sheep prolapse(?!)

Submitted by queenbee on January 17, 2007 - 7:29pm
Body: 

I just got finished with the book "The Barn at the End of the World" by Mary Rose O'Connor. In the book, a middle aged female college professor becomes a shepherd's apprentice for a year. One of the challenges she faces is that the male sheep suffer rectal prolapse. She asks the farmer why his sheep prolapse (the sheep farms she visitted in England did not have this problem). The farmer states it is because they cough too much.

The sheep's tails are docked - I wonder if that could have an effect on thier pelvic nerves and strength? Are thier pelvii not developping proper form in utero (perhaps thier corn/soy/hay diet is deficient)? Or maybe as the farmer said, they just cough too much, which also could be a symptom of a diet that diverges too far from a natural sheep diet(i.e. green grass and hay).

I keep goats, and I have been taught to keep them off of the usual corn/soy chow to reduce snotty noses and foster natural health. Well, I thought it was too much of a coincidence that the book that I recieved as a surprise for Christmas would have prolapse in it...!

Queenbee

Christine

January 18, 2007 - 10:21am

I suspect your assumptions about sheep health are accurate. In my book I explain how important the animal tail is for preventing prolapse and incontinence when they try to stand up on two legs for short periods of time. They will always draw their tail sharply underneath, serving as an exterior set of muscles over their pelvic outlet.

louiseds

January 22, 2007 - 2:08am

Hey Christine, you are right. We have Coopworth sheep, which are a fixed cross of Border Leicester and Romney Marsh sheep, both English breeds. They browse quite high if they can reach tree leaves and spend quite a bit of time on their back legs, and they do tuck the stumps of their tails in. Their tails are docked to prevent flystrike in the breech area. However, we have never had a ram prolapse, only two thin ewes (that may have had pregnancy toxaemia which prevented an active labour), which got into trouble labouring and delivered multiple dead lambs after several days. It is really distressing. We are not allowed (Breed Society rules) to help the ewes deliver which ensures that genetically they will pass on easy lambing as a breed characteristic, as the ones that have difficult births tend not to have live lambs and may die themselves and not breed again. Difficulties are very rare, and if the ewe survives the birth they receive veterinary care. One of the ewes died (probably of pregnancy toxaemia) but the other lived, with severe prolapse. She was eventually euthenased as her condition went backwards after the birth. I guess she was in constant pain and didn't feel much like eating. Sheep tend to just give up the urge to live after a trauma.

These sheep that are bred from Border Leicester genes do tend to have snotty noses whatever you do, and they do cough a lot. They are paddock reared and only have lupins and dry mixed pasture when there is no green feed. I think the odd prolapse is more to do with multiple births and the enormous metabolic load of carrying several lambs. That's mother Nature for you.

Cheers

Louise