The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Mallows Flock on July 16, 2012, 07:52:14 pm
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Today, my cracking vet rang me for a lengthy discussion re: worming!
The long and the short of it is (stuff i didn't know)
Tapeworms have no detrimental impact on sheep.... don't deworm for it! Expensive and unnecessary!
Ewes are more or less immune to worms/worm damage apart from fluke which they don't build an immunity to. Worm with a flukicide (NOT wormer with anti fluke... just a fluke treatment) at the end of a wet summer and beginning of Spring for year round protection.
Ewes after paturition or ewes that have multiple births could do with a worming dose after birthing as they have lower resistance so could do with dosing!
Lambs have little resistance in their first year but preventative worming is unnecessary and again, expensive. Take in regular fecal samples for free/low cost analysis.
I am sure many of you know this, but for me the world of worming has been rather a minefield so i hope it makes life easier for some others of us that are a little confused by the whole worming debate!
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Mallows, my vet said much the same. My ewes had been wormed when we got them but vet said don't worm again this year. Next year take a faecal sample in for analysis before worming.
Sally
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Thanks Mallows, I have printed that off for my file :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :sheep:
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Who's your vet hun?
I don't know whether to feel ashamed or lucky that I haven't wormed my sheep since the day I got them!
I have one lamby with a dirty bum at the mo, but that is drying up so i think that one was down to gorging too much of something.
Fingers crossed I continue to keep the little beasts away :fc:
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Sounds like you have a great vet.
There's just a few points I'd clarify...
Tapeworms have no detrimental impact on sheep.... don't deworm for it! Expensive and unnecessary!
Not strictly true; tapeworms can cause cysts in sheep, which very rarely can cause symptoms but which can result in condemnation of some meat in fat lambs.
The point is that none of the sheep treatments really have any effect on worms which have already been ingested; the only real treatment is to worm the dogs that carry the worms that infect the sheep.
Ewes after paturition or ewes that have multiple births could do with a worming dose after birthing as they have lower resistance so could do with dosing!
In addition, ewes after parturition emit hundreds of thousands of worm eggs, so it's worth worming them at lambing so that they don't infect the ewes-and-lambs' pasture to quite the same degree.
Lambs have little resistance in their first year but preventative worming is unnecessary and again, expensive. Take in regular fecal samples for free/low cost analysis.
Some vets (mine is one such) are uncomfortable with this approach since some worms can cause considerable damage very quickly, between FEC tests. However with a low intensity small smallholder flock it's probably a perfectly reasonable approach. Just don't assume your lambs are clean because you had a clear FEC - if they have worm symptoms, treat them for worms.
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Some vets (mine is one such) are uncomfortable with this approach since some worms can cause considerable damage very quickly, between FEC tests. However with a low intensity small smallholder flock it's probably a perfectly reasonable approach. Just don't assume your lambs are clean because you had a clear FEC - if they have worm symptoms, treat them for worms.
For this reason - one ought to FEC every 8 weeks at the least. Its generally little or no money and actually pretty easy to do yourself in 20 mins. As soon as I can afford a microscope....
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Rotational grazing with different species, cattle, then sheep then ponies and/or geese should do away with the need to use wormers.
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Mallows, I had a long chat with our vet yesterday when I registered with them (first sheep arrived on Friday) and his advice also conformed with your vet's, especially when I explained we were in a position to keep rotating them onto either fresh pasture, or pasture grazed by horses.
We have a 3 month old lamb with a very runny bottom, but am hopeful it looks a little drier today. Vet said it could take a week for the wormer he was given before I got him to work fully. OH cheerfully remarked this morning that I should leave work early so I could help him wash the "chugnuts" off (erm, the sheep not the OH!) I never expected it to be this much fun :-J
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I believe "chugnuts" are technically known as "dags" round here (although I believe "clats" is common elsewhere). ;D