The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Copeson on January 08, 2014, 05:09:35 pm

Title: Lice
Post by: Copeson on January 08, 2014, 05:09:35 pm
Hi could anyone advise on treatment for lice in ewes who are about 2-3 weeks of lambing Thanks  :)

Title: Re: Lice
Post by: Herdygirl on January 08, 2014, 07:56:53 pm
How bad are the lice?
Title: Re: Lice
Post by: shep53 on January 08, 2014, 08:30:42 pm
Crovect / Dysect / Zermasect    will all work quickly and safely , do it very calmly maybe while eating , if you don't do it the lambs will be infected after birth .  Are you 100% sure its lice?? .    Remember the product needs 4 hrs to dry and  no very heavy rain in the first day or so ,  but you can apply to damp wool it helps with the spread
Title: Re: Lice
Post by: Copeson on January 10, 2014, 05:41:10 pm
Hi thanks for your reply we are bring them in at night and out in the day , going to have a closer look at the weekend being Kerry hills they can be a little quick  :o have also been told to use spot on
Title: Re: Lice
Post by: shep53 on January 10, 2014, 06:53:13 pm
The reason I didn't mention spot-on is that if you read the leaflet it says that " it reduces the incidence of lice over 4-6wks " so not as quick as the others in my post , so if you use it the lambs can still be infected
Title: Re: Lice
Post by: SallyintNorth on January 11, 2014, 08:24:04 am
For lice you are really wanting to get the Crovect or similar onto the skin, so it's best if you can part the fleece and squirt it onto bare skin.

You also need to be sure you know that it's biting lice not sucking lice - Crovect treats the former but not the latter.  We've used Dectomax (injection) for sucking lice in the past.

In sheep not used to much handling, the amount of handling you'd need, so close to lambing, might be an issue and cause more problems than you solve.

I would ask your vet what s/he suggests - they'll know what it is most likely to be and advise accordingly.