The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: TheSmilingSheep on April 26, 2014, 06:25:35 pm
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Forgive me if already covered, but one of our lambs, only 2 weeks old, still has his umbilical cord hanging down. He was 'iodined' twice, just after birth and about four hours later. The cord is currently clearly 'wet' (although we haven't caught him to inspect whether it's actually wet at his navel. The lamb seems well and happy, though.
So, do I just leave him to it, and let nature do its own thing, or should I be intervening in some way.....
All suggestions, as ever, hugely welcome.
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If he's on wet grass it could take a while to dry up. What we've done, successfully, in the past is tied a small ligature (OK, piece of heavy duty cotton thread) about 1.5 cm from the body, and re-iodined. Some seem to come out with very thick umbilical cords and this is what we do for them, too.
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Thanks Marches, will try to catch him (ha ha - pesky lambs) tomorrow.
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Yes, I was going to suggest the same, I tend to use one strand from a bit of baler twine (dipped in iodine) just ecause there is always some handy.