The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: JMB on May 04, 2013, 09:45:39 pm
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Hi.
I posted a similar thread on land management.
Bring in a flukey area we are looking at all our options. I'd read about copper sulphate on land, and Bordeaux mixture, but I think this is now banned?
We have a burn running through our field. Would it be a good idea to fence this off from the sheep or is it more likely the risk is coming from flooded areas from high rainfall?
I've looked at endless things online but its so confusing,
Does anyone have any great strategies?
Thank you
J xxxxx
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Joanne, don't you think that if fluke could be controlled by land management measures, all the sheep and cattle farmers in the north of England, Scotland, Exmoor, Dartmoor, Wales, the Staffs moorlands, and everywhere else that has fluke, would be doing it?
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I would fence the burn off anyway, since sheep are quite prone to drowning themselves! Also the environment bodies like you to anyway, to prevent contamination.
And it would help a bit, yes. But if it's a very wet year, or if you're in a flukey area, there isn't really a way of preventing fluke except getting the land much drier through drainage (might not be poss to get it dry enough in a year like last year) or by treating for fluke.
However I would be getting FEC fluke test done before choosing a treatment to avoid resistance and to hit the right life cycle stage, and to avoid resistance build up which is a growing problem.
It can be a bit of hobsons choice - we haven't put the sheep on our front fields as they are wet and I worried about fluke. Instead we used them as hayfields. However that's meant we have limited fields for the sheep and so they have ended up with some worm burden which I've just had to treat for for the first time ever, at least worms are easier to treat than fluke tho.
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The snails that host fluke can move 30m or so from the water source in wet weather, so you'd have to fence a lot to be sure.
And remember egg counts are not reliable for fluke. Fluke has a long life cycle - about 3 months - and only excretes eggs for a part of that - so false negatives are very possible i.e. no fluke eggs doesn't mean you don't have fluke.
I don't believe there is any real alternative now to a good, systematic chemical control programme for fluke.
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I take your point, Sally, it did seem a stupid question.
Having said that, I've read a number of things lately about fluke control and I'm not sure if any work.
E.g lots of ducks, fencing off muddy areas ( although we have many, and usually round shelters etc so not feasible), leaving the grass to grow longer ( as parasites are closer to ground), spreading calcium sulphate to kill snails ( not sure if this is banned), making sure the sheep drink from buckets rather than streams, certain diets, planting willow to aid with drainage.....
Realistically we are considering fencing off the burn and also , possibly, housing them over winter ( and so keep them off the land for several months) but this has obvious costs involved, and I don't want to go ahead and do this if they don't really work.
I was wondering if anyone had real life experience and recommendations
Thanks
Joanne xxxxxx
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Sorry Rosemary, we cross posted. That's useful information about how far the host fluke can travel!
Forgot to say, we are doing FAC but , as you said, we had one come back negative and another positive, and I know they are not entirely reliable
J xxxxx
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A positive test means you have fluke. You can disregard the negative one.
Housing is helpful as it removes the animals from reinfection. Triclabendazole is supposed to kill all stages of fluke (early immature, late immature and adult) but it's not 100% effective and there is evidence off some resistance now. If you fluke at housing, then you will reduce the fluke burden in the animals and on the land as any fluke excreted after treatment are in the bedding not on the soil.
It's quite fascinating really ;)
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Apparently ducks and hens could help reduce the number of snails by eating them all, i hope mine are :)
and they travel quite far searching for some food to eat. could be an idea?
plus you get lots of tasty eggs :P