The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Marches Farmer on August 14, 2017, 09:14:19 am

Title: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Marches Farmer on August 14, 2017, 09:14:19 am
Very humid here on Friday, although not particularly hot.  Lambs with sound feet and clean back ends.  Four weeks still to go on Clik.  Noticed a couple of lambs with damp looking patches on their backs.  Kept an eye on them for a few minutes and, yup, greenbottles landing on them.  Got them in the shed, slipped away all the wool from a wide strip around the damp patch, then poured on a mix of 100ml Jeyes Fluid, 100ml Dettol in a litre of water.  A couple of dozen older maggots and then 49 gazillion tiny ones wriggled out, probably only a day old. Gave lambs antibiotic and painkiller. Now in shed cudding. You have been warned!

 
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Fleecewife on August 14, 2017, 11:42:52 am
Thank you Marches Farmer.  It's easy to forget about them and rely on the Crovect, Clik or whatever, but we should always be vigilant.
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: crobertson on August 14, 2017, 08:46:39 pm
I can add to this, ours were coming to the end of their crovect cover last weekend, one had a dried mucky bum so I thought i'd clip the fleece mucky fleece away in preparation, I thought I'd leave the crovect until the monday as we had other things on the Sunday, noticed the lamb stamping his back foot a couple of time on the Monday so caught him again - poor thing was infested with tiny maggots ! It was only 24 hours previously clipped the fleece and there was nothing there ! Next time I will be crovecting slightly early !
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Marches Farmer on August 15, 2017, 10:41:10 am
I'm just about to Clik all our lambs again, irrespective of it being "early". 
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: RCTman on August 15, 2017, 09:03:39 pm
I did mine with Crovect last weekend as the 6 weeks cover was coming to an end , found one lamb that had been struck, caught just in time. :relief:
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Old Shep on August 15, 2017, 10:15:59 pm
900feet up in the Pennines we thought we may get away with not cliking ours this year - all fine till now but had two struck this week.  Sunshine and showers for the last couple of weeks plus bringing them down to slightly lower ground hasn't helped.  We are carefully watching them twice a day and will move them back up hill at the weekend.  Some are nearly weight so we don't want to clik if we can help it.  Its a tense time....
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Melmarsh on August 15, 2017, 11:03:49 pm
Old shepherd could use clikzin much shorter withdrawal or just watch very closely as you said.
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Tim W on August 22, 2017, 07:46:18 am

Hot 'n' humid here too in the valleys --- 1200 lambs and their mums, no one treated with any fly chemicals yet and no strike  ;)
And no wool worries either  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Penninehillbilly on August 22, 2017, 10:17:02 am
Sunday, 2 lambs with strike on their backs, trimmed round, doused with Jeyes,  I'm sure I've got them all, but can you put crovect on when they are wet or rain forecast?
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: shep53 on August 22, 2017, 12:09:00 pm
Damp sheep yes helps it spread , wet or rain forecast in next 4hrs it will just wash off . When you apply crovect to a dry fleece  if you touch it the next day its still damp .
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Penninehillbilly on August 22, 2017, 12:38:05 pm
Thanks Shep, so if it's just drizzle it would be OK?
Got the worst one inside with one to worm, is it OK to worm (Rycoben) and Crovect at same time, or would that be too much chemical for her.
Finally managed to weigh them, about 28kg.
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: shep53 on August 22, 2017, 01:02:52 pm
WORM AND CROVECT  together no problem , if you already have them inside then spray them and keep them inside overnight  , this gives it time to dry .  OK with drizzle  but better totally dry
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Penninehillbilly on August 22, 2017, 01:07:58 pm
Thanks shep, i was wondering about the best time to do the others, rain looks to be going to get worse over the week, so today would be best I think.
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: DavidandCollette on August 26, 2017, 01:10:51 pm
Thanks for the heads up. Dealt with an early fly strike this morning
Title: Re: Watch Out for Flystrike
Post by: Marches Farmer on August 28, 2017, 04:39:29 pm
I'm guessing that in very humid conditions the fly eggs hatch so quickly there's not enough time for the inhibitor in the pour-on to work.  Haven't seen any flystrike since but humidity's been much lower here.