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 get lice?
They do! In our area, I do not see infestations on sheep nearly as often as I do on goats. Still, it is good to check regularly as part of your herd health. A bad lice infestation can lead to severe illness, due to blood loss. My favorite thing about lice is that they are species specific. Sheep do not get goat lice, horses do not get sheep lice, etc. Therefore, if you do find the little buggers, you do not have to worry about slathering the children’s heads in mayonnaise or shaving your own head.
Do all male sheep grow horns?
No, there are naturally polled (hornless) breeds of sheep like Clun Forest, Polled Dorset and Border Leicester. There are breeds where both the females and males grow horns, like Icelandic. Also, fun fact, there is a gene carried by breeds like Jacobs, Navajo-Churro and Manx Loaghtan that allow horns to grow in multiples of two. These beautiful sheep can have 2, 4 or even 6 horns!
(Is she the Easter bunny? No, she is a Border Leicester)
Can a goat get lungworm from eating a banana slug? If so, should the goat be dewormed preemptively if witnessed eating a slug?. . . .Asking for a friend.
Oh goodness! I can totally imagine the hilarious image of a goat eating a banana slug.
In both sheep and goats, Lungworm can be caused by any of the following parasites: D. filaria, M. capillaris, and P. rufescens. Depending on whether the patient is a sheep or goat and depending on which of the parasites they are infected with, there may be no signs, mild signs or severe respiratory illness. Contracting lungworm in small ruminants requires the ingestion of an intermediate host. Intermediate hosts are slugs and snails. So, in theory, a goat may contract a lungworm infection after eating a banana slug.
However, it would need to be a perfect storm. First, adult lungworms must already exist in some animals on the property.hese adults lay eggs that are coughed up and hatch in the digestive system, or hatch in the lungs and the larva are coughed up and swallowed. Either way, larvae are pooped out, and then they must infect a slug or snail. Then that slug or snail must be eaten by a goat or sheep again for the larvae to reach adulthood and begin the precious cycle again.
In other words, the danger a goat is in from eating a banana slug depends on the geographic location, the history of animals on the property, what type of lungworm it is and whether the animal is an adult or a kid or pregnant.. If I saw an otherwise healthy goat eating a banana slug, my first thought would be, “Oh, goats!” not “ Oh, no! Lungworm!” However, if that goat begins coughing, gets lethargic, or goes off their feed, I would have that incident in the back of my mind and consider lungworm as a possibility.
Lungworm can be tested for using a Baermans float fecal test. If you already perform your own fecals you may be comfortable expanding your repertoire and learning this technique. Or you can submit samples to your veterinarian or local veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
When is the best time of year to shear my sheep?
The best time of year to shear depends on your location and the type of sheep and wool goals. It also depends for many people on when you can get a shearer out. Shearing schools are working hard to increase the number of shearers, especially for small flocks. However, in many areas, shortages still pose significant challenges to those raising wool sheep.
We shear in the spring. I like to shear before lambing if possible, because it makes it easier for me to assess how nursing is going from afar. Some folks like to shear after lambing because the lambs can have their little rumps shorn (crutching) to prevent flystrike in the event of diarrhea. Some wool producers shear in the fall after the dry season because the fleeces are much cleaner when they have not been through a muddy winter at almost full length. We tried this one year but ended up preferring spring for our purposes.
Many people believe shearing is essential to prevent overheating. While it is true that sheep should not be expected to carry more than one year's worth of wool growth through the hot months, it is not true that being in full wool is particularly dangerous in the heat. Wool is insulating, both against cold and against heat. In fact, the only incidence of heat stroke in a sheep I have seen was when sheep were shorn in summer and therefore exposed to heat without protection in the days following shearing. If for some reason you are forced to shear during extreme weather– hot or cold, be sure to provide shelter and support for thermoregulation in the days after, as the sheep adjust.
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.
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