[Jacob-list] broken horn

[Higgins]

Heel low:

Kathey <ACAMDA at aol.com> wrote:

Questions:
1)  Are there other options for stopping the bleeding?   I sent a search
party out for a styptic pencil, but hubby lost his years ago.

I agree with all that others have written to you...adding that I have
used just plain ol' household wheat flour in emergencies to stop
bleeding on nails of dogs, birds and would use flour if nothing else was
available like blood stop powder.  The key here is not to disturb the
clot once it is formed.  Does anyone know why the blood stop powder is
not recommended on humans...this one note on the bottle has me worried
that something in the product is not good for us humans and admit to
have gotten some on me on occassion!  8-p

2)  What is the best way to restrain these guys when they need medical
attention.  We tried holding legs up, then putting him on his side, but
he was  always one wiggle away from getting free.  I hesitate to use too
much force as I  don't want him to die from stress while I'm trying to
save him!

With the lambs, I am a big enough person I just pin them by standing
over them (it really is amazing what medications and whatnots one can
balance in your pockets--remember not to lean over too far!  I also
appreciate having a few "shelves" or window ledges in the barn to prop
meds on) or I do as that other poster said, balance the baby over my
knees with back and front legs dangling.  I try never to be in a hurry
or get too excited...sometimes just taking a stop and a measured breath
does wonders to make the whole operation go smoother and quicker.

For any serious, one person operations, I use an adjustable head gate
designed for sheep.  They can be gotten at certain livestock suppliers
and are really originally meant for show grooming, fitting, trimming a
sheep rather than what I end up using them for.  Tattooing and tagging
ears by yourself is magnifcently easy.  With the sheep restrained, you
can even fiddle with the tattoo digits and letters.  I suppose you could
also wash, shear, etc....if you shear a sheep standing up that is!

Once your sheep get use to you handling them more, you will find them
alot easier to work with.  Even a young lamb will be alot easier to
handle if their mother is use to you going over them..."If Mom says this
is OK, I'm fine with it too."  I only need to use a rope halter to wash
my sheep, they readily stand quietly in the water trough as I wash
them.  I found that if you are able, introducing them first to a nice
time is best, I have put all the sheep in the head gate and then fed
them a nibble of grain from a rubber pan, then let them go.  Training
sheep to come to a pan of grain is fabulously helpful!  There is one ewe
here that practically walks right up to the head gate when I bring it
out, and puts her head in it, "Grain Please!"  VBG  I make sure and stop
whatever procedures I am doing, and give them a rest and/or taste of
some grain...it makes it a lot nicer for both parties.

3)  Do I need to do anything else?  Is there a risk of infection?  He
probably won't let me within a mile of him, but I could try.

When one falls off the horse...

I use a product off label called "Swat" (nfi).  It is a equine or horse
product.  It is pink and is a jar of paste (again, not suppose to put it
on humans) and while it heals, it also has a fly killing
component...sorry, it is out in the barn right now, so cannot retrieve
info off it.  I have not yet had to use it prior, but did last week when
a ewe bumped a horn and some blood was expressed.  I was concerned about
fly strike, so applied a liberal amount of the pink goop (after a little
swab of alcohol to make sure I was not sealing in bacteria on the wound)
and so far, so good, no yucky strike yet.  Her lambs from last year have
a bit of pink on their sides, so must be still nuzzling up to her and
got some on themselves.

My vet likes to keep wounds like lost horns open and not too covered up
so that it can dry out and heal up--he likes to disinfect but then apply
something like polysporin (nfi) for a short bit...fly season tho
warrants that you should put some kind of anti-fly repellant on the
animal to prevent fly strike.  Anyone here ever try using "anti-pick"
poulty compound?  That red stuff you use on say a chicken who is wounded
and the others pick at?  I wonder if that might also work on a horn
wound if Swat could not be found.  A mix of Vaseline (nfi) and a
non-wound irritant fly repellant might also be figured out--at least
some substance to seal out the landing flies?

You definately are going to have knocked off horns if you have Jacobs,
even the ancient Park Sheep ones musta occassionally tangled with the
trees and come out the loser.  Why be perfectly aligned when you can be
war marred, battle scarred, and "interesting."  At least, "genetically"
they were a balanced set...environmentally is another story...hee hee.

4)  Since the outer horn was broken off, but some type of inner horn (my
terminology) remains, is there a chance it will grow back since he's
only 3 months old?

Agree with others here, if there is a core left, he should grow in a
horn again.  I kinda expect the lambs to bump, wiggle, and lose horns.
Even up to about a year of age, I just hold my breath and hope they do
not bang those tender horns and cause trouble for themselves and I.  I
think the more handling you do with your Jacobs, the tamer and less
likely to spook they become.  Then you will not frighten them into doing
something extreme to risk damage to their horns.  Sheep instinctually
flee when frightened...now more often than not, a Jacob likes also to
comtemplate the fight in the flight or fight equation (they have weapons
you see, the horns!) but even they succumb to the knock on the head and
hurt horn scenarios.  Jacob horns are not like a c at t's whiskers...

5)  Would the bleeding have stopped before he bled to death as the vet
said?  Sure didn't seem like it to me.

Agreed with the posts here also.  By getting yourself and him excited,
it did make more blood flow, but hey, you had to get ahold of him
sometime to inspect the damage.

I remember the first time I grabbed a Jacob lamb by the horn and held
on, I was use to handling adult Jacobs with solidly fastened horns!  The
lamb was so determined to get away, she left her horn in my hand.  I am
not easily sickened and I must say, I near hurled on that one...sigh!  I
have promised myself NEVER to do that to a lamb again, I was so
disappointed in myself.  We live, we try, we regret, we learn and we mop
up.  There is nothing like a little blood, sweat, and tears to keep us
in tune to honest reality.

Hey now, maybe this is where the term "greenhorn" came from...hee
hee...  :-D

Doggone today a keeper of sheep, someday--a shepherdess,

Tara - SIT...Shepherdess-In-Training!
--
     ____(\                Tara Lee Higgins                  /)____
    (_____~>        Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE          <~_____)
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    \                      Alberta Canada                          /
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