[Jacob-list] Stress, Mineral Deficiency, or what?

[Gary Tomas Fay]

List,

Back in August there was a discussion about copper toxicity in sheep, everyone
felt avoiding copper like the plague would be solve the problem, but like so many
things, balance is required. One of my livestock texts never brought up copper
toxicity
only copper deficiency.

I pulled the reference:  "Feeds and Nutrition Digest" Their text chart section reads:
Signs in sucking lamb, swayback, muscular incoordination, partial paralysis of
hindquarters ... Sheep suffering from ... may produce 'steely or stringy' wool lacking

crimp and tinsel strength (ie when you pull on the ends, they break GTF) affinity for
dyes nd elasticity. Depigmentation of the wool of black sheep has been noted as a
sign of sever deficiency."

This can occur in areas where Copper is low and or Molybdenum is high such as
Florida and Coastal Plains the South East. Other counties would have to do their
own research as to the possibility

Gary

Linda wrote:

> I've never heard of this happening with sheep, but I know that copper deficiency
> will cause loss of color in black rabbits.  It's probably not the same thing - just
> interesting.
>
> Linda
>
> On Sun, 10 Mar 2002 16:23:46 EST, MarmontJacobs at aol.com wrote:
> >Hi all,
> >Great to read about everyone's lambs...Today I was shearing a couple
> >
> >of shearling ewes - just in case we in the UK get to show this
> >year...when I
> >again came across something that puzzled me last year. Last year, I
> >outwintered the shearling ewes with hay and a mineral lick, plus a
> >feed block
> >in the colder weather which wasn't much. When I came to shear them
> >in May,
> >they all had a "break" line in their fleece especially noticeable
> >around the
> >neck where the wool was thinner and markedly grey in the dark fleece
> >over
> >about half an inch - corresponding I suppose to around February time
> >when we
> >had a cold snap.
> >Today I found the same on one of the two shearlings - this time all
> >
> >inwintered with minerals, block, and hay (not home grown this year
> >due to
> >foot and mouth and therefore not having any possible homegrown
> >deficiencies)!
> >The two young ewes I kept back from the previous year have recovered
> >their
> >dark wool. Any ideas as to the cause? I have heard of breaks in
> >fleece, but
> >never loss of colour.
> >Trisha M-S
> >Marmont Jacobs, Norfolk, England
> >
> >________