Author Topic: worming (Read 10218 times)

jacob and Georgina · « **on:** October 17, 2011, 09:53:46 pm »

can any recommend a good sheep wormer, i will only have 12 store lambs to do so dont need huge quantitys but my local agricultural supplier sells so many varieties obviously all claiming to be the best!! i expect they all do more or less the same so do i just go for the cheapest?? any advice will be very much appreciated

Hazelwood Flock · « **Reply #1 on:** October 17, 2011, 10:15:43 pm »

Are these lambs going onto ground used by sheep recently? If they are, they may need worming during their stay. If not, they may not need it if they are wormed before coming on to your holding.
Most wormers are available in a 1 litre size, which is rather a lot for 12 sheep - you may be able to get smaller amounts dispensed by your vet.
Hope this helps!

Anke · « **Reply #2 on:** October 17, 2011, 10:19:35 pm »

It all depends on what their worm status is when they come onto your holding.

If you buy through a private sale from someone you know and trust - ask him/her about their worming routine. Most people are happy to worm them on leaving their holding, if they haven't been done before. Or they would at least recommend a wormer. Also enquire about fluke, treatment for scab (if relevant to your area) and vaccination status.

If you buy at auction you should worm the lambs on arrival (in the trailer as you leave mart, so they start poo-ing them out during the journey) and isolate them on your holding until you are sure that they are worm free (as well as other possible diseases, a week or two may be best, but often not possible on smallholdings). If you do not already have sheep, your land may well be worm free (no goats/sheep on it for more than one year) and you would want to keep it that way. I would use an ivermectin based wormer. If you are in a fluke area buy a wormer/flukicide (Combinex springs to mind, but I haven't needed to use it). If they come through a mart they may well be treated for scab, but find out about it. I would re-vaccinate any sheep that come through auction with a double dose of Heptavac.(2 x 2ml 4 - 6 weeks apart)

That may sound like quite a lot for a few store lambs, depending on what your plans are for these it may also reduce any profit margins. Other people may have different opinions, but I rarely buy in new stock and then only from trusted sources, where I can be sure of their status.... even so I managed to bring in fluke (or it was already here...). Still worm free though...

Hope this is helpful.

jacob and Georgina · « **Reply #3 on:** October 18, 2011, 09:10:29 pm »

thanks for all the comments. we have only lived here for 3 weeks but there definitely has been sheep but not for several months but definitely within 12 months ago, i think i will worm them when i get them as it is not a great expense and at least then i know for sure it has been done

trefnantbach · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2011, 01:27:11 pm »

I would stay clear of closamectin - i't like syrup and needs to be kept warm - really diifficult to inhect and painful for the ewes I suspect.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #5 on:** October 20, 2011, 01:48:27 pm »

We completely agree about the closamectin. It's a wide-spectrum med but the sheep version is so difficult to use, especially in colder weather, that you end up wondering whether everyone has really had a full dose.

Ask a neighbouring farmer or your vet whether you are in a fluke area or not. If you are not, then the cheapest wormer will be fine. If you are in a fluke area then I'd recommend either Combinex or Albacert. (Albacert does worm only at one dose, worm and fluke at a higher dose level.) Albacert has the shorter withdrawal period, so depending on whether you think you will have these lambs for more or less than 2 months you may prefer Albacert.

However, I'm a sheep farmer so don't have to try and get small quantities of these meds - so you might have to ask the agri supplier to select a one for you that comes in a smaller bottle. Either that or buy some from your local friendly farmer (who may even lend you his / her drenching equipment) or the vet.

Anke - fluke can't establish on ground that doesn't have the right sort of snail, and no-one ever talks about eradicating it, so I think that if you have fluke you will always have had fluke. It is more or less active at different times of year and on different ground depending on the conditions that suit the snail in question - so you could have had it lurking about doing no harm until there was a wetter year and it moved into pastures it hadn't been in before.

shep53 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 20, 2011, 07:15:21 pm »

A word of caution ALBACERT will only kill adult fluke and eggs and should only be used late spring/summer. Autumn/winter you need to kill early and late immature flukes these are the ones that cause bottle jaw and kill sheep, use FASINEX,FLUKIVER, TRODAX.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #7 on:** October 20, 2011, 09:14:56 pm »

That's a perfectly fair point, shep53. The fluke becomes an adult at 8 weeks old, so a med that kills only adults will need repeating every few weeks to keep killing all flukes. A med which kills larvae can be repeated less frequently - at least 8 weeks cover is given by one dose of a flukicide which kills all larvae.

You are correct to state that there is a type of infection (acute fasciolosis) in which the damage is done by the larval stage. Our vets around here do not talk about acute fasciolosis being an issue - jacob you should be advised by your vet as to whether you need to be concerned about this.

Combinex and Fasinex contain the same flukicide (triclabendazole.) Combinex includes a wormer as well, which jacob was wanting. Both have a 56 day withdrawal and both kill susceptible flukes as young as 2 days old, so do not need repeating more frequently than every 7-8 weeks.

Flukiver is for fluke only, not roundworms. It kills immature flukes down to 3 weeks old but is not highly effective on flukes younger than 4 weeks old. It has a 42 day withdrawal period.

Trodax again is not a broad-spectrum wormer, it is primarily for fluke. It claims to be effective against fluke larvae as well as adult fluke. It recommends routine treatments at no more frequently than 7 week intervals.

Albacert, Albex, etc, contain albendazole, which is effective against adult flukes, not larvae but does kill fluke eggs. In order to maintain protection on fluke-infested pastures, dosing is usually repeated every 6-8 weeks. The advantages are that the withdrawal is only 5 days, so fat lambs can be sent away as soon as ready, and that it also kills a broad spectrum of roundworms.

I suspect that this is not helping jacob very much - sorry, jacob - but fluke is a complex disease!

The precis is that if you want to kill worms and fluke with one dose, use Combinex or Albacert. There could be a risk of an acute form of the fluke disease if you use Albacert - check with your vet if this is an issue in your area. If you use Combinex, you cannot sell the lambs into the fat within 8 weeks of treatment. (With Albacert it's only 5 days.)

Do check if you need to be worried about fluke in your area - if not, tell us and ask again about advice on wormer-only products!

HTH
Sally

Rosemary · « **Reply #8 on:** October 21, 2011, 09:32:00 am »

I just take a faeces sample, get a worm egg count and pass it to the vet. He tells me what to use based on information form the Scottish Colleges and Animal Health. Simples.

bigchicken · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2011, 12:02:42 pm »

Rosemary where do you get a feces egg count and how much does that cost I have a ewe that I,m concerned about and would like to investigate the possibility of worms etc.

Rosemary · « **Reply #10 on:** October 21, 2011, 05:04:37 pm »

Your vet will probably do it for you but I use Westgate Laboratories - they do kits with glove, envelope, box etc in farm supplies outlets.

Cinderhills · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2011, 07:54:28 pm »

Supplies for Smallholders is where I get my kits from. Very fast results too.

Rosemary · « **Reply #12 on:** October 22, 2011, 09:20:47 am »

Quote from: Cinderhills on October 21, 2011, 07:54:28 pm

Supplies for Smallholders is where I get my kits from. Very fast results too.

That's Westgate. Sent First Class, usually get results within 24 hours by email.

I always ask them to list all eggs found, for the avoidance of doubt.

They were doing a four test pack, which was cheaper per test than buying individually.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #13 on:** October 22, 2011, 12:52:29 pm »

So does the Westgate test test for fluke too?

supplies for smallholders · « **Reply #14 on:** October 22, 2011, 03:28:08 pm »

It will show up fluke IF the fluke is in the egg laying stage of development (ie adult) can also check for fluke in pigs IF you ask for a fluke test to be done on a pig sample, as the fluid used is slightly different.

Thanks