[Dans]

Thanks guys. Yeah probably being over cautious. Will take the crovect going back to the store as a sign to hold off a bit. Will keep checking them regularly until shearing. Saw a fair few bluebottles today but no greenbottles. We gathered them up and dagged them yesterday. A few little clumps stuck to the wool around the bum but that either rooed out or I clipped off. The wool is really starting to come away on them, one of them even has a bald patch on her back where the wool is right away. Should I be looking at rooing them soon? I'd quite like to have the fleece rather than it being spread across the field. This will be their first shearing. Gah I'm such a nervous shepherdess!

Dans

[nimbusllama]

Short fleece, tails without much wool, and not as prone to having long daggy bits hanging about!

Thanks Womble, I couldn't have put it better myself 

[nimbusllama]

Thanks guys. Yeah probably being over cautious. Will take the crovect going back to the store as a sign to hold off a bit. Will keep checking them regularly until shearing. Saw a fair few bluebottles today but no greenbottles. We gathered them up and dagged them yesterday. A few little clumps stuck to the wool around the bum but that either rooed out or I clipped off. The wool is really starting to come away on them, one of them even has a bald patch on her back where the wool is right away. Should I be looking at rooing them soon? I'd quite like to have the fleece rather than it being spread across the field. This will be their first shearing. Gah I'm such a nervous shepherdess!

Dans

I would have thought the weather needs to be much warmer before they are ready to roo... Fleecewife will know!

[Fleecewife]

Thanks guys. Yeah probably being over cautious. Will take the crovect going back to the store as a sign to hold off a bit. Will keep checking them regularly until shearing. Saw a fair few bluebottles today but no greenbottles. We gathered them up and dagged them yesterday. A few little clumps stuck to the wool around the bum but that either rooed out or I clipped off. The wool is really starting to come away on them, one of them even has a bald patch on her back where the wool is right away. Should I be looking at rooing them soon? I'd quite like to have the fleece rather than it being spread across the field. This will be their first shearing. Gah I'm such a nervous shepherdess!

Dans

I would have thought the weather needs to be much warmer before they are ready to roo... Fleecewife will know!

I would have thought it's too early, but Dans is further south and local weather may be different.  Here it would be June or July.   I would suggest taking off the areas of fleece which come off easily, then waiting for more to grow past the rise before finishing the whole sheep.
There are other causes of lifting fleece......

[pharnorth]

I am a little further South than Dans, but probably similar conditions  though flies aren't too bad here as generally drier and less vegetation (except for wheat and barley of course). Last year I did mine early May as first year nerves but never saw a fly until June and wished I had waited until after shearing for the spinning quality.  I sympathise with the nervous bit, first year something to be said for playing it safe until you get a good handle on your local conditions.  Worth asking around what other shepherds are doing around you.

[Fieldfare]

Hi Dans- I have had fly strike on CM's but it was late summer and it was when those 3 were scouring and conditions were obviously locally good for greenbottles (some link between worms=scour=flystrike? ...trying to keep the balance without using too many wormers I think sometimes doesn't work in some young animals who are not as resistant...or if dropped onto fresh grass at the wrong time!). Keep an eye out for greenbottles sitting on their back-ends (I use a pair of binoculars to spot them) and obvious signs of animal foot stamping, vigorous shaking, gnawing or rubbing of their back-ends. If you are very quick- within a day-ish even struck animals are treatable without harsh chemicals (shear off the mass of maggots- which will be most of the back-end and wash them away with water/iodine). And of course worm those affected. Buy yourself some electric sheep shears (you can go quite cheap as you have small no.s). With only a few animals I would gamble and do it that way rather than use Crovect unnecessarily. Just make sure that if you need to catch an animal you can do it fast. Try an early shearing? Plus if they aren't scouring (i.e. don't have wet diarrhoea) then they probably will not get flystrike.

[suziequeue]

In my experience struck sheep tend to separate themselves from the flock a bit too. I could watch sheep for hours through binos. Fascinating creatures.

[Hellybee]

I see.  We have some with pantaloons, yes total opposite....

[suziequeue]

Pantaloons???

[SallyintNorth]

I agree that keeping back ends clean by use of wormers, mineral drenches and dagging will help - and Crovect won't protect a mucky bum anyway.

However, whilst it's true that mucky backends attract flies, you can get strike anywhere on the body and on clean sheep.  On the shoulders I've seen a few times.  Also in the feet if they have any infection there especially.

Even if you Crovect you still have to watch.  It helps but it's not a 100% guarantee none of your sheep will get struck anywhere on their bodies.

Any out-of-character behaviour warrants investigation in fly season. 

[Hellybee]

Some of ours have heavy welsh influence, some preseli hill too I think.  They're very fluffy/hairy down back legs. 

[Dans]

Keeping a close eye on them, and rounding them up tomorrow for another once over.

What could be the other causes of lifting fleece? It does seem to be mostly on the back, just behind the shoulders, but they have lost fleece around the underside of the neck now and when I was dagging the other week a lot of the dags just came away in my hand. Anything I should look out for?

Thanks again guys, this place is a wealth of information and my lifesaver!

Dans

[pharnorth]

I have got on a Angora goat currently loosing his lovely fleece.  He had very bad scour for a couple of weeks mid February so in this case I am pretty sure it was a weakening of the hair / stress related to that.  He has been well since and is as happy as Larry at present so I am not too concerned.  Stress, either from the move or illness is one cause to consider. You may need to start a separate thread on this to get some more experienced people responding.