The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: EP90 on March 29, 2014, 05:40:49 pm
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I picked up four orphan lambs last night, one of them has a closed, gunky eye. Parting the eyelids does not seem to make a difference as the lids close again. On searching the forum I think it is entropion. Is there anything else I can do apart from bathing it and opening the lids? It’s a trip to the vet on Monday but he looks so miserable I feel I should be doing something more.
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I found that holding the lamb very still every few hours through the day and wiping gently along the inner bottom lid with a small piece of cottonwool, just inside the eyelashes, worked in a day or two. If there's a lot of gunk there may be an infection which will need eyedrop treatment.
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keep gently turning the lid back out by placing gentle downward pressure on the skin below the eyelid. If its bad or not resolved by monday then the lid may need injected or a clip appiled to keep it out
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This is what your lamb may look like if the eyelids are injected :o . Don't worry, she is fine now and bouncing around the field ;D .
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You can sometimes avoid the need for an injection by pinching the eyelid so that it bruises slightly and puffs up - just enough to stop the eyelid turning in again. (All the injection does is swell the lower lid to do exactly the same thing, using either a saline solution or, if there's already some infection, an antibiotic solution.)
If the cornea is already scratched then some soothing cream will help him feel more comfortable. Orbenin is the one usually recommended for entropion, but if you want to give him something soothing before the shops open on Monday, then I guess any eye ointment would help - Optrix, Bob Martin's, whatever you've got!
There are also some things called Michel clips to hold the eyelid open, but I have only heard about them (they are mentioned in some of the Eblex literature too), never seen any nor know where to buy them.
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Thanks for the input. Things are a bit better today, bathing and opening the eye may be helping. ‘Gunkiness’ and eye closed first thing in the morning after a nights sleeping. Rest of the day the eye stays open and only slight discharge, so I’m thinking an irritation or infection. I’ll try using eye ointment then the vets tomorrow, hopefully avoiding Bramblecot’s experience, even though the outcome was good.
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EP90
The first time I saw it done, I had a bit of a shock - just didn't think it would bleed much (doh!). The lambs are fine afterwards and it does work. The ulcers are probably more painful :'(
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ive always used aureomycin eye powder usually does the trick. part the lids and squeeze a bit onto the eye then close and give a gentle rub it looks messy for a couple of days as it turns the gunk green but not often more than one dose is required.