[Bill up the hill]

Hi,
  I've recently taken on a smallholding & couldn't be happier. I've only got 4 sheep so far (but intend to increase the flock in size), on fairly wet ground where the incidence of fluke is high (Cheshire/Peaks border). They've had a dose of wormer/fluke earlier in the year but need doing again. There seems to be a vast range of drenchs, all promising the world, & I guess the choice of what to use varies a bit depending on what your dominant parasites are. However, can members recommend a good all rounder with the emphasis on liver fluke, please?

Linked to this query, can members recommend a robust drench gun as again their is a large variation in price & apparent quality (eg metal v plastic), please?

Many thanks, Bill

[twizzel]

Avoid combined fluke worm products- do they actually need worming, have you done a FEC?
Best bet is speak to your vet, they will know your area risk for liver fluke, what product to use, and whether you even need to worm. And they may even have a bottle that they can dispense from to save you buying a litre.


A plastic drench gun is more than adequate.

[shep53]

It is not about a product name as different companies have different names for a product with the same active ingredient ( have a look at SCOPS  )   basically  TRICLABENDAZOLE  in its most well known form  FASINEX  good for late summer / autumn / early winter  as it kills all stages of fluke well ( but due to over use it works poorly in some flocks /sheep ,only by testing can this be identified )  . CLOSANTEL  in its most well known form FLUKIVER not as good at killing early stages of fluke .so tend to use winter /spring when the fluke are more mature  ,also said to be a little kinder on the animal when treating a severe fluke problem .  No resistance problems yet but it will happen  as flocks who can't use Triclabendazole have no choice but to keep using closantel .  NITROXYNIL in its most common form   TRODAX similar to closantel in that it is not as good at killing very young fluke so again used winter spring , it is only injectable  but from reading other forums it seems they have stopped making it for the uk but vets are importing the same product from europe  .  ALBENDAZOLE / RICOBENDAZOLE known as white wormer  in many forms  ,at double the wormer rate it is good to kill adult fluke only in late spring /early summer .   Best to ask your vet about blood or faecal  samples to ensure you have fluke and go from there    .   For dosing guns plastic are good and less expensive than  cast  but which ever KEEP clean and lubricated and they will last years

[Rosemary]

For four sheep, I'd just get someof these https://www.medisupplies.co.uk/Syringes-Needles/Syringes/BD-Plastipak-3Part-Catheter-Tip-Syringe Easy to use, easy to clean. Good idea to wrap some electrical taperound the nozzle as they can be a bit brittle.
I second the avoiidance of combined wormer / flukicide (not albendazole). Adult sheep are generally resistant to gut worms, so if they are in good condition, worming probably isn't necessary.

Our vets will give you flukicide in appropriate amounts for small numbers; it's a bit more expensive per dose than buying your own bottle but you don't have to bother about best befroe dates and wastage ' disposal issues.

[SallyintNorth]

Our vets will give you flukicide in appropriate amounts for small numbers; it's a bit more expensive per dose than buying your own bottle but you don't have to bother about best befroe dates and wastage ' disposal issues.

It also allows you to vary the meds you use, as recommended by SCOPS, without having to buy a whole litre of each and then end up wasting loads because your numbers are small and the meds expiry dates arrive before you've used it all up.