The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: kanisha on April 26, 2016, 06:01:11 pm
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Have a lamb with sore eyes; had a look and there doesn't appear to be an obvious entropian but the eylashes do curl towards the eye rather than away fom it. Apart from injecting liq parrafin are there any other home remedies to try, it seems to be mild thanks
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I once had a lamb with a similar problem and very gently drew the upper eyelid down over a clean tissue every couple of hours for a day. Seemed to do the trick.
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thanks, already looks better than earlier on shall continue.
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If mild in turning of eyelashes, pulling the eyelid the right way out, and giving a firm pinch at right angles to the edge of the eyelid, firm enough to crease the skin, can sometimes be enough to stop the eyelashes trying to turn in.
Injecting betamox or your vets preferred long acting amoxycillin into the lower eyelid, up to about 0.5ml per eye, until the eyelashes point outwards on the bulging skin is my preferred option for treating entropion as a vet. It physically turns the eyelid outwards and provides antibiotic to potentially secondarily infected eyes.
I've never heard of injecting liquid paraffin but that can be irritating to certain tissues so I would suggest against that around eyes.
An alternative is Michel clips, which are applied with special forceps and pull the eyelid out, you would need to be shown how to do this, and probably not worth it for one lamb.
If it is sore but you can't see how the eyelashes would actually be rubbing the eye, it could be an infection such as pink eye which will need medication from your vet.
Either way, if in doubt, ask your vet as eyes can go downhill quickly if the problem is not adressed as the front of the eye is thin and repeated irritation or deep infection can cause blindness or ruptured eyeballs.
Hope this helps and your wee one is sorted soon.
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fsmnutter, do you have to get Michel clips through a vet? I've been using the same set of strips of them for about 10 years now, thankfully only used four clips this year, but the end of my supply is in sight.
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I'll be honest I haven't looked, but I would have thought you could buy through the feed stores, mole valley etc. I'd have thought they'd be classed like rubber castration/docking rings and as long as you know how to use them you don't need a vet.
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thanks for the replies shes back to her usual self this morning was looking quite subdued yesterday and the eyes look good. Will continue to keep a check on things and make sure the lids don't roll in. Liq paraffin was my old bosses tried and tested approach for lambs with entropian. I started training as a vet nurse in 1984 .... maybe things have moved on a bit since then :D