[Jacob-list] eyelids and such.....

[Mary Hansson]

Hi and Happy Thanksgiving to all the turkey-lovers and non-turkey-lovers,
 
I thought I would pass on a bit of thanks that I am offering this Thanksgiving day.  When this list was first started, Janine Fenton was an active participant.  I learned so much from that very bright lady and miss her enthusiasm for this breed of sheep, her wit, her deep-seated curiosity, her open mind, and her uncommon intellect.  
 
About that time, we used a ram here at our farm that had 2 horns (2 horns and not 4 fully fused horns!).  Nobody ever thought about that ram having any potential to throw split eyelids.  He was out of stock that kept track religiously of many details, including split eyelids.  Well, you can probably tell that this story is leading you down the merry path to say that a large percentage of his offspring that particular spring at my place had split eyelids----and my girls had been put on multiple rams, including 4-horned rams, and had not passed that visible trait on to offspring.  He looked like a good culprit....
 
There was no visible split eyelid, although the hairs across the eyelid line were NOT perfect in both eyes.  At the typical spot for a split eyelid, the hairs crossed.  If I were looking at him today, I would look also for a line of mis-aligned hairs running up the area above the eyelid as well.  I have seen tufts and mis-alignment along that line on a fairly common basis----and select strongly against that trait here and consider it a split whether it qualifies for a grade category greater than 1 or not.
 
Where is all this blather leading, you ask?  Thanks for asking!  
 
Janine recommended that it would be important to look UNDERNEATH the eyelid as far up as you can lift and see.  She said that hairs can and do grow on the under-side of the eyelid and will lead to scarring of the cornea and blindness.  I believe the summer before she had demonstrated that trait on a breeder's farm out in the midwest in a ram that had thrown lots of split eyelid offspring....not completely sure on those details though.  ANYWAY.....
 
I have a ewe out here now that was described by the former owner as having just a slight split eyelid.  She has such a slight split that many breeders would overlook the notch, and otherwise, it would only look like a grade 2 notch.  I very much agree with the former owner in the assessment of the grade eyelid split.  She has deviated hairs on her eyelash line.  This ewe also has some variation in the hairline above her eye.  She gets occasional pinkeye that seems to respond well to treatment, and the other day, she had a flare-up here at my place for the first time.  I caught her and inspected her eye closely......and wouldn't you know, she has a single hair growing down on the underside of her eyelid WAY UP at the top of a long notch on the underneath side of her eyelid.  You don't see this notch unless you flip her eyelid up.....Interesting, and explains lots to me.  If that notch were on the outer side of her eyelid, that eye would be minimally a 3 and probably a grade 4
 split.....but it is on the inside where we don't think to look.



Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
ISeeSpots Farm
Jacob Sheep:  Lambs, adults, wool
www.iseespots.com
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