[Jacob-list] fly strike

[Sharon Hill]

There was talk a while back about whether or not to
dock tails to avoid fly strike.  I stopped docking a
few years ago, so I have examples of both docked and
undocked tails in my flock.  Today I discovered my
first case of fly strike ever, and it is in a ewe with
a docked tail.  Strangely enough, it was right at the
base of the tail, almost on her back.  Seems it had
nothing to do with the tail at all, so I guess  this
experience proves absolutely nothing about the tail
docking issue.  But I guess it does show that fly
strike can happen in other areas.

I also wanted to mention an observation I have made
about horns in a couple of my sheep.  They were 4
horned, but the laterals were never firmly attached to
the skull and they fell off in early lambhood.  It was
my understanding that those would be scurs.  Now, a
year later, the laterals have grown in again, and
firmly this time, but they are only about 1 inch long.
 One of the sheep is a ewe, the other a wether.  Does
anyone know what this means?  Are they scurs or not? I
didn't plan to breed the ewe because of this, but if
they are not scurs, would it be ok to breed her?  I
don't want to pass on the scur gene if it is there.


Any advice would be appreciated.

Sharon Hill


       
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