[Jacob-list] stress

[Linda]

When I first heard of your problems, my first thought was that perhaps it was as much an issue of no exposure to certain parasites, bacteria, little buggies, whatever that are in your area and maybe not in Twigg's area as an inbreeding issue.  Maybe something that is active in the fall and not in May?

Your comment that the sheep seemed to go through alot of stress when being parted, even by see-through fences, and then get sick,  is what led me to comment on a hardiness problem.  Sheep should be able to handle some stress and should be able to adapt.  Fifteen years of inbreeding and/or remaining in the same area may have developed an animal that thrived in one particular situation.  That situation includes biological, environmental and psychological factors.  Nature vs. Nurture, I guess.  

In any case, you'd expect to see an improvement in the next generation.  I know it must be awful to lose the sheep - hope it stablilizes soon.

Linda

On Fri, 27 Dec 2002 18:49:00 -0500, Mary Hansson wrote:
>Don't quite know what to put it all down to, but think parasites of
>one
>sort or another may be at the root of the issue.  The group of Twigg
>sheep I brought home in May (and the ones that Katrina got) weren't
>this
>big of a problem.  In fact, I didn't have a bit of sickness with
>those 7
>sheep.  The 20 I brought in this fall have been the source of many
>tears
>from about a month after their arrival through into December.  I have
>lost more sheep this fall than in the prior 8 1/2 years of
>shepherding
>combined!
>
>I will really have to watch the sheep for a longer period of time
>before
>putting down their poor health this fall to THEIR problem.  It may
>very
>well be.  I have been of the opinion their immune systems have never
>met
>a bug, and their immune systems have never been built up and
>challenged
>like sheep that move around or that meet other sheep more often than
>every 15 years or so......  A poor shepherding issue such as
>parasites
>or the unchallenged immune system would not be hardiness issues to
>fault
>the sheep for.  I just don't have answers.  I know I would like more
>than 2-3 weeks without the loss of a sheep to feel like I am done
>digging holes.
>
>Mary Ellen Hansson, ISeeSpots Farm
>Jacob Sheep:  Those horny, fuzzy critters
>Shop:  Knitting, crochet, spinning supplies
>www.iseespots.com (336) 854-6209
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Jacob-list mailing list
>Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list

Visit our Jacob flock at:
http://www.PatchworkFibers.com
Registered Jacob Sheep
Handspun Yarns