[lou13]

Hello! I have 3 pet lambs wich are kept in a field close to the farm and their always itching against fence posts and rails and also using their hind legs to scratch around their heads. One of the lambs has always had quite a bare head  but now it looks quite sore and a bit scabby. They're about 13 weeks old and they are mule x texels. Possibilities i have considered are mites/lice or scab. However I lied down on the grass yesterday and I even started itching! Could it be something to do with the actual grass?? Any help/replies are much appreciated! thanks, lou13 

[Marches Farmer]

Phoning the vet and taking in a skin scrape for analysis would give an answer and potentially save the cost of using the wrong product.  As to what might be in your grass - I'm so pleased to see some after so long I feel like skipping around in it, rather than lying down!

[fsmnutter]

Might also be worth checking they're not fly struck. Strike can cause extreme itching, and if you have seen scabby and balding patches, that may be a clue.
Otherwise, the vet will be able to do a skin scrape and give you a really good idea of whether it is scab, lice or mites.
Hope that helps
Suzanne

[lou13]

Thanks! I never really thought about fly strike but now you say I think it could be. I'll probably spray them with crovect that way if it was mites/lice instead they would be eliminated also. Would it be okay to spray some on the lambs head or would it hurt as its quite sore/scabby or would i be better off with some purple spray? thanks, lou13

[shep53]

Fly strike is easy to diagnose, a dark damp stain/smell /live maggots or eggs,wool falling out in only one area and a sheep off colour , CROVECT must be applied directly onto the area struck .  Lice  can be seen with a magnifying glass , the lambs will have wool trapped in their teeeth , the body will have longer pieces of wool hanging where the lambs has pulled, the neck area will have staining where the lambs dirty feet have been used to scratch, CROVECT must be applied  in a pin stripe down the spine . Scab mites  cannot be seeen  and fairly similar to lice in symptoms but more localised on the body and the skin will be red  and scabby from constant rubbing , CROVECT does not cure .   None of these normaly affect the head area and yes you can apply a small amount of crovect on to the poll .     IT is very rare but sheep can get face lice or  forage mites ( from the grass ) .  White faced lanbs can get photosensitisation  which affects the head and causes scabbing ,sheep also can get facial dermatitis which again can cause scabs,  any damage to the head  leads to attack by headfly which make things much worse, CROVECT helps but better to cover the damage with yellow cream/tar plaster/ pine tar or similar to keep the flys from biting .    I think you need to take the worst lamb to a vet for an opinion to get the the right treatment as all the above are different

[shygirl]

when mine had flystrike under her tail, she was itchy and agitated, but she also twitched her tail alot as she couldnt get relief from the strike.
my ponies, even newborn foals are itchy due to the midges.

[Granny A]

Lice, pour on from vet.