No fur on hind legs

[Erik Diller]

My lamb is about a month old and has these patches of missing fur on both of her back legs? Any idea why, and do i need to be concerned? Thank you.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us. Looks like it's worn off... my goats have bare "pads" on their front knees from kneeling down. Not on their back legs... I'll tag a couple of Sheeple who might provide better responses: @Mike CHS @Sheepshape @mysunwolf @Roving Jacobs @Baymule ... Thanbks for sharing the pics, we like pics here. I hope you'll consider taking a minute to visit the new member's thread and introduce yourself so folks can welcome you properly. https://www.backyardherds.com/forums/new-member-introductions.17/ There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[Baymule]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I have not had to deal with anything like this and don't know what is causing it. I've had horses with "rain rot" whereby in hot and humid conditions, the naturally occurring bacteria on their skin got out of control and caused their hair to fall out. I treated it with Pine O' Pine in water and washed them down with a sponge daily.

On your lamb, I don't know what is causing this. Might need to see a vet.

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm sorry to say that I have not seen nor ever read about this problem. We try to treat whatever we can but when in doubt we involve the vet.

 

[Southern by choice]

@Ridgetop also may know...

 

[Ridgetop]

Just saw this post. Maybe it is the picture, but the skin looks kind of red and irritated. Is the skin irritated or normal colored? There are skin funguses where the wool falls off but this lamb is only a month old and it seems like it is a little young to catch something like this so quickly. Does the ewe have any missing wool? If you pull on the wool around the bald patches does it stick tight or fall right out? If the hair around the bald patches comes out easily it is may be some sort of skin disease - mange? What sort of bedding is the lamb on? Is it possible that the lamb might have caught its hind legs somewhere and scraped the wool off. I don't see any raw areas of broken skin that would indicate a scrape bad enough to take off the wool.. Has it been like this since birth or has it happened recently? Was this lamb a single or does it have a twin? Does the twin, if there is one, have the same problem? Does the skin feel soft and pliable or rough and dry? It looks like there are several darker red areas on one of the legs. I guess you can tell by my questions that I am puzzled. I think I would take the lamb in to the vet and have a skin scraping done to rule out any skin condition.

How about SheepGirl or Norseofcourse - they might know

I have not seen this in any of my lambs, BUT I did have a goat kid that our guardian dog, a Pyrenees, loved so much that she licked all the hair off both sides of its face by cleaning the kid constantly. Until I caught Sandy hugging the kid in her front paws (it's a Pyr thing) and scouring its face while it struggled to escape, I was preparing to take the kid to the vet for what I was sure would be a contagious disease! To Sandy's great sadness, and the kid's relief, we had to take the kid away and lock it up separately.

 

[Ridgetop]

Please post answer when you find out. Very puzzling.

 

[Sheepshape]

I've never had this but looks like it would be trauma related.

I would keep the knees clean and dry as much as you can and I expect the fleece to slowly return.

Good Luck and please let us know what happens.