> Can anyone tell me what the most efficient, serious producers do about
sheep tails? Do they dock them, or do they find it not worth the trouble?
> I recall seeing sheep all over northern Scotland with long tails, and
gathered it isn't worth the effort there. Will I kick myself if we skip
tail
> docking in mid-Vermont?
Depends Ann,
If you have warm humid summers, blue bottle flies, lush grass, coccidia and
wooled, longer tail sheep, you're inviting flystrike, which ain't pretty.
If you have hair sheep, northern short tailed breeds, or graze more mature
forages flystrike may be less of a problem. Docking is primarily for
hygenic reasons. Some markets may also penalize lambs with tails, not much
of a commercial prodcut there, and if the tail is covered in feces presents
an extra challenge in handling the carcass without contaminating the meat.
Gene Schriefer
Shepherd
Dodgeville, Wisconsin USA
Commercial Texel-x and Charollais-x Sheep
