this specific combination of tail numbness and urine dribbling points to a chronic injury of the sacral spinal nerves.

During a hard birth, a large lamb can put immense, prolonged pressure on the mother’s pelvic canal. This squashes the nerves that control the tail and bladder.

If Moose does have a chronic injury to her nerves, she’ll continue to require washing the dribbles off her each day and applying a barrier cream to prevent urine scald.

For Moose’s sake, I hope that’s not the case, but if it is, we’ll at least be able to keep her clean, dry, and scald-free.