The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: thenovice on December 19, 2011, 12:07:27 am
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Evening all, one of my pregnant (HOPEFULLY) ewes is still suffering, despite being given a dose of Combinex 3vdays ago. She seems quite ok in any other respect. Should i re dose her, despite it being her 3rd treatment in a month if i did? She had Panacur last time. Any ideas please? Thanks
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It could be worms that are resistant to the wormer(s) you've tried. It would be useful to do a faecal egg count, I would think - you can buy a kit where you pop some fresh poo into a container and send it off for analysis.
You could try a good mineral drench and/or a vitamin injection.
She may just need a few more days to dry up.
Does she have any other symptoms? What is she eating? How many others in the same batch? Any symptoms amongst them?
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That sounds like a good idea sally. I have never used a mineral drench before, what are the benefits? she is eating fine and not standing on her own or lethargic. Saying that, she has been in a small field with six others for a few months, so the worm burden could have increased? Eating grass, hay ,and a little mix. They are all being moved this morning to fresh pasture so hope this helps? Thanks
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You could try a clear wormer as panacur & combinex are both white and your ewe might just be resitant to the particular worms that are causing the problem Cydectin is a clear wormer and should kill just about anything.
If in any doubt please consult the vet as she should not still be scouring after 2 doses in one month.
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I used to have a Meatliinc ram who scoured chronically until I started giving him regular mineral drenches
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I have never used a mineral drench before, what are the benefits?
Mineral drenches contain a mixture of vitamins and trace elements which may be missing from the animal's diet. All of the UK is copper-deficient, and most breeds of sheep require more than they can get from their forage. My area is deficient in cobalt and selenium; if we don't give the sheep supplements either by injection, drench, lick, powder or feed, some of them will fail to thrive and eventually die.
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Thanks for the advice one and all. My girls do have a mineral bucket, but i will look into the drenchs :wave:
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The big plus about a mineral drench is that you know for sure that every animal drenched has had an adequate dose. With the licks, powders and feeds, you never know whether all the ewes are taking them, or how much. Sometimes weaker ewes have simply given up trying, some of them just don't like the taste.