The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Moleskins on October 21, 2011, 04:56:59 pm
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Just had my first experience of fly strike - I wasn't looking for it this late in the year and so that's cost me a ewe lamb. Be warned.
Took me two days to get the smell out of my nose and it's got to be one of the worst bits of shepherding, please don't tell me there's anything worse!! I've done dagging, clipping and assisted with births up to the elbow nearly all of which are a joy by comparison.
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Sympathies - it's a horrible thing in any circumstances and thankless if the animal dies in the end. :bouquet:
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I've not been at this long - but I've seen the worst survive and the best die - full of surprises are sheep.
fly strike can catch anyone out - dont beat yourself up
maggots are on the top of my 'oh dear' scale too. (unspoken, though we all get it!)
sorry for your loss.
Baz
We are all honing our skills.
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Its scary isn't it? even at this time of year :-\ Its got to be the worst thing I've had to deal with in smallholding too - lost one, saved one and like Baz says its not always the worst ones that you lose. The smell lingers something awful and you dread finding it in another sheep. sorry you lost your ewelamb though moleskins, it makes it even worse that you went through such an awful ordeal and she still didn't make it :bouquet:
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Horrible you have my sympathies, we lost an in-lamb ewe with it last week, she look ok then we saw a patch on her, caught her up and trimmed them out went to get spray and antibiotic jab and she died in my arms, shock i presume, very distressing not even that badly affected with strike but enough to tip her over. Really gutted
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I wanted to get some crovect in to have something on hand in case of flystrike ( not had it yet but.......) but at £53 for a couple of litres thought it was very expensive to leave on the shelf in case. does anyone have any cheaper standbys for once a sheep is struck and a product that will kill maggots.
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Oh, so upsetting. We nearly lost one last year, had to shear patches off him and pick out the maggots, but we got to it in time and he survived. It can happen so quickly.
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I wanted to get some crovect in to have something on hand in case of flystrike ( not had it yet but.......) but at £53 for a couple of litres thought it was very expensive to leave on the shelf in case. does anyone have any cheaper standbys for once a sheep is struck and a product that will kill maggots.
Check the expiry date on the Crovect - buy one that will still be in date for use next year.
Otherwise, I've seen someone on here recommend Coopers' Spot-On - but I have no experience with it myself.
And you can always pick them out by hand if you don't want to or can't use chemicals.
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Hi, thanks my vet nurse training has hardened me to picking out maggots so thats not a problem but i thought that treating the sheep with something was conbsidered more efficient ? I may be worng in which case I'll pick them out.
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You can buy coopers spot on in 250ml/500ml or 1lt very effective at 5 ml per sheep for about £30 250ml will do a lot ,kills lice and ticks as well but unlike crovect does not prevent blowfly strike. IF you are willing to remove the maggots BATTLES maggot oil helps skin to heal and stops any immediate re strike
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IF you are willing to remove the maggots BATTLES maggot oil helps skin to heal and stops any immediate re strike
Ah, that sounds good. I was going to say, the only problem with a non-chemical treatment regime is catching fresh maggots if there were other eggs already laid when you picked out the first batch. Sounds like Battles would cover that?
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Thank you all for your support and input.
I have some Crovect unopened on standby and I would strongly recommend this, when it happens you need the resources available quickly. ( Even though this time it didn't help me )
Picking the maggots off, in my case I'd have struggled because of the amount there were, a friend suggested the hosepipe to wash them off, works to a point. Many of us don't like to use chemicals and I'm at the front of the queue on that, but there are reasons for them being there and I would be more inclined to get in quick next time.
For info - I'd seen flies around the back ( backbone not bum ) of this sheep and didn't put 2 and 2 together. I did check her but of course at that stage it would only be eggs and too small to see.
So next time I see flies round a sheep I'm going straight in with the treatment and taking on board all the useful advice
on here, off to buy some Battles now. Have it on the shelf ready !! Thanks all.
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I wanted to get some crovect in to have something on hand in case of flystrike ( not had it yet but.......) but at £53 for a couple of litres thought it was very expensive to leave on the shelf in case. does anyone have any cheaper standbys for once a sheep is struck and a product that will kill maggots.
Ah but you don't just leave it on the shelf! You prevent flystrike rather than wait and see then have to try and save a sheep! With the number you have, which must be similar to me its £53 well spent....since a ewe is very valuable losing it will be more than £53!
I prefer Clik....and always keep an eye out for strike late on at the end of the protection period ....as a rule of thumb flystrike is possible anytime before a hard frost!
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......and I will add, if you get a strike and clip all the wool back so you think you have it sorted....and cannot see any more maggies.....you will be wrong!......if you then pour a drop of spot on into the surrounding fleece millions more will erupt as if from nowhere!!!!!
If I have to treat a case.....and we had a small back strike on a lamb this summer, I clip all the area well back then use spot on rubbed in to the area surrounding the strike, battles yellow fly ointment slapped on as it neutralises the acid excreted by the maggies and sooths the skin, and if sheep looking wobbly a jab of long acting antibiotic.
However please please...prevention is better than cure!
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thanks I treat my sheep with either butox or versatrine another reason here is to deter BTV midges however as I understand things not all preventatives will kill maggots. As I can't buy crovect or click over here I wanted a product i can have on the shelf in the event that I do get a problem with flystrike specifically to kill maggots.
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triple dose ' spot on ' forget anything else once struck and anti bi's afterwards tho i would totally echo Woollyval prevention is infinitely better than cure :thumbsup:
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I've always used Vetrazine.
Keeps for a while too. Once you get to know your ground you will know how bad it is for flies. I have a fair bit of grazing by some lakes so I tend to treat every 10wks in the season, even on Wiltshires. I've barely ever seen flystrike, but I don't know if thats to do with my prevention routine or the fact that Wilts dont get struck very easily.
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We use Vetrazine too; but this year we've even had strike in treated lambs! yes they may be a few weeks into their treatment but it's a pain when they get strike and they've still got the colour from the treatment on their backs!!
We try to be vigilant, but this year we keep getting caught out. You get all your worming and drenching done and fly spray at the same time and wham something else bites you on the bum :o
but that's farming for you, never a dull moment ::)