The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Hillview Farm on March 25, 2013, 11:43:24 am
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I know wormers have been covered before but I cant find any!
I had my housed ewes worm counted a few months back. Small amount of worms so I dectomax'd them.
I plan to turn out after the lambs arrive (10th April) And once the ground is dry enough!
My questions are:
1) Once my ewes are turned out do I worm? The vet said they should by now have resistance. Is this right?
2) When do I worm for fluke? We are not on flukey ground nor did fluke show on the worm counts although I believe the fluke can not show up untill a certain age.
3) Final question. What is the best Fluke wormer and the best General Wormer? I dont want to use combination wormers would rather do it seperatly.
Thanks ;D
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Ask your vet which meds to use; they know your local conditions, including any local resistance issues.
Generally we expect adult ewes to manage their worm burden unless it's a really horrid year. We worm twin-bearers at least on turnout/after lambing, then usually don't worm adults again unless there's a reason to.
Lambs need to be watched and action taken swiftly if there is a problem. We aim to get the first few batches away without any interventions at all, but this cannot be achieved every year. In particular, watch out for lambs not thriving, especially if their poo is dark/blackish. That could be coccidiosis (and it loves a cold spring); it's swift, nearly silent, and lethal.
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He didn't say which to use just told me about clear and yellow wormers
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I wait until the lambs start grazing (maybe about a month of age) and then start having routine FECs done. I used to say once every 6 weeks, but last year that bit me in the behind. Might try every three weeks this year.
Ask them to look for cocci on the first count and if you have high numbers, put a bucket out.
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Ask them to look for cocci on the first count and if you have high numbers, put a bucket out.
If you have cocci, treat.
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Get yourself some of the Eblex Better Returns Programme (BRP) guides.
Download them here (http://www.eblex.org.uk/returns/Better-returns-sheep.aspx)
Read "Manual 8 - Target Worm Control..." first, then the "Booklet - Parasite Control Guide" which gives you a lookup table of which meds has which active ingredient.
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Ask them to look for cocci on the first count and if you have high numbers, put a bucket out.
If you have cocci, treat.
Depends on the count with what though - if you have chronic cocci (scours etc) bash them with vecoxan, but at non chronic levels I find the buckets pretty good.
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being a novice what bucket do you mean, thanks
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In my experience, if you wait until you have symptoms then you already have dead lambs.
If your worm count shows high levels of cocci then you should treat for cocci unless you are happy to accept losses. Vecoxan is expensive but dead lambs are moreso.
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Denis Brinicombe (and others) do a medicated lick bucket for cocci. I only tend to use them if I actually have cocci present as you will need to get a prescription from your vet before you order.
Edited to add: cross posted with Sally there.
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thanks stevehants
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I will try that bucket this year, Steve - at least, I'll talk to the vet about getting one to try ;)
But if I get any indication of active cocci, I'll be out with the Vecoxan asap.
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Sally - I tend to have fairly regular FECs and when cocci start showing in numbers, I put them out. I tend not to see cocci in threatening numbers, its not normally a problem one associates with an outdoor lambing flock, but I did see them last year, unsurprisingly. I'm hoping I wont have to bother this year.
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I was adviced by my vet due to the number I have that doing egg counts would cost more for me than actually worming them. I'll have a chat with my vet again and my sheep farming friend
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How much are your vets charging? Mine charge £6 inc VAT. It is also useful to have them done so you know what worms you are dealing with.
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Lucky you, Mine charged £35 for 2 counts......
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That is ridiculous. Try and find a proper ag vet asap.
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On spring grass you shouldn't needto dose the ewes, the high protein levels in the grass are known to inhibit the bind between the parasite and the gut lining so you can wait until the lambs are a month old and dose the ewes then if they need. Often see dirty bums at this time but tha is usually caused by fresh grass going through the ewes. I would dose for Fluke in the back end. September into October. Fasinex is the cheaest fluke drench I've seen. Combinex is a white drench which incorporates fasinex. I'd recommend it, almost a industry standard product. Not cheap but works a treat. The only clear (Ivemectin based) treatment I know of is Closamectin. It is an injection but only kills 2 stages of the fluke life cycle but has a shorter withdrawl period (28 days where fasinex and combinex are usually 56 days) which can be useful. Hope this helps.
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My vet is very good and proper thank you! The only other vet around here I dont nor like due to treatment with a cow but thats another story. Plus I can get another vet as I have to use the vet thats registered to the farm due to me not owning it.
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I think we must all be wary of dishing out advice which suits our own area and could be interpreted as being generally applicable.
Hereabouts, in Cumbria, there is currently no time of year when we do not need to treat for fluke. We had active fluke in lambs in August last year - it was so wet and cold all year, they never took a break.
There are a lot of reports of triclabendazole, the flukicide in Fasinex and in Combinex, becoming ineffective. Certainly we have had batches of ewes we have needed to treat with other flukicides in order to get them healthy. It could be that it's been such an extraordinary year and the fluke have gained ground, or it could be that there is some resistance developing.
The flukicide in Closamectin for Sheep is closantel, which is also in Flukiver, Mebadown and Superverm.
Combinex looks white but the wormer in Combinex is Levamisole, which is a yellow drench.
Download yourself a copy of the BRP Parasite Control Guide; the reference tables at the back are bloomin' priceless! :D
Get yourself some of the Eblex Better Returns Programme (BRP) guides.
Download them here (http://www.eblex.org.uk/returns/Better-returns-sheep.aspx)
Read "Manual 8 - Target Worm Control..." first, then the "Booklet - Parasite Control Guide" which gives you a lookup table of which meds has which active ingredient.
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My vet is very good and proper thank you! The only other vet around here I dont nor like due to treatment with a cow but thats another story. Plus I can get another vet as I have to use the vet thats registered to the farm due to me not owning it.
No you don't - you can use any vet you like. You are legally responsible for the animals, you can chose your vetenarian.
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I simply asked for wormers to use. Not a debate on my vets. Thank you
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I simply asked for wormers to use. Not a debate on my vets. Thank you
Um, to be fair, you did express (as I read it) a certain pissedoffedness with the cost of your worm count then implied that you couldn't change your vet.
Steve was simply clarifying that you can change your vet if you want to. :)
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And - doing FECs is central to a good worming regime - have a look at the SCOPS website: http://www.scops.org.uk/ (http://www.scops.org.uk/)
Most counts cost £4-6ish. You can, of course do your own, but you'll need a microscope and a macmaster slide...
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Hillview Farm, my vets does a reduced price at a particular time in the spring for FEC when most people are doing it. You may want to enquire if yours has a similar scheme
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I wasn't pissed off at all. Peace of mind was worth it, I simply stated that I cannot change.my vet. I keep them at the farm I work on, as I dont have a holding number etc they are registered to the farm and not me. We also calf rear on behalf of someone who uses a different vet and when calling his vet they refused as our farm is not covered by them.... I paid for the sheep but legally I am not the keeper!
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Thank you bionic I will look into that!
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I wasn't pissed off at all. Peace of mind was worth it, I simply stated that I cannot change.my vet. I keep them at the farm I work on, as I dont have a holding number etc they are registered to the farm and not me. We also calf rear on behalf of someone who uses a different vet and when calling his vet they refused as our farm is not covered by them.... I paid for the sheep but legally I am not the keeper!
They refused? Blimey - most vets I know would be round like a shot if they thought they could poach gain a new customer.
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Like I said, I just wanted to know about wormers. I'm happy with my vet....
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Read the NADIS Parasite forecast monthly too, they have one for each of the regional areas in the UK. Provides excellent advice on what is going on in your area with respect to the current weather conditions, covering fluke and worms and anything else of concern.
http://www.nadis.org.uk/ (http://www.nadis.org.uk/)
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That's an interesting site foobar, thanks :thumbsup: