As I posted under yesterday's journal, our Babydoll Southdown ewes lambs have arrived! They're my first sheep and I've been planning and wishing for them for 2 years. They're a cute as buttons at 10 weeks of age, chocolate colored. I still have to vaccinate and worm them, however, I have a cleanliness issue question:
The one lamb had a mild case of scours and she's fine now. She has those manure tags (not many) around her tail/backside on the wool. The breeder tried cutting some off with scissors (to my horror) and she cut the skin. We added some wound dress and sprayed for flies (it was a small cut). Ok, the question is: can I give a bath to the lambs with shampoo to loosen the fecal mats, in order to prevent any fly strike? I am going to try to shave her down there to remove them but if that fails, then I may resort to a bath and work the tags out. The breeder told me that bathing the lamb would make the manure tags more of a target for flies. Can anyone give me suggestions? I've never had a fly strike with rabbits and they're easy to prevent, however, with sheep...that's another ballgame!
Thanks...
Trish
Basic Sheep Question
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