The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: morri2 on May 11, 2010, 10:51:33 am
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Hello All! Anyone any idea what I can do about my ewes, a number of whom have a serious case of plip plops. Its almost like water squirting out of one or two of them. Their backsides are disgusting (must get dagging next few days...groan!!!). They have all been wormed three weeks ago before they were put on clean pasture with their lambs. Grass has not been brilliant, just started to come through last week or so after some encouragement! So I don't doubt fresh grass is part of not all of the problem. But is there anything I can give them to stop them scouring so much?
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Questions to ask.....have you had a worm count done to check your wormer is not being resisted....what did you use? Have you treated for fluke...I have heard of several cases in ewes this week.
Have you encouraged the grass with fertiliser.....? lush grass even if very short can be very rich.
Are you feeding concentrate? If so stop!
Have you treated against flystrike....if not dag and do so very quickly or you may have problems!
If it were me and mine were all squitty I would get a worm count done by your vet and go from there.....
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Get mag licks out to make sure that they having enough magnesium :) We put them down when they are moving onto fresh pasture :)
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Mine are the same, and its not worms (never had any, and had plenty of worm counts done), they have been treated for fluke in late winter, and they have MG licks too. However my field is full of clover, and the goats are also quite loose, but not runny. I think its the lush grass/clover. Have dagged all my ewes prior to coming out with lambs, still all gunged up at their backends....
Just a word of warning, I didn't initially feed when the ewes went out wiht their lambs (licks were there though) and I had a case a Mg or Ca deficiency/grass staggers, which I managed to improve with injection and feed! but have now stopped to feed concentrate.
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Thanks for the help guys.
My grass is only just creeping through at the moment, it has not been fertilised yet (hoping to lime it next week or two), just chain harrowed. I used Combinex to worm them, which is a change from the usual Panacur. I will have a word with the vet about a worm count though. Haven't had one of those done before as my land is very undergrazed generally. They were treated for fluke earlier in the year.
Have cut right down on the hard feed, just a handful each (have difficulty getting out of the field gate without giving them something!!!) and have put some licks in place instead.
As far as flystrike - bit early here in upland Wales, it actually snowed yesterday!!! Another couple of weeks and they will be sheared and drenched. If the weather warms up in the meantime, I'll have to keep a very close eye on them.
Thanks again.
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My friend has pedigree lims and one of his fields is full of clover, when grazing this one field he has same problem (well not him personally lol u know wot i mean)