Eczema on Sheep

Hi

I'm hoping someone will be able to help me. When I checked my sheep after being away for a month (I had organised for the shearer to shear them during this time and someone else was ensuring they had water ) I have found one of the younger sheep has some sort of eczema - this looks awful but the sheep doesn't appear to be in any distress - eating and pooing okay. Any ideas of what this might be and how I can treat it? All the other sheep are fine. Thanks Dianne

What area are you in? Please put that in your profile.

It could be Facial Eczema (dependant on your area) and it could be evidence of earlier flystrike.

Hi Ruth

We are located in Albany, Auckland

Looks like healing / treated flystrike to me

I would say that this sheep was badly flystriked / struck, a couple of days before it was shorn in mid December. The small wounds are where the maggots got through the skin. The bare patches are where maggots had a feed but did not get into the skin. I think that this sheep is extremely lucky that it got shorn just in time. If it had been a day later it would have been very difficult to save it
Treat the bare skin by applying white zinc sun-screen. It appears there is a bit more wool to come off yet, so lift those dead bits off and apply cream to them.
Get a supply of Maggo from the rural supplier to treat any others, or this one again, that get struck. Also try very hard to get a preventative like Zapp to apply to all your sheep. Ask at the shop (we use Farmlands) if they will tell you of someone that you can buy a tiny bit from.

Without a shadow of a doubt, that is healing fly strike. I only had to look at the scabby wool heading towards the shoulder and down the left hand side (as we're looking at the photo) to work that out. You are very lucky you didn't lose the sheep. I would also strongly suggest you buy some zinc ointment and apply it liberally to the skin that has healed to prevent sun burn. Sheep have thin, pale skin and normally have wool to protect it. Not so in a case like this. I have a tub of it and it is used on everything from fly struck sheep to dogs, calves and grandkids! Oh, and the cats ears - they are white.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Yes I agree with other posters.
It has to have been FlyStruck in past.
Not a pretty sight at all.