The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Farmboss64 on May 19, 2021, 04:23:29 am
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I got a ram the other year and most of his lambs had watery eyes when they were born and there bottom inner eyelid was flipped inside and if I left it untreated they would go blind vet said to put penicillin in their eye until is goes away wondering if this is genetics and if there is any other way to treat it because I got rid of that ram and I still had a few lambs with that problem this year
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Are the lambs any relation to the dodgy ram?
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Yes inverted eyelids can be genetic. If you think it might be the ram, don't keep any of his sons or daughters for breeding.
Before resorting to antibiotics, pinch the eyelid to bring the lashes back to where they should be. Sometimes that's enough, or you may need to do it a few times before it settles. If it isn't staying put, you can slightly bruise the eyelid as you do it, which makes it swell slightly, and sometimes that is enough. (Sounds brutal but it's a lot kinder than letting the eyelashes scratch the cornea.)
If you cannot make it stay, then the antibiotics should be injected into the inside of the lower lid with a very, very fine, tiny needle. The injection makes the lid slightly bulbous, which helps to keep the lashes outward. I used to take the lambs to the vet to do it as it was rare for us that pinching didn't work, but the vet was happy to dispense needles and antibiotics for us to do it ourselves if we wanted.
Any tendency to inverted eyelids will be exacerbated by any dehydration. So make sure that any such lambs are feeding well, and be prepared to top them up if not.
In my experience, this problem is particularly prevalent in Texel sheep. From posts on this forum, it may also be an issue in Ryelands. Personally, I have never had this problem with any Shetlands or Manx sheep.
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Any tendency to inverted eyelids will be exacerbated by any dehydration.
Hmmm, we had a lamb in a bad way a few weeks ago after Mum developed mastitis. She also had an inverted eyelid, which I couldn't make sense of at the time, but yes, I'm sure she will have been severely dehydrated.
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Ok I tried talking to a sheep specialist and he knew absolutely nothing hope this helps
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Yes genetic ,if your ewes are carriers then a ram with the gene will cause problems , if you keep a record then i bet the same ewes will have entroplan lambs ,DO not keep any offspring that show entropia or their twin even if clear . Culling can stop entropia i know because iv'e done it but short term get the vet to show you how to inject the eyelid
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Just injected the eyelid with penicillin by myself worked pretty good lamb is almost back to normal now