Balding Sheep

[vancheese]

Hi people

My sheep is going bald - he seems to be loosing wool from his chest, it started with a small spot and now is spreading. Do I need to call my Local Vet?

Any suggestions what is going on? The temperature here in hungary has recently increased from minus -5ish to 10+

thanks for some suggestions

Andy

[pumpy]

Is it possible that a tic has been laying dormant over winter, & has now become active with the warmer weather? I know that they are blood feeders, but maybe with the onset of warmer temps this may have a effect on your sheep.

[frozenthunderbolt]

what breed is your sheep? some shed at least part of their wool naturally as the weather heats up - we have some that lose all of it and are left with only a thin fuzz of hair on their bodies.

[red]

i spose you could look up scab - see if that fits. fairly serious if it has scab

[tizzy]

Sometimes a ewe will cast her fleece in parts during pregnancy or just after lambing. Not sure what the cause is, but it always seems to be the ones who have had triplets that do it.
They get a sudden demand for nutrients from the growing lambs inside them towards the end of pregnancy. I usually give them a bit extra grub and that seems to check it to a degree, at least until the weather warms up a bit anyway. It might be coincidence and have nothing to do with nutrition, but I usually notice it when I'm handling them after lambing.
We only keep a small domestic flock anyway, so i usually give half a bucket of water with a great dollop of molasses disolved in it to a ewe that has just lambed. It gives them an energy boost and helps them produce better milk.
Have you had a feel of the sheep to see if he has enough weight on him?

[vancheese]

Problem solved - The sheep was getting to close to the dogs and they were "shearing" the sheep through the fence!

[Gert]

Well that's certainly a new one on me