Dear Dr. McNett,
Sheep stomachs, Pain while banding, Copper supplementation in goats, Bighorn hybrids
Dear Dr. McNett is a weekly column of questions asked by readers. It is published each Tuesday. To submit your small stock questions please post them in the website chat, respond to the email newsletter or send a direct message.
Do sheep got multiple tummies? How do those sheep tummy (tummies?) work?
Sheep have a four compartment stomach, or four distinct stomachs, depending on who you talk to. These compartments, in order as food enters from the esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth and the stomach), are the reticulum, rumen, omasum and abomasum.
The reticulum is little more than a pouch separated by a small flap of tissue. Heavier feed materials and objects tend to fall here. The rumen, a large fermentation vat, hosts vast amounts of protozoa and bacteria that break down feed into nutrients essential for a sheep’s survival. The omasum is a beautiful, round compartment with tissue folds resembling the pages of a book; absorbing water and filtering materials that require further digestion. And finally the abomasum, also known as the true stomach, is a glandular compartment very similar to our monogastric stomachs.
The most recent edition of Leaning On Our Crooks, contains an article with a more thorough introduction to the physiology of the ruminant stomach or stomachs which you can find here.
How does it feel for a lamb when you dock tails/band testicles? What’s going on there?
Docking, or removing tails, and castration (removing testicles) whether surgical or by elastrator band are painful for lambs, though the quality and duration of the pain varies.
Banding tails or testicles is immediately uncomfortable, as is evident by the lamb’s behavior right after placing the tight bands. Most of the time this behavior is transient. The band cuts off circulation and nerve transfer resulting first in a dull pain, and then in a cessation of sensation to the area distal (farther from the body) of the band. Once feeling in the area stops, the area no longer bothers the lamb unless the banding was done inappropriately. Many people choose to give an anti-inflammatory/pain reliever like Meloxicam for the first few days after banding to mitigate the initial discomfort.
An electric docker cuts and cauterizes a tail simultaneously, it is incredibly painful initially, though the lambs often recover quickly. It is a kindness for these animals to have sedation or anesthesia and analgesia (pain relief). Simply cutting off tails, without cautery or pain relief is dangerous and cruel, in my opinion.
Surgical castration is extremely painful and dangerous for the animal, and in some cases the human, if done without analgesia and sedation or anesthesia. These tools require training to use safely, thus they are only legally available to veterinarians in the United States. Therefore, surgical castration should be performed by a veterinarian.
Many forms of surgical castration have been, and continue to be, performed by shepherds without the aid of analgesia or anesthesia. This includes castrating with scalpels, pocket knives and even the shepherds teeth. If you are in a situation where you believe that resorting to these techniques is necessary, due to a lack of available veterinary care or funds or for other reasons, I urge you to consider management strategies as alternatives to castration. For example, running a ram lamb only flock from weaning to slaughter time.
For goats with visible signs of copper deficiency, how long does it take for their hair to get back to the healthy, normal color after receiving their bolus?
It can take 4-6 weeks after supplementing goats with a copper bolus where they will begin to resolve color loss, wiry hair, or hair loss at the top of the tail (fishtailing). If you are treating goats for a presumed copper deficiency based on these kinds of signs, rather than a confirmed diagnosis, and the signs are not resolving with supplementation, it is important to consider other conditions which can cause a similar appearance. Some examples of this could be zinc deficiency, mites, and lice. Use your vet to get to the bottom of situations like this.
Can Bighorn sheep interbreed with domestic sheep?
Yes, and they are close enough relatives that the hybrid sheep, unlike hybrids like mules, are able to produce offspring.
A friendly reminder: I am a veterinarian. I am not your veterinarian. Dear Dr. McNett is not meant for diagnosing or prescribing and is not a replacement for a relationship with a veterinarian who knows you and your animals.
If you are finding this free column helpful, but not interested in subscribing, please consider buying my sheep and I a cup of tea.