I was thinking last night when sleep was a long time coming.....
My landlord NEVER EVER had a case of fluke OR ticks on his sheep. Not once. Now the ground here can get wet, and I have seen bottlejaw in sheep next door.
I think I worked out why. Chickens!
They eat ticks, they eat snails (I never get slug or snail damage on my veg, just got to keep the chickens away from the juicy stuff).
My goats have shown no sign of fluke, have never had a tick etc. They share their ground with.......chickens!
I had a spare rooster who I was loathe to eat as he is stunning, so today whilst I was fluking and feeting, hubby made a new raised coop, with a rickety ladder so chickens can get in but not the fox.
Mr Diva and 2 new laydees moved in and will soon be ranging out. Hopefully they will eat any snails and ticks and reduce the disease risk for my woolly wonders!
If they settle in ok I shall get a few more cos I reckon 3 chickens might not manage to keep clean 4.5 acres.
Not worried about eggs, though any are a bonus. They will be doing a very important job keeping my sheep safe