The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: trawscoed on February 23, 2017, 08:46:51 pm
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I have a ewe with staggers. I treated her last night but she was on her side again this morning but this time one eye had been pecked by birds. In spite of this The ewe has perked up a lot, when I left them this evening she seemed much better.
What should I do about the eye? Can a ewe deal with one eye? I could give her antibiotics and will do but is it cruel to expect her to cope with a pecked eye? WIll it need surgery even?!
Have searched the forums but not read much about lost eyes.
Thanks all
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VET
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Immediately.
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Vet. Followed by Larsen trap. Got any pics? Tweet cwis packham.
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Yes, she will adapt to one eye in a few weeks. The same happened to a ewe of mine and she reared several more sets of twins.
Urgently she needs antiBs, pain killers, and for the eye to be covered. Use vaseline gauze or similar which will not stick badly, then thick padding, held in place with a conforming bandage (vet has them). In the case of my ewe, the eye eventually dried up and disappeared, but the socket stayed open. This is a route directly to the brain so potentially dangerous.
When this happened to my ewe, F & M had just been declared and we were cut off by massive snowdrifts. The vet gave me instructions over the phone and I had most of the stuff needed in my first aid boxes - sheep and human. My ewe was in obvious pain, grunting and grinding her teeth, but as soon as the eye was covered she was more comfortable. I stayed and cuddled her for ages. Initially she kept bumping into things which were on that side of her, hence the thick padding, but she soon learnt. I kept her indoors (well, in a horse box outside) until she was past the worst. The other sheep would come and visit her so she had company.
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How is your ewe [member=113268]trawscoed[/member] ?