[suzi]

I drenched molemec last month as a routine worm for spring and lost a ewe with no obvious reason. She wasn’t young so possibly age. Vet wasn’t sure either (I got her out to check).
Anyway, we think we have fluke in the flock. The vet is dragging her feet with treatment.
I’ve had 6 ewes bloods tested and nothing is amiss apart from the liver. Either fluke or a toxic plant or something. I have no poisonous plants. I walk the land twice daily walking the dogs.
Unless someone has t  GB town something over the fence (which has happened before with wood with nails in it. My pony stood in it!).

The 2 fresians I have left are looking very thin with bloated bellies. They are fine in themselves. The dead ewe was fine in herself them dead.

If I use a fluke wormed from mole Avon will i harm my sheep?

I need to do something before I loose any more sheep

[twizzel]

Use a straight fluke product, not a combined one, unless you need to worm them too (and if you wormed them last month, the chances are you probably don’t). Using combined drenches speeds up wormer resistance.


You can blood test for fluke, is that what your vet tested for, or did they check liver function? I would go back to them and ask.


For treatment, this time of year the fluke will be adult stage, so I think closantel or oxyclozanide is the recommended active ingredient to use. This link below is very helpful on choosing a product and diagnostic testing for fluke
https://www.scops.org.uk/workspace/pdfs/fluke-diagnostics-treatment-poster.pdf

[suzi]

Thank you for your reply.
The vet actually came back to me. It’s not fluke!! God knows what’s going through my flock now!
I’ve lost 1 ewe. They’ve dropped from being over weight to body score 1.5!!! What looks like worm belly.

We are now wondering if the wormer i used worked. It was molec I opened sept last year. I was told in the shop it would work fine. Im wondering now

[shep53]

MOLEMEC is ivermectin  and covers a lot of worm types , it does  barbers pole which is a big killer in late winter ,so should have covered everything , big dose at  circa 20ml  . You just have to hope that your vet can help  .  Are they anaemic eg  very pale (  not pink )  gums  and  maybe yellow whites of the eye if  liver problems

[Acornkaz]

Hi have you ever done a worm count ? Did the vet recommend it ? I did our ewes just before lambing collected up 5 lots of poop in dog poop bags and took it in.
The tups had been wormed and were very loose and thin even after worming (using the wormer we had in stock) the vet found the tups had more worms than the ewes so got a different wormer and they have improved so much since the new wormer and have put on weight

[suzi]

The vet recommended not doing a worm burden because they hadn’t been wormed long before she arrived.
We are doing one next week.
I’m trying to piece things together with her as this isn’t obvious.
My 2 rams are housed and never mix with the ewes since they were with the ewes last year. I think October ( a moron broke in and let them in with the ewes.

The rams are doing exactly what the ewes are doing. Bloated stomached but score very thin. I go through 40kg of 18.25% protein feed a weeks with 15 sheep and 3 lambs. They have add lib hay.
There’s nothing I think I’m doing wrong (clearly there’s something I’m doing wrong but what it is I don’t know!).

[suzi]

The fresians seem anemic yes. The rest don’t. The romneys are all just turned it not quite 1 yet and seem to have put a tiny bit of weight on.
Vets recommended .5kg of ewe nuts per head and silage until we get a handle on this.

She has said to change hay suppliers. Which I will be arranging on Tuesday.
I want to get the hay tested.
Does anyone know where that’s possible please?
If it is ragwort or something in the hay the feed merchants I buy from need to know. Their lovely people I can’t see them knowing.

[twizzel]

Just google forage analysis and you should find somewhere online you can send a sample of hay off to, but this will tell you the nutritional value, not if there’s poisonous plants in it.


I think I would get a worm egg count and bloods done and go from there. Test for MV, Johnes and trace elements/mineral deficiencies- cobalt causes pine in sheep which can cause Ill thrift.

[Backinwellies]

Even if wormer hadnt worked .... it would be very rare to lose an adult sheep to normal worms .   You need an FEC asap to see if wormer worked.  Have you given a mineral drench/ bucket? 

[suzi]

They’ve had a mineral drench and a multi stock mineral bucket yes.
They still look blown in the stomach area but seem to be putting weight on.
The vets going to do a FEC next week evidently. She said it wouldn’t read correctly because I’d just wormed them.

They seem ok in themselves (decided it was to wet for them to be outside the other day so they busted out (they have a shelter). Whole lot of them in 3 goes. They’ve been in since. They seem to prefer being in the shed with access to a hard standing

[shep53]

Because you wormed last month then the FEC should show no or very few worms , this is the perfect outcome if your wormer worked , ask for the FEC to look for fluke eggs as at this time of year if you have any they will be adults producing eggs