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[member=29534]Carse Goodlifers[/member]  yes the wool tuft on top of the head is a top knot.

Some 4 horn sheep breeds have the odd eye lid issue - this can be anything from a slight inverted v or notch in the upper eyelid to a full split which may or may not have welfare issues.

In general for breeding stock we therefore really only use tups with perfect or very near perfect eyelids ( due to the tup covering multiples) Ewes get a little more leeway due to the limited genetic input to a flock - haven't had anthing with a split but it would probably end up in with those destined for the plate. Therefore when buying 4 horns it's better to give a wee check of the eyelids - It doesn't seem to happen in  2 horn sheep, so would appear to be linked to 4h genetics

[Fleecewife]

Do you give yours copper [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member]

Yes, although not every year.  We use the CoSecure bolus, a horrible thing to get down, which is a slow release 'glass' which gets copper into the right part of the digestive system (I forget the details  ).  As it's not a straight deficiency but is affected by the presence of molybdenum and iron in the soil, intermittent dosing with copper orally is not very effective.  What we have found is that getting rid of our mole sanctuary, so we don't constantly have exposed soil which the sheep take in, has made a big difference.  The moles are creeping back and this autumn we had to give CoSecure again.
As well as a layer of greying throughout the fleece, it's noticeable that lambs in particular will get a fluffy grey border around their faces.
Because too little copper can lead to spinal problems in lambs, it's important to treat the problem.  Black cattle suffer the same problem.  In fact, white sheep can also suffer from copper uptake problems, but because of the lack of the greying 'tell', it's harder to pick up early.

[Fleecewife]

[member=29534]Carse Goodlifers[/member]  yes the wool tuft on top of the head is a top knot.

Some 4 horn sheep breeds have the odd eye lid issue - this can be anything from a slight inverted v or notch in the upper eyelid to a full split which may or may not have welfare issues.

In general for breeding stock we therefore really only use tups with perfect or very near perfect eyelids ( due to the tup covering multiples) Ewes get a little more leeway due to the limited genetic input to a flock - haven't had anthing with a split but it would probably end up in with those destined for the plate. Therefore when buying 4 horns it's better to give a wee check of the eyelids - It doesn't seem to happen in  2 horn sheep, so would appear to be linked to 4h genetics

Wouldn't it be nice to know the mechanism of eyelid defect inheritance?  For sheep generations we've been culling any multihorn breeds with the remotest eye problem, when we have no idea if or how it's inherited, or if it's just a random association with multiple hornedness.
Roll on genetics.