Lamb umbilical cords

[NancyO]

Here's a question for all you lucky people who live where your sheep are.

 

How long does it take for an umbilical cord to dry?

 

I don't live where my sheep are kept and am trying to get an idea of how many hours old the lambs are that I find born when I get down to my field. In the winter I normally leave the field around 5pm and return around 1:30pm the next day. Sometimes when I return I find new lambs with dried umbilical cords and sometimes the cords are still wet, sometimes the lambs are still damp. I rarely see lambs born.

 

So I was wondering how long it takes for umbilical cords to dry, so I can have an idea of about when the lambs were born.

 

Nancy O

[Bill Fosher]

Hi Nancy,

 

How long does it take a pair of socks to dry?

 

Depends on whether they're wool, cotton, or acrylic, whether it's warm or cold, humid or dry, whether they're wadded up or hanging on a line, and how wet they were in the first place.

 

With lambs, every one is different. I think if you come across a lamb with a fully shriveled umbilical cord, you can safely say that it is at least 18 hours old, and could be as much as 36 hours.

 

If the mother is properly attentive, a damp lamb is probably less than 8 hours old. But again, this will depend on the type of coat and weather conditions as well.

[NancyO]

Bill,

 

thanks for the response, hopefully none of the lambs are of the cotton or acrylic type!

 

Know that it depends on the weather conditons etc, but was just curious about it.

 

Nancy O

[kajarrel]

Hi Nancy,

I've never really paid attention to how long it takes for the cords to dry so I really didn't know when I first read your message. This a.m. I had a set of twins and this evening, about 8 hours later, their wool is slightly damp (at least the second born's is) and both cords are damp. The mother did a pretty good job of cleaning them up, and it was sunny, warm and breezy (for a change).

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kim

[Eileen Stein]

I don't know, because if I wasn't there when they were born I'm in the same boat you are, and if I was there, I dipped them in iodine which dries them up fast.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

In a healthy lamb I judge by the feet. They come born with a little membrane that dries up within the first hour and then gets worn off after the first couple of times they are up. Then the feet themselves harden up when they've been on them several times. If their feet look and feel "normal" they have probably been up and fed at least couple times, which is more important to me than how old they are exactly.

 

Regardless of whether the cord is dry, I still dip. Even though what we see is dry, it's still susceptible to germs up near the body for a long time. I had one case of navel ill last year in a lamb that was born and got seperated from mom, and wandered around for hours dragging its cord - ick.