[Jacob-list] New to Jacobs

[Mark Essen]

I have not docked for years.  I live in Missouri where the summers are hot and humid, i.e., lots of flies.  I have never had fly strike in any of my sheep, docked or not.  There is a small niche market for "unblemished" slaughter lambs.  Some interpret this to mean not casterated nor docked.  I just think docking is unneccesary.
On the other hand, extremely short docking can be detrimental.  I no longer remember which tail bone joints should be counted before docking, but do remember that a short stub of a tail should be left.  I believe the main reason for this is the chance of prolapse.  Having not docked for some time, I am not the expert on tail length.
I do remember being in your shoes once.  I bought a yearling that was not docked.  My vet said the band was the worst choice for docking methods at that age.  She does not like banding anyway, but she said that it would take too long on an older sheep.  She did not like the idea of the tail dying for the next couple of weeks.  I left that tail on and stopped docking two years later.
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