[StephB]

Hi all,


I only have a small flock of 9 sheep.


I noticed this morning that some fleece was loose on the front of one of my ewes.  On closer inspection she has a large bald spot on her neck/chest area.  the skin looks pink and undamaged.  Inspecting closer, near the base of her fleece there is some yellow/orange patches which makes me think lice!!  .


I will get the vet out next week to look at her, but now wondering if it's too early to shear as I expect treatment would be much more successful if they were shorn.  I am wondering if maybe leaving it for a few weeks and then getting them sheared a little early to beat the shearing rush, which might also help being that I have a tiny flock so not very profitable for a shearer.


I am also wondering if a fly strike treatment might set the lice back abit until shearing time?


I will obviously ask the vet all of this but just trying find some advice ahead of time.


Thank in advance. x

[SallyintNorth]

If it is lice, Spot On is very easy to apply - just part the fleece with your hand - and usually effective.  And much less noxious than a fly strike treatment.  No doubt the vet will suggest same if lice are found.

You could also try Golden Louse Powder, which you need to rub in. It’s been used here before, with good effects, so they tell me, and I have used it on the cattle and thought it helped. 

[landroverroy]

You sure she's not just rubbed the fleece off by putting her head through the fence?

[shep53]

Loose wool on the sheeps chest and the old bald patch doesn't mean lice , you don't say what breed or if they are in lamb and where in the country you are  , so she may just be starting to rub off her fleece as some breeds do . I f your sheep are not pregnant then shearing is possible depending on the weather .   IF one sheep has lice then others should have as it spreads easily ,  wool tags in the sheeps mouth  and long tags of wool on the body , sheep turning to nibble fleece or  scratching with their back feet causing dirty patches are all signs .   The yellow orange colour is probably  the lanolin , some breeds texel especially can produce a heavy yellow fleece at shearing . So  wait until you get a diagnosis  before worrying    .   Do any of the neighbouring sheep look like they have any of the above signs ?

[landroverroy]

Hi all,


I only have a small flock of 9 sheep.


I noticed this morning that some fleece was loose on the front of one of my ewes.  On closer inspection she has a large bald spot on her neck/chest area.  the skin looks pink and undamaged.  Inspecting closer, near the base of her fleece there is some yellow/orange patches which makes me think lice!!


I am also wondering if a fly strike treatment might set the lice back abit until shearing time?



Thank in advance. x

Flystrike treatment and Spot On, and Louse powder are basically the same type chemical - Permethrin. Spot On, as Sally said, is probably the best to use in this case (if it is indeed lice) as it is oil based and spreads out through the grease in the fleece.  However, a good louse powder with permethrin in (not just some herbal stuff) will be equally effective and can be liberally spread around, and does not cause the same skin irritation on bare skin as Spot On does. (If you want to try it - put a drop on your own skin and see how long you can stand it before you have to wash it off! )

[Buttermilk]

Many of mine are sporting loose wool collars from the ring feeder.  They also have yucky lanolin and suint (sheep sweat) at the base of the fleece.  When I was dagging yesterday some ewes had easily pulled off patches where the fleece was giving way naturally.

[shep53]

SPOT-ON  and variants  are deltamethrin which is absorbed into the outer skin layers , this is why the pack says lice will be reduced over 4-6wks as it takes a while to get all round the body .   CROVECT  is cypermethrin  and  DYSECT  is  Alphacypermethrin  both of which  are spread in the lanolin  so spread rapidly throughout the body

[shep53]

UK sheep get one type of chewing/biting louse and    very  very rarely  head lice or foot lice all pour on's kill this louse .   Uk  cattle get  one type  of  chewing / biting louse  and three types of sucking lice which can be treated with spot-on or  group 3 wormers in pour on form . uk goats can get both types of lice and treatment seems the same ??