Sheep 101 - Tails

Almost all lambs are born with tails. The length of a lamb's tail is intermediate between the length of its mother (dam) and father's (sire) tail. Tail length is highly affected by genetics (84 percent of differences).

Crossbred Southdown lamb

Katahdin lamb

The purpose of a sheep's tail is to protect the anus, vulva, and udder from weather extremes. Sheep lift their tail when they defecate and use their tail, to some extent, to scatter their feces.

Katahdin ewe and lambs

Persian Blackhead Ewe

Under modern sheep production systems, tails are usually docked (removed) to prevent fecal material from collecting on the tail and hindquarters of the sheep, which can result in fly strike. Tail docking also makes it easier to shear the sheep. The tail does not interfere with breeding.

Bluefaced Leicester Ewe Lamb

Lincoln show flock

There are different methods that can be used to dock lambs' tails. It is recommended that lambs be docked at a young age to minimize the stress and pain experienced by the lamb. The dock (tail) should be left long enough to cover the ewe's vulva and an equivalent length on a male lamb.

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. . New Words . .

Dock - remove or shorten the tail of an animal (verb). A short or shortened tail of certain animals (noun).

Flystrike - when flies lay eggs which hatch into maggots and attack the flesh.

Udder - the glandular organ (of sheep, cows, and goats) in which milk is secreted and stored.

Vulva - external parts of the female genitalia (sexual organs).

Anus - the opening through which solid waste leaves the body.

Why Don't Sheep Have Tails?

In two shakes of a lamb's tail