TAIL DOCKING. Can the way we perform it affect sheep health?.

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day, when I first considered this topic my main point was the "fat" issue relating to birthing especially in housed flocks which don't get enough exercise in late pregnancy, but it seems that the prolapse one is of greater concern up there.
I to am an aging farmer (73 shortly)but I am lucky that I can still shear and crutch the flock,although this year I have reduced numbers to about 150 head,mainly because last year I had a fall and broke 6 ribs,and I am still recovering.I do want to address some of the other points raised in another post later on.T.O.R.

 

[Ridgetop]

I only have a few sheep and never had a commercial flock. We sold mostly club lambs for 4-H shows, and freezer lambs privately. In the show sheep world here, ultra short docking was widely practiced but the judges are DQing some of the ultra short docks because of the new rules, and you are seeing that pencil width dock in show sheep. It is still too short for my taste but I leave a 2" tail stub on my lambs. I am interested to hear what you have to say on other fronts.
We are no longer in a livestock raising area since land has been converted to housing. Talking on this forum is very reassuring to me since most people in my area have seen too many Disney movies and think of livestock like pets instead of farm animals. I get questions like "Don't you hate to sell those cute lambs?" and "why don't you keep them as pets instead of eating them?" Well, they work for their living like we do - they clear the brush on my steep hillside around my house and barn so I don't have to pay $3000 per year for someone to come in and do it for me. They produce edible meat and I sell the lambs to help pay for the seasons when the brush is gone and I have to provide hay. Expensive hay too in southern California! - not only have we had a major drought for about 12 years, but most of the good land has been turned into housing tracts. If our 4 kids and 5 grandkids didn't live within a mile from us, we would have moved to east Texas several years ago where there is water and pasture grass.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,I have tried to add a pic to show how we dock.I feel by having the tail this long as a lamb it will grow in length as the lamb grows.At this length the animal can discourage the fly from landing and so discourage "breech" strike.We, in a normal year get very little fly strike,this year we had 8 ins of rain in the summer which pre-disposed the stock to strike,but the majority was "hip and shoulder"and even though the fresh pick generated some "scouring" there was almost no strike in the breech.I do crutch usually twice a year as well as shearing at a time of approaching risk.These ewe lambs are 4 mths old and were paddock born and only fed grass.T.O.R.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,TBG had a comment on the use of Pat Colby's methods and about 40 years ago I was fortunate to see and hear her speak at a field day on the raising of dairy goats (which was her forte).This started me on the path of a more natural method of livestock production.I could not in all honesty take on all of her ideas but the two things I can say was the use of her mineral mix(modified over time) and not vaccinating any stock for anything became the basis of our production system.Over the resulting years we have utilized aspects of many other "so called " natural systems ,as being "wedded to one"means denying the benefits of others.For example developing the trait of Natural immunity and the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next and the benefits of improving the health of soil and feed whilst taking extra care of natural flora and fauna outcomes.T.O.R.

 

[Sweetened]

Interesting topic. Good discussion. Following.

 

[trampledbygeese]

@The Old Ram-Australia

Good to hear. I'm very interested in trying her free access mineral style with my heritage flock. They seem much smarter than my meat flock and they are all breeds that have a very high tolerance for copper. I already have to give them some extra copper as their needs are much higher than the standard sheep mineral mix provides.

Natural immunity is a very interesting idea to me too. I've had some very serious side effects in my flock from the normal vaccines and other preventive treatments. I would much rather make the sheep stronger and only treat when they need it. I would love to have a chat in another thread and learn how you manage your flock, which of coleby's methods work best for you, which don't.

Great thoughts everyone on docking. Thanks for the interesting read. I'm learning a great deal.

 

[bonbean01]

Following here too!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day, I would be happy to start a thread on the use of "free choice minerals" if you think it would be of interest to the group?

The thing to remember is that its not a "silver bullet" in itself,but a mindset change on animal production and land management.

Would the group be interested in a thread on "The Australian Working Kelpie?....T.O.R.

 

[Kelly Wolf]

Ok, I'm going to weigh in on this topic ... mostly because I've just had to put down a VERY expensive Dorper ewe (registered and paid $600 - which for ME is almost a year's worth of saving up - retired and fixed income here) with a horrific prolapsed anus. Let's be clear, she was NOT a "show lamb" ... however, the farm from which she came prepped all their lambs for the possibility of being in the show ring, meaning that their tails were scooped out, the entire tail AND one or two of the vertebrae off the end of her spine, likely when she was just a few days or a couple of weeks old.

Tail docking on HAIR sheep is totally and unequivocally unnecessary. To dock a HAIR sheep's tail is the equivalent of the (now outlawed) Chinese practice of Foot Binding - wrapping a baby girl's feet to keep them small; permanently crippling and deforming the feet for life! Or maybe the Hot nailing of a Tennessee Walking Horses hooves to "enhance" their gait ... or the breaking of their tail to make sure it stands up and "flows" ... or the (crippling) built up and weighted shoes for their front feet?? Oh wait! I've got it, how about mutilating the clitoris of 9 year old little girls?? Docking a HAIR sheep's tail is done today mostly by show farms - and it is nothing less than mutilation for the sake of aesthetics.

I could understand it if the tails of hair sheep caused a problem, but bottom line - they do not. The main reason that WOOL sheep's tails are docked is to reduce the incidence of Fly Strike, and yes, it is justified. However, a sheep's tail is there for a purpose - The sheep's tail does not interfere with breeding (I mean, REALLY, people? Just how many centuries did God have these creatures breeding without man's help and they did just fine!). Primarily it protects the anus, vulva and udder from weather extremes. To some extent, sheep use their tail to scatter their feces.

The point being that in those instances when tails need to be and are docked, there is a right way and a VERY wrong way. The right way is to ONLY dock it short enough but leave long enough to COVER the anus and vulva (for ewes) ... this means that even after docking, when the tail is laying flat down, it still can COVER (protect) the genitals. IF you want to "see" the vulva around lambing time, and you are too lazy, too old or just too indifferent to your animals health, then by ALL means, cut their tails off ... after all, YOUR convenience is what is important here. I have Dorpers and Katahdins and my KaDorpin crosses - all tails are left intact and at lambing time I find that the girls lift those tails often enough and high enough for me to get a FINE view of those really swollen vulvas! I even keep a pair of binoculars at my back porch and am able to see them without leaving my deck.

The problem is with those who "show" their lambs/sheep. Extreme short docking, where it looks like they took an ice-cream scoop and sliced out the tail down into the body, is VERY common in the hair sheep show ring and they have NO legitimate reason for this. The specious justification is that it helps show the rear muscling of the lamb, better meat view (sort of like a body builder "flexing") and makes the top line look more level, the legs more square, what CRAP you are basically saying you are mutilating to give the "visual effect" and it has nothing to do with the real animal proportions! Why don't you just give the sheep injections of Botox?? Or a Silicon boob/butt job??. It is also argued that it makes it easier for the judges to see the muscling and attributes of the rear end, straight legs, top line and in the rams, the testicles. By ALL means, let's make it EASIER for a judge to do their lame-ass job by mutilating and carving up the animals they are looking at!

So, these "breeders/showmen" are willing to mutilate, to CARVE out the whole ass-end of a sheep so some jerk-off judge can get a better look??
Disgusting!

Don't get me wrong, I love showing animals, but NOT making them go through life threatening mutilation for aesthetics! Can you say increased instance of RECTAL PROLAPSE (studies prove this)?? No? Well how about, in ewes, increased instance of Uterine Prolapse?? Certain types of cancer of their cervix, or other diseases from the exposure/mutilation of genitalia?

And what is truly obnoxious by these "people" who boast about their "bettering the breed" and their "paramount concern for their animals and teaching young people how to properly care for livestock ..." and then they engage in "extreme short show-docking" which is NOT just taking the entire tail off but ALSO removing "one or two of the vertebra from the end of the spine" (quote below) ... in other words, why don't some of you guys just BEND OVER and let ME scoop out the last one or two vertebrae from the end of YOUR spine! Damn! I'll even use topical anesthetic - 2% lidocaine and give you a tetanus shot afterwards!

https://awionline.org/content-types...terly/short-docking-sheep-cruel-fad-show-ring

"The practice of short docking for the "show circuit" is different—the entire tail is cut off right at the body wall, along with one or two vertebrae of the spine. It is well known within the sheep industry that short docking is an unnecessary practice that can cause serious health problems, pain and suffering. Seven national veterinary, scientific and animal science organizations recommend the practice of short docking be stopped."​

Here is another research paper:
http://sheep.osu.edu/2008/06/20/tail-length-of-docked-lambs-and-rectal-prolapse/ which reads in part:

"The American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Lamb Feeders Association, the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture, and United States Animal Health Association all have position statements or resolutions recommending “that lambs’ tails be docked at the level of the distal end of the caudal tail fold.”
The authors conclude that “Docking lambs at the site where the caudal folds on the underside of the tail attach to the tail significantly decreases the incidence of rectal prolapse to negligible levels. Ultrashort docking is a cosmetic fad promoted in the show ring that compromises the health and well-being of sheep. The practice should be abandoned.” ​

Ok, so much for my ranting, it doesn't bring back my ewe ... she didn't deserve to endure the suffering, the pain inflicted on her when her tail was mutilated as a lamb and she sure as hell didn't deserve to have a rectal prolapse, going through the stress of vets, medications & procedures to try and help/fix her ... to no avail. She was not "coughing", she was not on a "feed lot diet", it was not "dry weather" with a lot of dust or dusty hay and her minerals were fine (I've never had a prolapsed rectum or uterus in all my time raising sheep, ever) ... in other words, this was DONE TO her by those she trusted to take care of her. Yes, it has been researched, it has been studied and the results show conclusively that when you short dock a tail, taking out the caudal fold, you damage nerves and muscles. This is not just my "opinion". I am hoping that if even one novice Hair Sheep breeder reads this and does the research, even just Googles to find out more, they will see that Hair Sheep just don't need to be tail docked, and why do it if it isn't necessary?

Katahdin owners, by and large, understand that their animals do NOT need to have their tails docked, I will be SO happy when Dorper owners grow half a brain and realize this as well!

Don't bother replying to this if all you are going to do is chide me for being intolerant, because "after all, it is all about individual choice" ... and that I'm not "understanding" all the intricacies required to establish the high paying reputation of a "show winning" flock, champion bloodlines, herd sires and ewes, or forget it if you think to shame me into backing off one whit! I am NOT an "animal rights" extremist ... I do not believe that all animal research is torture (some definitely is - spraying perfume into cocker spaniel eyes? yes!) My brother-in-law is a childhood diabetic and would not have the gift of insulin were it not for animal testing.

But THIS has nothing to do with research, nothing to do with saving human lives and everything to do with aesthetics, mutilating an animal to artificially enhance it's show appearance. So, if all you are interested in is the reputation of champion bloodlines, then YOU need to have some cosmetic surgery done to YOUR genitals ... might I suggest ... piercing or perhaps ... short-docking ...

 

[Latestarter]

Hey Kelly, Welcome back. Been a while since your last post. Sorry you lost your ewe. I can tell you're pretty upset about it and the reason that it happened. Now please don't bite my head off, but if you feel so strongly about this, then why did you buy that animal? By doing so, didn't you just more or less support the breeder who did that docking? I mean if people stop purchasing these animals who are docked that way, then the breeder will eventually have to stop doing it. Perhaps if you must purchase from that breeder you could specify that the lamb you wish to purchase should NOT be docked?