[Jacob-list] scratchy head

[dave & katrina]

I would love to hear more of what other breeders are experiencing on this topic. 

 Here is mine:  We had 4 sheep come here which had this condition (only during the hot months). They ranged in intensity from a small area in front of the horns to one ewe who almost went blind from it.  Before that point, I had never heard of it, so started to do a little checking around.  I called Penn State York extension, and they suggested it was a condition both rare breeds of horned sheep and goats have a tendency toward due to the inbreeding in the populations.  From what they had heard, they thought it was dominant and difficult to breed out at least in the goat populations.  They suggested keeping close records of which animals I noticed it in to help me predict which lines might be the most susceptable.  Due to lack of funding, they knew of no research having been done on the topic.  I thought they were helpful and practical.  Love those extension services!

Anyway, when I looked at the lines of the sheep here and also checked with other breeders, it turned out that of the 4 sheep, 3 were closely related to a ram which also had it.  The 4th was not related to the ram but was a mother to one of the 3.   It was not dominant since animals that had it seemed to produce more offspring which never developed it than ones which did.  Good news.  To me like everything with this breed, the cause seems a bit complicated.  To me it seems to be genetically linked, but have other factors that influence it.  who knows?  We ended up getting rid of 2 of the 4 sheep on our place and once I found that the offspring do not usually get it, decided to keep the other two (with lines I really value)... I am keeping/watching their lambs to see if I notice anything...nothing yet. (BTW-not suggesting people should get rid of them, just was best in this situation...it can look really gross!)  I did love that nice write-up, Kate Shirley!  Very helpful.  I am going to send it to someone who was asking me what to do who is not on the list.  Thanks.  
Katrina Lefever, 
Chicory Lane
http://wwwfac.wmdc.edu/HTMLpages/Graduate/TI/pages/lefever/chicory.htm
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: 2512 at nethawk.com 
  To: jacob-list 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 8:38 AM
  Subject: [Jacob-list] scratchy head


  We have a yearling girl who is digging at her horns with her hind legs.  She has blood and nasties all over her horn area, she is scratching it raw.  Any ideas what could cause this?  I am thinking some sort of parasite.  We wormed her with Dectomax injectable last nite, and in March she got triamosol.   We washed her head off with peroxide because it is getting infected.  I am worried about flies now.  Does any one have any advice?  I feel so bad for her and her sore head. I do have the scrapies vet coming out today, hopefully he will have an idea, but I thought maybe another Jacob breeder might of saw this before.
  Thanks!
  Bonnie

  Bonnie and Herb Sutten ~** Sheepy Thyme Farm**~Edmore, Michigan~**~
  Llamas, California Variegated Mutant Sheep &  Natural Colored Romeldales
  Jacob & Shetland Sheep, French Angora Rabbits,  ABCA Border Collies
  http://www.agdomain.com/web/sheepythyme/ ** email: sheepythyme at nethawk.com

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