The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Penninehillbilly on June 19, 2016, 08:28:31 pm
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I know, 'not again', however advice please.
Not sheared yet.
Friday evening seemed OK.
Saturday evening, getting a bit dark when I went down, tup missing, found him down a slope, he got up and came up bleating, not a happy bleat, as he was eating he swung his head round and nipped at his fleece. Bearing in mind he's black, so I can't see any discolouration, i could just see something white, had to pick it out before I was sure. Close up i could smell it.
Dashed straight home for Crovect, of course the torch batteries down, don't have a nozzle for crovect so used a syringe, by the time i got back down it was nearly dark.
I slowly squirted a run down his back, under the surface of fleece, and a few across his rump
This morning thousands of dead things.
This evening I could see one moving, albeit slowly.
So, what else can I do for him, he ate a little concentrate this morning and this evening, but still very quiet, when I parted his fleece to look he was trying to rub against me.
It's been very wet this afternoon, would that weaken the effect?
Sorry for long post, didn't know which bits to delete, trying to excuse my lack of observation I think, feeling guilty.
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Best to clip away all the wool from the damaged area as maggots move along the body so you need to know the full extent of strike , he will need a shot of antibiotic for any infection and once the maggots are all dead then cream to help the skin heal
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Clip the section right out defo x
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I wouldn't trust Crovect to kill all the maggots, especially when applied with a syringe. As others have said, you need to cut the wool right down to the skin, and well into the surrounding fleece. Once flies have started laying eggs on a sheep, and especially once there's a smell, their chums will come along too, so you'll have maggots of various ages and sizes in there. You really need to have a good look, in good light. As well as spreading from the original struck area, there could be other areas, such as feet or shoulders where there are more patches.
Strike can kill, so AntiBs and close care are needed. Obviously that fleece will have to be ditched, but take a close look at all your other sheep, as if one has been struck then more may have been.
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Thanks, other sheep looks OK.
I can't see any damage on him, skin i can see looks OK, but fleece is very dense, There is an area down his flank where outer fleece gone, wool just looks shorter.
I thought you hadn't to shear once treated as you are taking the treatment away?
Will I need to put more on Him?
What AB is needed? I only have pen&strep in, or alamycin out of date.
What cream would you suggest if/when I find damage?
Looks like I'd better get busy with the scissors tomorrow, that should be fun, he's a big fella, zwartbles X, I only have a couple of sheep so I can get Meds for goats, many things we use on goats are only licensed for sheep:-(. As ewe keeps throwing tup lambs my flock isn't increasing very fast :-(.
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Yound be surprised, and yes if we have found them, they're always clipped put and thoroughly checked for more colonies, we did have two with it, that's when they all come down to be done, we spot summat odd and we kick on. I stripe off all the fleece whilst Baz holds and investigates for anything else. Tak e it right back attacked area and beyond. I use jakoti an they make short work of it, I gently scrape them maggots off, Baz gets a preening, and then we put anti biotic spray on the area and some crovect around area. We use clik and clikzen as our prentatives though. Do all the other sheep too i would, it s gone damp and warm, they love it.
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The reasoning behind not shearing after spraying is that a shearer won't touch a crovected sheep for at Least 6 weeks.
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Also, when you use Crovect as a preventative, you spray it in a fan across the fleece - which, yes, you then want to leave in place with the chemical on it. However, when you're using Crovect to treat an existing strike, you apply the chemical to the skin - or as close as you can get - and to the maggots themselves. Your objective now is to kill the maggots that are there, as soon as possible, not to put in place 10 week protection against further strike.
You will not find all the maggots that are there, chewing away at him, already, unless you strip all the fleece back and expose them. And yes, use the closed shears to rub across the surface of the clipped skin to expose maggots buried in the skin.
It can be quite extensive, so keep going, clipping and rubbing, until you are completely certain there are no more.
Where his skin is sore, Sudocrem is as good as anything, I think. Do the antibiotic spray first, if you're using that, then Sudocrem when that's dried.
The Pen & Strep you have will be fine for an antibiotic shot, if you're using a systemic a/b. If you have some vitamins, it won't hurt to give him those too - it's a heck of a shock to their system.
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Don't feel bad, I had three rams with strike around the horns on Saturday :(. The weather is just right for it at the moment - rain and warmth.
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Don't feel bad, I had three rams with strike around the horns on Saturday :(. The weather is just right for it at the moment - rain and warmth.
It must be so much worse when you have no control over when the shearer comes. We have shorn over half our great woolly sheep, but then it poured, and anyway some are not ready. Very nerve-racking. It looks as if it should be drier for the next few days......... :sheep:
I hope your tup's ok PHB - sounds as if you caught him in time. Sally's advice is spot on.
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If I have one that's struck I first start clipping a big circle a good 15cm away from where I think the strike is. That way the maggots don't have the opportunity to make a break for it through the fleece as they would if I started at the middle. I have an old squeezy washing up liquid bottle with 100 ml Jeyes fluid diluted in 900ml water. I then drench the patch and leave it for a few minutes, whereupon the maggots will wriggle up to the surface and I pick them off with tweezers or wear disposable gloves and rub them off, depending on how many there are. If it's a bad strike or there are clearly several different ages I use more diluted Jeyes as the layer underneath will have been protected by those on top. I find this both kills the maggots and disinfects the wound. I wouldn't use this in the case of really deep strike, only where the top layers of skin are just being breeched.
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Totally agree with Shep 53 except I would give metacam as a pain relief as well as anti biotic. I'm sure that it must be quite painful too have your skin nibbled away and very sore until it has healed, systemic analgesia and by all means topical soothing cream as well. Fly strike must be one of the worst things sheep can get and unfortunately this wet humid weather is just what they like. I clikzin my lambs a few weeks ago and the ewes have been shorn and are awaiting enough dry hours when their fleece is dry to clik them!!! Till then it's a case of observe every free moment :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:
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I had 2 flystruck the other day, shearer has fitted us in for this week, so keeping an eye on them. I had to shear them and what a waste of a gorgeous fleece, but at least sheepies where happy. Got all the maggots off and oiled the area with really strong essential oils and linseed oil, lookewd at them today and they are very well, think i got them before any damage was caused. I am keeping a close eye on them and the rest to make sure they don't come out with it, eyes like a hawk during this weather. Should have had them sheared earlier but the shearer has been so busy as are everyone else around me. Thinking of investing in electric shears meself, when I can afford it and saving the hassle, but with 70 sheep, the work doesn't bear thinking about :o Much cheaper to get shearers in. Clipping away the fleece until untouched skin is certainly the thing to do, just the chemical won't work it will need phisical getting rid of them, sharp hand shears are just the ticket as they can get really close to the skin, clip as close as possible and then scrape them gently with the handshears to remove any maggots right next to the skin. Adter that oil them, or as others would suggest use the cream, and then keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get struck again. How long is it till you shear them? Also try and put them in a field which is nicely breezy, not too cold, I find the higher up they're it helps prevent strike.
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There's a great cream called Summer Fly Cream, it's bright yellow and very thick. It will prevent any sunburn on the bare patches of skin and help it heal along with having a bit of fly repellent in it too. Normally found in the horse aisles of a country store. Please do clip the fleece away- we had a lamb a few years ago with a small 5-10cm patch of strike from what we could see on his shoulder, once we clipped the fleece away it showed the full extent of the strike, imagine putting a horse saddle on his back, that's the extent and shape of what we clipped away. You need to clip until you reach untouched skin.
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We got a couple of weeks wait yet as we clikzened. So not worried about strike now all covered. Main concern is itchy ewes after rain, and them being upended so Baz s checks very intense making sure everyone's the right way up..
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Never ever be worried to ask questions, we ve all seen it and treated and sprayed everyone for it once the season is upon us, it's how we learn ...sharing experiences and learning from each other :hug:
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Thank goodness I asked and you guys advised to still clip.
Poor B had masses of the little brutes, where I had gone across his rump they were all dead, but down his sides, right up to his shoulder there were pockets of them, heaving. There were flies about so I sprayed Jeyes about and they left.
Trouble is the only place I could tie him up was where they eat, and now it's crawling, a lot will be trodden on, he was going crazy when I tried to do his back legs, so took what I could off, no live ones there. Shoulders seem clear, and as he was getting really stroppy had to abandon it, must have been about 3 hours, fleece is really dense right to the skin, difficult to get into. will give him a couple of hours then catch him and have another look. He's certainly a lot happier, was eating grass as I left. Sprayed him with Jeyes.
I've put ewe and lamb down in next field so they don't come up to feed corner, he will stay near their fence.
I have some dog clipping shears, now I've got all the dense stuff off wondering if they would get nearer the skin without cutting him?
We need to fence a field off higher up, it was for the goats but wondering whether to put the sheep in instead.
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He's a lot happier tonight, bleat almost back to normal and he came running for his supper.
Fleece tied up in black rubbish bag, with beasties,
Thinking of putting some crovect along his side where it was worst, just to be sure, or I have some Spotinor which says put round attacked area. Thoughts Please?
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As our lambs are born black (Herdwicks) at this time of year if i am suspicious of strike i have a bucket of Jeyes and water and using a jug douse the lambs with it. As it is I have had one lamb with struck feet. The rest of the flock were sheared Sunday and our wether was discovered to have been struck near his pizzle. I have never seen grown men cringe so much as we cleared that up! :yuck: The shearers did say it is a bad year for strike eveywhere as the weather has been warm and wet.
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I had a ewe with flystrike last year, it was caught early but a few days later she got wool slip and she lost half her fleece.
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I am new to sheep, last year I had beginners luck, I couldn't get a shearer till late and when they were done one had two early patchs.
I spent an last night hand clipping the little b***ers out of one and I think another has been struck as well. What had me fooled was they had nothing round their back ends, its from their shoulders down, where they lie.
Lathered up in antiseptic barrier cream and Crovect where it was bad.
I bought a cheap set of clippers last year but the shearer eventually came and I never used them so I am going make a stab today of doing the rest.
I have to say our local big agricultural stores are rubbish, the guy selling the Crovect had no idea even though he had been on 'the course', and the choice of kit is rubbish, fortunately there was a farmer in there.
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My rams were struck after shearing (about 2 weeks afterwards), so even after having them shorn please still remain vigilant!
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I didn't get them all :(.
Found another pocket yesterday.
Gave him a good dosing of Crovect, well it worked on his back end previously, so hopefully it will clear his flank. Also new eggs laid.
Keeping an close eye on ewe (black/grey), and white lamb, hopefully I'll see any discolouration on him easily.
I'm thinking I don't like having sheep :(
Farmer friend doesn't know when shearer is coming.
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Clearly the adult flies can smell strike so are still visiting. Another possibility is that the eggs are ones which will not hatch, as Crovect has already been used.
I wonder about giving him a liberal spraying with citronella to mask any smell? The rest of the flock too. I don't rely on anything like that, but I think in this case it might help.
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Thanks FW,where do I get citronella from? I've heard of it but never seen it.
What is wool Slip? Presume it's wool coming off, but caused by stress?
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=citronella+oil&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acitronella+oil (https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=citronella+oil&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acitronella+oil)
You can also try the herbal apothecary and other sources too. I get mine from the herbal apothecary. You don't need too much about a dozen drops, as it is quite potent.
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Gosh there is too much choice there.
Any suggestions which one I Get?
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the only one I have tried is from the herbal apothecary, it is highly potent am not sure about the others. It depends how much you want to spend on the citronella and exspensive isnt always the way to go. The one I get from the herbal apothecary is very potent. I make my own oil from comfrey leaves wilted in oil, not tol high a temp and only a little. My recipe is cut up comfrey leaves add abit of oil, not too much, put into a glass bowl over a pan of lughtly boiling or simmering water and put a lid over, leave to wilt for a couple of our and then take off and leave till cool ebough to handle. sieve the oil and press the leaves into the sieve to extract the residue oil. add raw linseed oil to it and pop in the citronella, once cool and not hot. I add gslf a dozen drops of both tea tree and citronella. This should be both soothing for them and help keep the flies away. I also oil the buffalo with this when the molt and I find it does help their hair a bit too.I put some on the sheep the other day and so far so good. If youre not happy about the comfrey then just pop the citronella into linseed oil and proceed. Hope this helps and all the best. :thumbsup:
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depending on the amount of comfrey used I add more oil to it once cooled. if you use a lot then add quite a good dosage of the oil into it once sieved and cooled. It depends how potent you would like it snd by adding more oil you get more out of it and it still has the same effect. You will need more essentials oils if adding a lot more oil though. Sorry for the lecture ;D
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Why not buy some clippers and do it yourself?
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Gosh there is too much choice there.
Any suggestions which one I Get?
You can get it ready to use in a spray bottle from a horsey place, called Naf Off Citronella
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What is wool Slip? Presume it's wool coming off, but caused by stress?
Got it in one.
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:wave: You could also try Barrier Blowfly Repel. Natural product and it says you you can use it on struck areas too. If you google it there are plenty of online suppliers
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You really need to clip off as much as you can to locate where there is strike - it might not be contained in one area. You can generally see where there is strike as the fleece becomes wet, perhaps not so easy to spot in a dark fleeced sheep but you can feel for it. I've clipped off masses of fleece, let the sheep go only to find it has got strike in another place! I've had to deal with loads of strike cases over the years, lost some to it, and one who got badly struck in her rear end last year lost all of her fleece coming into winter. I had to buy a dog coat for her! ;D . If a sheep gets very ill (for whatever reason) it can shed all it's fleece - I've had this happen to two of mine.
Basically I treat all struck sheep with Crovect but try to prevent it with Clik after shearing. I have invested in a pair of good electric clippers so that I can fully shear if needed before the shearer comes, they are invaluable for dagging anyway :)
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I am gunking them up with thick barrier cream every day, they see the pot and run away. I suppose this shows they are getting better?
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quite possibly, I knew a lot of farmers which used to dip their sheep and I was thinking of dipping them, but I never liked the idea of tons of chemicals on them and therefore on me when I handled them, so I was considering an alternative on what I had read somewhere about using essential oils instead; However I am sure this would cost way too much and you would have to dip often and I am not sure how much time i would have for that. Fly strike has be down from last year, so I suppose thats saying something in itself?
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Hi.
A great tip someone gave me recently was to apply sudo cream to the site after treatment as it seals and heals and is very kind.
Had a bad attack last year (started with a small patch which we treated but developed rapidly over night into a ring most of the way around her) so completely sheared the sheep and dosed her with a mild dettol mix after picking off the maggots. Then Crovect. She is still with us and had a lovely lamb this spring.
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Got some citronella spray for horses, so they've all had a good spraying. There were some flies around the tup but no eggs.
It will be useful for the goats as well.
At least it's stopped him threatening me, I don't think he likes me being near him now :-), :-(.