Wool falling out???

[harvestbreezefarm]

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on what's going on with my two Jacob sheep. They are both losing wool, I have no idea what could be causing it. They eat a good diet hay and grain, no copper in the grain of course. It started on the butt and is moving up the body, does anyone have any idea what is going on?? I'm a bit worried.

Thank you,
Shari

 

[ksalvagno]

How about parasites like mites or lice?

Do they have some type of mineral? There may be a mineral deficiency too.

I don't have sheep but that can happen with alpacas.

 

[helmstead]

I'm thinking parasites or zinc?

 

[Brody's Broodello]

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on what's going on with my two Jacob sheep. They are both losing wool, I have no idea what could be causing it. They eat a good diet hay and grain, no copper in the grain of course. It started on the butt and is moving up the body, does anyone have any idea what is going on?? I'm a bit worried.

Thank you,
Shari

Hi Shari,
We actually met at the Ohio National show on the last day right before checkout, I was the one looking for a Black silkie cock. As far as the sheep. If you have had any changes lately, it could be from stress. I have one ewe that sheds out in a few spots the day after lambing. I had another that did it this summer when I moved her to a new flock. The other would be lice, they usually rear thier ugly little heads about this time of year. They are not the blood sucking type, so treating with an oral pestacide like Ivermectin will not help. But the good news is, treating topically with a permithrin spray is easy, safe , & very affective. We get the concentate & mix it in one of the plant spray bottles( the kind that you have to pump up) then just walk out & spray on the backs of the sheep. We usually go down the middle, then on both sides. It works really fast. Hope this helps.
April

 

[harvestbreezefarm]

Thank you for the help

How about parasites like mites or lice?

Do they have some type of mineral? There may be a mineral deficiency too.

Yes, they have access to a loose mineral.

I checked them really good yesterday and did not see any lice or mites, however that does not mean they don't have them, I will use the spray suggested below and see how that works.

Hi Shari,
We actually met at the Ohio National show on the last day right before checkout, I was the one looking for a Black silkie cock. As far as the sheep. If you have had any changes lately, it could be from stress. I have one ewe that sheds out in a few spots the day after lambing. I had another that did it this summer when I moved her to a new flock. The other would be lice, they usually rear thier ugly little heads about this time of year. They are not the blood sucking type, so treating with an oral pestacide like Ivermectin will not help. But the good news is, treating topically with a permithrin spray is easy, safe , & very affective. We get the concentate & mix it in one of the plant spray bottles( the kind that you have to pump up) then just walk out & spray on the backs of the sheep. We usually go down the middle, then on both sides. It works really fast. Hope this helps.
April

Hi April,

Yes, I remeber you Just now getting some fertile eggs from the black silkies, I'm very excited about that

By closer inspection of the wool it almost looks like it's been pulled out, could they be pulling each others wool out or possibly their own??

I will use the spray today, I have some here.

Thanks!
Shari

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Thank you for the help

How about parasites like mites or lice?

Do they have some type of mineral? There may be a mineral deficiency too.

Yes, they have access to a loose mineral.

I checked them really good yesterday and did not see any lice or mites, however that does not mean they don't have them, I will use the spray suggested below and see how that works.

Hi Shari,
We actually met at the Ohio National show on the last day right before checkout, I was the one looking for a Black silkie cock. As far as the sheep. If you have had any changes lately, it could be from stress. I have one ewe that sheds out in a few spots the day after lambing. I had another that did it this summer when I moved her to a new flock. The other would be lice, they usually rear thier ugly little heads about this time of year. They are not the blood sucking type, so treating with an oral pestacide like Ivermectin will not help. But the good news is, treating topically with a permithrin spray is easy, safe , & very affective. We get the concentate & mix it in one of the plant spray bottles( the kind that you have to pump up) then just walk out & spray on the backs of the sheep. We usually go down the middle, then on both sides. It works really fast. Hope this helps.
April

Hi April,

Yes, I remeber you Just now getting some fertile eggs from the black silkies, I'm very excited about that

By closer inspection of the wool it almost looks like it's been pulled out, could they be pulling each others wool out or possibly their own??

I will use the spray today, I have some here.

Thanks!
Shari

It will look like that with the lice. I was totally confused until my vet (who grew up on a sheep farm) explained that the lice are differant than the one's that the goats get. They chew & not suck blood, that is why my internal treatments did not work. As soon as I sprayed them, they looked better within a week. Let me know when you have some blacks, I'm still interested. Thanks,
April

 

[cgjsmith]

Extream stress can also cause wool break. My ram got fly strike this fall. We got it cleaned and everything healed when we noticed that his wool was breaking off. Left it very short. And patchy. The vet said that the when a sheep gets sick or stressed that the wool becomes weak and will break. We have also caught one of our goats biting the wool off the sheep as well. Crystal