How a Stockezy Ewe Cradle Saved My Sheep Ignatia's Life: Anne Meyer's Inspiring Story
- Stock Ezy
- Mar 26
- 2 min read
Introduction
Hi there. We met yesterday at Fieldays. I told you about my ewe Ignatia who became paralysed but over the space of a week recovered after spending time in the cradle each day.
The Incident
Ignatia is a 5-year-old black nose Valais cross sheep. On a Monday I had her and 60 other sheep in the shed for "foot spa day". If you have Valais you know about feet!
Over the course of the day, all the sheep moved through the process, but Ignatia stayed sitting at the back. I didn't think much of it until she got to be the last in the queue and wouldn't come forward. At this stage I realized that Ignatia was completely paralysed. She had absolutely no tone in her legs and could not use them.
Multiple theories were thrown around by the vet and I as to what had happened.
Ignatia was still happy and bright and did not seem in pain or unwell in any way. She was eating and drinking well so I decided to give her the best chance.
First Steps in the Cradle
Tuesday morning was her first day in the cradle. Lifting a close to 60kg sheep who has absolutely no use of her body into the cradle was a visual masterpiece I'm sure! I started with half an hour in the cradle. She had snacks and I massaged her legs which would curl under into a knuckle position unless I straightened them. That evening, I again got her into the cradle. And worked on her legs.
Wednesday - back in the cradle again for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.
Signs of Recovery
By Thursday I could see that her legs were no longer knuckling and she was always in a different place from where I had left her in the shed, so she was making some attempt at moving. She still could not bear weight though.
The vet was due back Friday afternoon so Friday morning when I got Ignatia into the cradle, I optimistically lowered the cradle from underneath her expecting her to collapse down like she had every time. This time though she remained standing! It was wobbly and unsure, but it was a dramatic turnaround from earlier that week.
A Happy Ending
By the vet’s arrival that afternoon, Ignatia was managing small walks within the yards. By the next day she was not collapsing at all, and now a week later the only way to tell her apart from the rest of the flock is the pink raddle down her back.
Conclusion
I honestly believe that the cradle bought her the time she needed to recover from whatever had caused the injury. A sheep down for a week would have gone into organ failure and become very unwell. Being able to get her upright twice a day saved her life!
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