infected umbilical cord

[adnilee]

We have a lamb that was born in February that has a slight infection where the umbilical cord would join the body. The cord is completely gone. He seems fine otherwise, except for having to be bottle fed to supplement the ewes lack of milk. His cord was spurting blood when born and my wife tied it off. Later that day, part of the cord had dropped off (including where it was tied). It was not bleeding any more, so I cut it to about 1 1/2 inches and sprayed it with Iodine.
Somehow he lost the rest of the cord and now has this infection. We have been spraying the infected area with iodine twice a day. I have penacillin (Pen-G) but not the long acting kind. Would it be necessary to treat him daily with penacillin, or will the iodine eventually kill the infection?

How much of a dose of Pen-G should I give? The bottle dosage is 1ml/100lbs. He only weights about 15 lbs.

Thanks,

Adrian

[Ronney]

Hi Adrian,
Continue with the Iodine and give the lamb 0.5ml of Pen once a day for 3 days. That should clear up any residual infection.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Ross]

Agreed but I'd treat for 3 more days after the infection is cleared up.

[animal_kingdom]

I would like to know if you are treating it with 7% iodine. I know it's strong but it dries up the cords in less than a day.

I use that on my sheep and goats and they are fine about it.

The "gentle iodine" (is that 3%) isn't quite as effective.

My suggestion is to take a dixie cup, cut it in half. Put some 7% iodine in it and put it up against the infected area. Tip the baby back while holding the cup against. Then tip forward, remove the cup. This takes over a nice area and dries things nicely. Then keep on with your penicillan as suggested.

This is how we do the embilical cords at birth.

[Ronney]

Ross, I always get a bit of a giggle out of this type of post. The reason I said 3 days is because over here we are moving away from the overuse of drugs in animals - and it is at the behest of our European and American buyers who seem to have no compunction whatsover about using twice as much as is probably needed in their own animals

The other reason to minimise the use of penicillan is the ever growing resistance to it, both in humans and livestock. That isn't to say that it shouldn't be used at all but to make sure that it's necessary in the first place and no more is administered than is necessary to kill the infection. I no longer give it as a preventative measure, the exception being when I have had to lamb a ewe. I'm not putting anybody down or denigrating other's farming practices but perhaps helping to make people look ahead to the future. Penicillan is still the "wonder drug" and with nothing else in the offing, it would be good to keep it that way.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Ross]

Under use is just as bad or worse.

[Ronney]

Overuse or underuse - both are bad. It's correct use that's important.

[animal_kingdom]

I'm not a big penicillan user. Here's why...
I have alot of children. Everytime they get sick, someone always wants me to rush them to the doctor and get some penicillan.

Quite a few years back, Daughter #1 got very very sick. It warranted a doctor. I took her and since the pharmacy was closed, the doctor gave me a penicillan pill for her and a prescription for more. By morning, she was well on the way to recovery. I did not give her any more.

Then a year down the road or more, Daughter #6 (was about 3-4 years old at the time) was sick with a bad cold. I was concerned with infection and her body didn't seem to be fighting it too well as far as I could see. Took her to the doctor, he gave her penicillan and after she got well, she had lumps in her neck. Her lymph glands shut down once the penicillan got into her body. I was told by the doctor that when an anti-biotic enters the body, usually the lymphs shut down- go to sleep- because they don't have to do anywork since the anitbiotic takes over. To this day (she is now 10 yo) they have never re-functioned. This all caused for alarm and we had blood tests run, and this and that test done. One doctor wanted to cut them out since they weren't being used, another said to let it go.

Daugter #6 probably had penicillan/anti-biotics maybe one time before that in her life.

So now with my children and animals, I try to wait out the worst and typically it gets under control on it's own.

Don't want to start with anyone getting worked up about the practice. I do not neglect my animals. I've had breeders and vets commend me on my animals. There always is the occasional problem that warrants usage of antibiotics but it is rare. A well managed animal most of the time will heal on it's own. I do believe in medicines.

As far as my children are concerned, after about a year cycle of almost no medicine and an excellent diet, the most they get is a 3-4 day cold. I believe their bodies have had the opportunity to strengthen itself on its own.

Mama