Overview of genetic disorders in sheep

Abstract

There are a lot of different disorders that can be found in sheep, some more common than others. In Norway these disorders has been described in literature as common disorders: - Spider Lamb Syndrome (SLS) - Cryptorchidism - Inverted eyelids, also called entropion. - Brachygnathia - Cleft palate - umbilical/abdominal and scrotal/inguinal hernias - Antresia ani - Microtia - rectal prolapse - microphtamia Most inherited disorders are recessive in nature. That means that for the animal to get the disorder, two copies are needed. The animals having one copy are carriers. Recessive disorders are especially important when there are few animals (small genome). It is also important when there are a small number of animals used to improve the production, like in selection.