Lamb loosing fleece.

[Bev]

One of my southdown cross lambs 6 months old is loosing patches of fleece. It started with her ears, I thought at first she was rubbing the fleece out sticking her head through something, then it started on her back and shoulders, the under fleece is coming out. On inspection the skin looks fine, not sore, no fly strike, just lumps of fleece coming out. I sprayed her bald spots with antiseptic and have injected her with dectomax. She appears perfectly well, good body weight and the other sheep running with her show no signs at all. Any ideas? I thought scab, but as I say skin looks perfectly healthy.

 

[Captain Mainwaring]

Sometimes if the animal has been stressed for some reason the wool fibres can weaken or break. A while later, when the fleece has grown again, these areas of the fleece begin to fall off. Could it be that?

 

[Man_in_black]

Haven't gone and purchased one of them 'goat' sheep everyone on about?!

 

[Bev]

Sometimes if the animal has been stressed for some reason the wool fibres can weaken or break. A while later, when the fleece has grown again, these areas of the fleece begin to fall off. Could it be that?

I don't think so, she has bald spots where the fleece has come away, no sign of regrowth.

 

[spin cycle]

Haven't gone and purchased one of them 'goat' sheep everyone on about?!

easy....or i'll have to raise a posse

 

[norfolk n sheep]

Sounds like photosensitation, basicly sunburn. It is triggered by certain pousinous plants. We have a few every year, their ears get badly burnt and scab over, their wool falls out, but does regrow. None of these lambs have died and they all recover to be sold fat. Only problem can be finding enough ear left to put a tag in

 

[GTB]

Sometimes if the animal has been stressed for some reason the wool fibres can weaken or break. A while later, when the fleece has grown again, these areas of the fleece begin to fall off. Could it be that?

Sounds like photosensitation, basicly sunburn. It is triggered by certain pousinous plants. We have a few every year, their ears get badly burnt and scab over, their wool falls out, but does regrow. None of these lambs have died and they all recover to be sold fat. Only problem can be finding enough ear left to put a tag in

I'd go with one of the above. I doubt it's scab tbh. With scab they tend to get a dirty patch behind the ears where they scratch themselves with their hind feet. Only after a lot of scratching does it become a bare patch and by then there's often slight damage to the skin.

 

[taff]

We get this a bit each year maybe 2 in 400 ewes and the odd lamb. When I first saw a it few years ago I took it into the vets and they came back with photo.....as above! But they weren't really sure so I put it to the forum this year and the only other thing that came up was lumpy wool but iam sticking to photo.... As it tick more boxes for that I usually shear them of when it re grows in a month or two but it may be to cold for that with you then cull it because some ewes seem more susceptible than others but that's just my personal approach. Someone did mention washing the sheep in disinfectant but I think that was more for lumpy wool iv never tried it usually just give them a dose of fly stuff to keep the flys away below are some pics of one I had this year..

 

[taff]

sorry try these

 

[flockeye]

Sounds like photosensitation, basicly sunburn. It is triggered by certain pousinous plants. We have a few every year, their ears get badly burnt and scab over, their wool falls out, but does regrow. None of these lambs have died and they all recover to be sold fat. Only problem can be finding enough ear left to put a tag in

I think your spot on.

 

[taff]

And this

 

[matthew]

I think your spot on.

We had one store lamb like that a couple of years ago. Affected its eyes too, as in swollen and it couldn't see. We put it down to eating something nasty like bog asphodel, which causes these photosensitivty problems. The group had broken into some woodland.
The lamb spent the next weeks in a pen inside, out of the sun, eating pulled grass and silage. If we turned it out, the same problems reoccurred. It sold well in the end

 

[IH 684]

Sheep do seem to get into a bad habit of rubbing. I have a tup that was rubbing again nothing apparent, put him into a paddock where he couldn't rub wool quickly grew back, two days ago put him into another field where the bale sledge is parked, within an hour he was rubbing against it,