[Jacob-list] Tail Length and Docking

[Mary Hansson]

Katrina and ?,

Wondered myself who was answering :o).  How does one determine the
difference between "broken tail" and "crimped or kinked tail"?  I have
had lambs start out with nice, even tails and then lo and behold a few
days later, there is a double kink.  I have presumed in these
circumstances that said lamb had been stepped on and said tail had been
broken.

I have also seen lambs born with crooked tails, but not noted lambing
problems from either mom or lamb.  Docked crooked tails will never be
known about just like docked broken tails.

As to the crooked tails from birth---what makes this a congenital defect
and what problems does it cause?  

I dock based on date of delivery here in NC.  I still "feel" more
comfortable docking simply because that is what the preponderance of
people believe is the "natural sheep".  If we are getting flies coming
early in February, nobody gets their tail docked.  If flies don't start
coming until later on in March, the early lambs get docked.  Lambs
rarely arrive before early February despite putting rams in usually in
early August (this year I put them in Labor Day weekend).

As to the supposed hygienic reason for docking----I am with Kate all the
way.  I have had now 3 cases of fly strike get started and they have all
been on docked sheep.  The undocked ones have also gotten the runs
(agree with Neal as the timing matches his and we live about an hour
apart) and never wound up with additional problems.  My personal
opinion, since I have not objectively studied this matter is that my
sheep that are NOT docked tend to lift their tails away from their
bodies further than do the ones that have been docked.  I have one ram
in particular that looks like a cow when defecating---tail is actually
higher than backbone.  

When I dock, I band the tails early in the morning (when it is coolest
and blood flow is least and pain level is least as well on the lambs) on
the babies once they are a day or so old.  I attempt to well cover the
vulval or anal area on the ewes/rams.  As with Neal and Kate, our ethnic
market is such around here there is no need for castrating the rams.
Tails don't matter to my market either.

Mary Ellen Hansson, ISeeSpots Farm
Jacob Sheep:  Those horny, fuzzy critters
Shop:  Knitting, crochet, spinning supplies
www.iseespots.com (336) 854-6209