About a week ago we noticed Nhu had terrible gashes on her face. Every summer she is the one sheep that is terribly bitten up by flies...almost as if her skin is thinner than it should be. The gashes across the bridge of her nose and from the front corner of her left eye forward seemed to be from her scratching at her face with her hind foot.
Of course our main concern was fly strike... But our favorite topical for that problem - SWAT - was out of stock at the feed store. So we bought some aloe healing cream and a different (runny) anti-fly med. Because the wounds were so open we opted for the aloe cream first to get a scab going.
front veiw of mask
Nhu, however, continued to scratch and keep the wounds open. Nothing was healing up at all. So last night I created a fly-mask out of a sleeve cut off a long-john shirt. I figured if horses could wear them...why not sheep? My design is certainly not perfect. But Nhu is able to eat, chew, and see out of the one eye. My goal is to keep the wounds free of flies long enough for them to heal up some. Then I will start using the 'pesticide' topical. Hopefully by then the store will have more SWAT in stock. It is a much thicker product that stays put longer.
wet spot is from aloe cream applied before mask
Anyway, the mask is not ideal. Nhu's wounded eye is completely covered, which could eventually cause irritation to the eye. But I'm less worried about that, at the moment, than fly strike. The mask was still in place this morning. But I have noticed Nhu scratching her wounded areas against trees. And blood has soaked through the fabric across her nose...so she continues to keep the wounds open.
I slit the fabric under the chin to keep it from being too tight on throat
Does ANYONE have any ideas for how to keep her from scratching? Or should I just keep the area moist witht the aloe cream and hope for the best? Please comment with your advice if you have any. Thank you!
