The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Bionic on April 20, 2014, 12:03:36 pm
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I had 2 lambs this year with entropian. The vet injected them both last Wed, put some cream in their eyes afterwards and gave us some cream to come home with.
He said to do their eyes in 2 days time. So we did them on Friday.
They are both looking great (its amazing just how quickly it can be corrected)
Q. I have some cream left - should I do them with it again or just leave them now?
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I'd say leave it if they're doing well. If they get worse, then you have cream to use again :)
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My vet said use the cream until it is finished. It is to heal/prevent ulcers, I think.
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We get the odd one with entropion. I check them all at birth now and just flick the eyelid out; do it again a couple of times and it's sorted. Never had the vet look at any of them.
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Rosemary, I was so concerned about them bonding with mum and getting some colostrum that I didn't do it straight away. Of course I wish I had done now. Still at least they both seem ok after the visit to the vet So that's the main thing :thumbsup:
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Are Ryelands particularly prone to this Sally?
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I don't know that they are particularly prone but I had 1 last year and 2 this year so perhaps I am just unlucky
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Entropion is usually blamed on the ram. However I think it is also way more likely when either/or:
- Mum's undercarriage is dirty
- lambie is a little bit dehydrated - so it's common in pet lambs just getting used to the bottle
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Entropion is usually blamed on the ram. However I think it is also way more likely when either/or:
- Mum's undercarriage is dirty
- lambie is a little bit dehydrated - so it's common in pet lambs just getting used to the bottle
Why would these things cause entropion?
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Lambie puts head under mum, who is dirty. Lambie gets gunky eye. Lambie rubs eye. Entropion and infection result.
The dehydrated one is just something I've observed. If I have a lamb struggling to get used to the bottle, so is a little dehydrated, its eyelids may turn in through not being as puffed up as they would be if it weren't hydrated. (It's the opposite to what happens when you pinch the eyelid to make it swell up to reverse entropion.) So long as they don't get infected, these ones usually self-right as soon as the lamb starts taking milk properly.
In the field I suspect that a common story is:
- lamb isn't getting enough milk and becomes a little dehydrated
- eyelid has a tendency to inturn therefore
- lamb is always trying to get under mum for milk, gets dirt around side of face, which gets in eye
- lamb appears to have entropion which is spotted by shepherd, who concludes that it is not thriving due to its entropion ;)
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Nah, ours have it in the womb. The eyelids are turned in at birth. I turn them out when I iodine the cord, then a couple more times over maybe 12 hours and that's it. It's just part of the routine. I'm now recording it to see if there's a pattern.
I've had it in lambs from all three Ryeland / Coloured Ryeland tups I've used but we had it on the farm I used to work on from Suffolk and Texel tups over Mule and Halfbred ewes.
Sorry, Bionic, I didn't mean to sound critical in my first post - was just in a hurry :)
Entropion was one of the issues flagged up by the RFBS as a possible issue for investigation in the genetics project it is funding but decided to look for the gene for fleece colour instead.
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I had it in one lamb last year from a Ryeland ewe and tup. This year I only have a Coloured Ryeland tup but the lambs with entropian were one from a Ryeland ewe and one from a Coloured Ryeland ewe.
I agree with Rosemary as it appears that these had it in the womb too.
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It happens one hell of a lot in some top ped. Charollais lines and they are neither dirty, nor dehydrated! The problem is it is easily fixed - so it gets fixed, forgiven and forgotten and everyone creates more problems for themselves and everyone else down the line. I would suggest it gets an ear mark and its eaten, keep one that didn't cause you trouble instead. You get what you keep. Keep trouble get trouble.
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???
I didn't say there was no such thing as inherited entropion. At least, I certainly didn't mean to! :)
I just said that I thought there were also other reasons a lamb might have its eyelid or eyelids turned in.
Obviously if it's turned in at birth then it's not environmental.
But I'm pretty sure that some of ours sometimes are more to do with environmental factors than genetics. We have genetic ones too, I'm pretty sure - although I'm not sure I think it's predominantly the Charollais genes, I'm pretty sure we have had a few that are in the Texel and Dutch Texel stock.
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I suddenly had to fix a lot in work one year
"weve never had this before how does it happen?" etc etc
"have you had a new ram?"
"yes - off your boss"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
(fixed at special discount rate I think) ;)
(ps never seen it in Charmoise and if I do the offender will be chopped!)