Gaucher Disease

All Babydoll sheep have Southdown genetics and any one of them could be carrying the gene for Gaucher Disease. Life for a lamb born with two copies of the Gaucher gene is pretty grim and short since they are unable to stand and feed. Anecdotally, it also seems that ewes carrying Gaucher are less fertile, more likely to have stillborn lambs and more likely to die unexpectedly (especially soon after lambing). None of us need this in our Babydoll flocks.

Fortunately there is a simple, inexpensive DNA test that can be done to find out whether a sheep is carrying Gaucher.

Gaucher carrier sheep have been found in many Babydoll flocks in Australia. If the breeder has not tested their flock they are unlikely to know the Gaucher status of sheep that they are breeding and could be selling you Gaucher carrier sheep.

Please ask about the Gaucher status of any Babydoll rams and ewes you are considering before buying. A reputable Babydoll breeder will show you test results as evidence that the sheep you are buying are Gaucher free. It is much easier to check before buying and avoid introducing Gaucher into your flock than to try to fix the problem later.

Despite its name, Gaucher Disease is not an infectious disease like Ovine Brucellosis but a recessive genetic fault. It is possible to eradicate Gaucher from a Babydoll flock.

The only way to find out if a sheep carries the Gaucher gene is to DNA test and that is pretty easy to do - just a couple of drops of blood on a special collection card sent off to the testing lab. Where both parents have been shown to be Gaucher Free, their lambs will also be Gaucher Free by pedigree.

Excuses we have heard for not testing for Gaucher (none of these are true):

• We don't have Gaucher in our area
  - Because Gaucher is specific to Babydolls and Southdowns, many vets have not heard of it
• We don't test because we haven't had any problems with Gaucher lambs
  - If flock has not been tested for Gaucher, it is impossible to know whether lambs that have died had Gaucher unless the deceased lambs have been DNA tested (which generally doesn't happen)
• We only buy and use Gaucher Free rams
  - This strategy will slow the spread of Gaucher through the flock but the gene will still be spread by carrier ewes
• Our flock has been closed for decades
  - It is not known when the Gaucher mutation occurred. Babydoll and Southdown flocks that have been closed for decades including the Hillgrove flock have found Gaucher carriers in their flocks.
• Our Babydolls all look fine
  - It is only possible to know if a Babydoll is Gaucher Free by DNA testing or where their pedigree can be accurately traced to ancestors that have all tested as Gaucher Free.
• Gaucher is not a problem
  - Well, this is somewhat true until you start having Gaucher lambs born or test and realise how many of your best Babydolls are carriers and that the quickest strategy for eradicating Gaucher from you flock is culling the Gaucher carriers.

In theory, a ram carrying the Gaucher gene will pass on the gene to approximately half of his lambs so will spread Gaucher through your flock quickly. Ewes carrying the gene will also pass it on to half of their lambs but have less impact because they are not a parent to as many lambs. In cases where Gaucher has been detected in Babydoll flocks, it has turned out to be passed on to a much higher proportion of lambs that what the theory predicts.

If you breed with Babydolls that carry the Gaucher defect, it will spread silently through your flock, potentially creating a big problem for you in the future.

Lincoln University in New Zealand does the DNA testing for Gaucher. Scroll to the bottom of their information page to find the instructions for testing and how to get the blood collection cards.

Gaucher DNA test info