Docking an adult ewes tail

[NightGirl]

Hi I'm new to joining the forum though I have lurked and read threads for a while now. I've had sheep for a few months now so I'm still learning. I have a mixed herd of wool and haired sheep, including a jacob ewe and her 6 week old ewe lamb. The mom does have a tail that is docked but the tail is about 4 or so inches long. The babies tail is not docked because from what I've read and been told from other jacob breeders/owners that jacob sheep don't really have as many problems with flies and such as other wool breeds so I decided not to dock her tail.

Here's my current problem and worry. I happen to like my jacob's the most of my sheep so decided to maybe get some more. So yesterday I went and looked at 3 adult ewes. The ewes are suppose to be around 3 years old. 2 of the ewes is suppose to be twins and the other ewe is suppose to be their half sister. The person who was selling them was not the original breeder and had bought them this past winter. Well this person doesn't like for their wool sheep to have a tail. So he banded all 3 ewes tails. I did not know this until I got there to look at them. I did end up buying them they were nice healthy looking ewes. The seller didn't tell me how long the bands had been on only that the tails should be falling off soon and nothing was given to the ewes at the time of the banding. Well the seller ended up being kinda right because 1 of the ewes tail did fall off on the drive home. She doesn't look to have much of a tail, maybe 2 inches at best. The area where the tail fell off did bled a tiny bit. I have an antibiotic spray that I did spray on her tail area that my vet gave me to use on most of my animals if they get a small scratch.

Now here is were I'm needing a like help and/or advice. I don't know if there's any thing else I should do or watch out for on the 1 ewe who's tail already fell off plus the other 2 whose tails are still intact. Do I spray anything else, like maybe a livestock fly repellent spray, different antibiotic, continue with spray I already used, or even nothing at all? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post

 

[purplequeenvt]

It's not normally recommended to band an adult sheep's tail. Things are more developed at that age and can cause more issues.

Since yours have already been banded for a while, I'd keep a close eye on them and spray then with fly spray. Once the tail falls off, keep up with the fly spray until the end of the docked tail is fully healed. The antibiotic spray once or twice wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

[NightGirl]

Thanks for responding. I don't currently have any fly spray but will get some tomorrow at the farm store. I've been checking the area from a distance several times today. Its been getting in the upper 70's so I was worried around flies but wasn't really sure if I should get a fly spray or not to put on that type of wound (for lack of a better word). Her tail (what left anyways) has scabbed over and is currently looking good. It hasn't bled any since the little bit it did on the drive home. She has been eating and drinking well. In my opinion her tail is actually too short. It's almost as short as I've seen show lambs docked tails. I like the tail to at least cover their private area.

I'm a little cofused to be honest about the length of tail on all 3 ewes the seller decided to banded. On the ewe whose tail already fell off the band was very high on the tail basically only leaving only about 2 inches. On the other 2 ewes whose tails have not fell off yet, 1 has a band on halfway down the tail which would leave the tail length of about 4-5 inches after the tail falls off. The last ewe has a band right at the top of the tail which will only leave about 2 inches or so of tail like the ewe whose tail already fell off. I know usually when docking sheep at the same time they usually all have the same length docked. I don't know why 2 of the ewes is docked really short and the other about half of the tail. Could the band have slipped on the 1 ewe making hers longer?

 

[SheepGirl]

Unlikely it slipped after applied, but during maybe it snapped off the elastrator and landed halfway down the tail.

by the way I would dock any wool sheep's tail. They have an equal chance of having flies attracted to them, different breeds don't have different chances of a fly landing on them and laying eggs. It's all the same.

 

[Bossroo]

Anyone who doesn't dock the tails is just asking for a rather large Vet. bill or hard work by themselves to treat fly strike sooner or later. If some think that docking is inhumane ... what about when the fly maggots start eating at living flesh of the sheep's tail and back ends ? Now that is inhumane negligence !

 

[Roving Jacobs]

They original poster is right though, many jacob sheep breeders do not dock tails and have zero problems and its becoming more and more common in the breed. The jacobs don't tend to get heavy wool on their tails and can easily lift them to prevent manure from building up. 3 of mine have tails for various reasons and I've never had an issue with it. I still dock most of them because you never know where they are going to end up and if whoever has them years down the line will be as observant as I am but if there is a lamb I don't feel comfortable about docking for whatever reason I don't worry about it.

 

[NightGirl]

I'm personally not against tail docking. I do understand the reasons why to do it. But having talked to several jacob breeds I found that many of them are starting to not dock the tails and don't have a problem with flies. I'm by no means saying that would be the same for every wool sheep or even other people with jacob sheep. The ewe lamb whose tail that I did not docked doesn't have that really thick or bushy tail. Her tail is just a little bit thicker and has barely more hair than one of my haired ewe lambs who is the same age. If her tail would have been thicker and such I would have banded it. I don't like having to band the tails but I will do it. I do have 1 wool ewe who I'm not sure on her breed that has a pretty thick and long wool whose tail is docked leaving about 4 inches of tail. I'm glad that her tail is docked because she probably would have problems with flies.

I don't have a large herd, only 20 sheep total (including adults and lambs). I do keep a pretty close eye on my sheep. So I can keep a close eye on my lamb whose tail I didn't dock. If I have to I can trim her backend area when and if needed. I understand some people do have large herds and dock tails no matter what just to error on the side of caution because they may not have the time to trim the backend area when need be or are afraid they may not catch the fly problem in time. I do understand where everyone is coming from and do appreciate the advice.

I will say though that I don't agree with docking adult animal tails and wish the seller wouldn't have done the 3 ewes. But since it was already done and in motion I'm willing and trying to handle and prepare for any problems that may arise. Of the 3 ewes, 1 has a very thick and bushy tail while the other 2 (including the 1 whose tail already fell off) didn't have very thick tails. Again thanks everyone for responding and the advice. I greatly appreciate it.