[Jacob-list] docking

[Elaina Kenyon]

Hi Gillian,

The conventional wisdom about docking is that is aids in flystrike prevention.  While I suppose this is true with very wooly tailed sheep, I don't see it as nearly as big an issue with jacobs because their tails are less wooly than lots of other breeds of sheep.  Also sheep don't necessarily get flystrike starting around manure on the tail area.  This past year I had a case of fly strike in a young lamb who nearly died from it and I've seen a couple of others now.  In all these cases, the infestation started at the top of the rump where it begins to slope toward the tailhead and there wasn't manure contamination of these areas.  

The other reason people dock tails is that a docked sheep is generally more salable than one that hasn't been docked.  You'll find exceptions, but most people do seem to like docked tails.

Elaina M. Kenyon
http://www.avillionfarm.com
Shetland sheep, angora goats, angora rabbits
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