The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Suebrew on October 19, 2014, 11:54:25 pm
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Last Spring my 2 Hampshire Downs were scratching and acting as if they had fly strike, didn't look happy at all. They were booked to be sheared in about 2 weeks but I found someone to come by immediately as I was really concerned for them. When the fleece was off they were bald on their backs across the shoulders with line running down and this area was dark grey. Not sore, wet, or smelly just grey and bald. The shearer said they were fine and they didn't have fly. I did put cream on for weeks to stop the flys getting to the area and treated them with Spot On. I did have this vet out as they did look a mess and still scratching she didn't ave a clue but not mites. We gave them antibiotic and something to calm the skin down and wormed them. They did get better but the fur has grown back brown! I am worried again now we are getting a lot of rain and I always thought that was the problem. They always looks sort of tatty across their shoulders and I don't want the same problem again. Has anyone ever come across this problem as I have asked lots of sheep farmers in my area and they don't really know what I'm talking about. Sorry for the long post!
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Got any photos?
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how old are they?
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They are 4 years old and were fine up til this spring. I stupidly didn't take pictures at the time but I'll take one of them now and you can see how fleece is looking!
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This was grey skin but has slowly grown back brown
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I've no idea ??? but I'm sure the more experienced shepherds on here will be along to help soon.
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I have seen the same brown regrowth in suffolkx lambs sold at the auction on several occasions and it was the result of having had fly strike
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If it was flystrike I'm surprised your shearer didn't flag it up. Fleece rot? Did they get soaked through last winter? Did the vet take a skin sample for scab
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are sheep like horses where damaged skin grows white hair?
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When I had them sheared I was fearing the worst, I really thought they had fly strike but there were no maggots or raw flesh or odour. Shearer just said I was lucky I had caught it just in time but I was still unhappy with them. Vet said it was not scab, she took scrapings and found nothing. I put the thick yellow fly cream on for quite sometime and then it started to grow back but after a long time. They did get very wet last winter but did spend a lot of time in their shelter....then it got very warm! The vet didn't have any idea. She had never seen fleece grow back a different colour.....but if you have seems lambs with the same thing then I can only assume that was my sheeps problem too. I just don't want it to happen again!
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If all other mites and scab were ruled out my guess would be fly strike, but healed up before you got to it.
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not sure if this helps but, I had one the had really bad scratching issues and ruled out
all the likely options. mites, fly, scab ect ect. she scratched off right back and brock the skin several times.
Had the vet out a few times and she said it was very possible she is having a photosensitive reaction caused by possibly having something wrong with her kidney or liver. an infection or (say if she ate something that was mildly posionus)!
that was one sheep in a flock so I guess it is just her getting old but if there is something in the field maybe it could do it to more than one.
just a thought don't know how usefull.
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My vet did say the next step would be to check the liver ect but after the injections they did calm down somewhat. Thanks for your input everyone ....I did feel guilty that they could have well had strike when I had been looking through their fleece regularly and not seen anything other than discouration on their backs but no sign of flies. Thanks again.
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Generally with flystrike the flies will continue to lay on the affected place. If, however, eggs have been laid and hatched but the weather turns wet and cold and flies aren't active, the scent that attracts them could well be washed out of the fleece, so you get an isolated incidence where the maggots have done damage and dropped from the sheep to pupate in the grass, then the damage has ceased.
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That really does look and sounds like healed flystrike, I had this in a ram this year, I suspected flystrike and by the time I had caught him (that same day) and clipped off the wool it looked as if he had flystrike previously but all the maggots were gone.
Raw yucky skin, dark red and dark brown all over his rump, the wool grew back dark coloured like in your photo
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MarchesFarm that is very helpful that would account to the run lines down the side of his body. We did have a lot of rain. For that they must have had the strike earlier than I had realised. I will treat them a lot earlier this year! I was lucky that it had healed but hate to think I had not noticed earlier. As you can tell I am just a novice at this and we learn by our mistakes.
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I Clik the lambs as soon as I see a greenbottle, the main flystrike culprit around here, and put an entry in the diary to reapply 16 weeks later if the flies are still active. Ewes we just keep an eye on (shearers don't want to shear a Clik'd sheep!) and apply it as soon as the fleece is about 1cm long (enough for the maggots to cling to). Feet, of course, can be struck, so limpers need to be inspected promptly any time.
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Thank very much I will keep on top of it this year.
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It could well be dermatophilis the same bug that causes rain scald & mud fever in horses. Loves warm moist conditions. It can be treated with antibiotics or treated/prevented by dusting the back with zinc sulphate. Or making a 1% zinc sulphate spray or dip.
The fleece grows back a different colour when the skin has been inflamed for any reason. You get the same eg after surgery on Siamese cats
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A couple of our Southdowns got rain scald after the awful winter of 2012 - the fleece grew back the right colour but very tight.