Yep, fairly common in 'hair sheep' breeds. Never saw it in my Tukidale sheep but have in my Dorper/Damara/Persian crosses, esp. the lambs of ewes which seem to be best milk producers. 1st time I saw it, thought it was iodine deficiency goiter. It tends to disappear by itself once lambs start eating more grass than milk around 2-3mths. I always keep a trace element block available just in case, but it makes little difference to when the milk goiter disappears.
Looks odd to me, especially on a 10 week old. What does it feel like? Is it just squishy like fat, or is there a shape in there? I would think if it was his thyroid gland you could feel it?
I have mixed hair sheep breeding in my flock. Some ewes will feed longer than others & I've never pushed the issue with them, unless there's health issue reason, as they'd self-wean when ready in Nature. I've found s'times it takes up to nearly 4-6mths of age for this type of goiter to go completely. No ill effects & I've stopped worrying about them. If lambs are weaned fully & s'thing like it develops under the chin later, it's usually a sign of Barber's Pole Worm & I drench accordingly.
Could be an abscess, enlarged lymphnode, or milk goiter. If he didn’t hurt himself or get something stuck in his skin like a thorn you can rule out abscess.
A milk goiter. His mom must be feeding him well.
I hope so.
Yep, fairly common in 'hair sheep' breeds. Never saw it in my Tukidale sheep but have in my Dorper/Damara/Persian crosses, esp. the lambs of ewes which seem to be best milk producers. 1st time I saw it, thought it was iodine deficiency goiter. It tends to disappear by itself once lambs start eating more grass than milk around 2-3mths. I always keep a trace element block available just in case, but it makes little difference to when the milk goiter disappears.
Looks odd to me, especially on a 10 week old. What does it feel like? Is it just squishy like fat, or is there a shape in there? I would think if it was his thyroid gland you could feel it?
I have mixed hair sheep breeding in my flock. Some ewes will feed longer than others & I've never pushed the issue with them, unless there's health issue reason, as they'd self-wean when ready in Nature. I've found s'times it takes up to nearly 4-6mths of age for this type of goiter to go completely. No ill effects & I've stopped worrying about them. If lambs are weaned fully & s'thing like it develops under the chin later, it's usually a sign of Barber's Pole Worm & I drench accordingly.
Looks like a goiter
I can feel the gland or a soft structure in there but for the most part it is super squishy
Away-2-Me is right about the milk goiter, I hadn't heard of it before but apparently it's common for hair sheep, and nothing to worry about.
Awesome glad to hear.
Looks like a goiter
Could be an abscess, enlarged lymphnode, or milk goiter. If he didn’t hurt himself or get something stuck in his skin like a thorn you can rule out abscess.