[Fishyhaddock]

In our first year (and a bit) cycle of keeping sheep we are at the very bottom of the extensive learning curve on all things woolly so here I am with a question on the next bit of husbandry I think we should be sorting out.

So we bought the ewes...sent them to the tup...had the lambs (phew no probs)...sorted out the heptavac...wormed the wethers and gimmers...performed pedicures galore (!)...and now I know I need to start thinking about flystike, taking preventative measures.

When is the right time? There are a few flies here at the moment - not loads - north east scotland. All sheep and lambs seem happy and what product would you recommend for a very small flock of 8?

 

Cheers,
Fishy.

[xnbacon]

There is a product we called flystrike plus from Nettex that actually comes in small cans, and is sold for 'amateur use'.  Not sure of its efficiency related to clik etc but very handy with only a small amount of sheep.  It claims to be a preventative and cure, I know for a fact it kills maggots, and have used it to successfully treat flystrike.  I should add that the flystrike happened before we applied the product and is not a reflection on its preventative capabilities!

[Fleecewife]

Our routine in the south of Scotland, but at 1000 feet, is to apply Crovect to our lambs at some point in May - the exact time depends on the weather. Typical flystrike weather is when it is warm but humid, especially if there is no wind - the same time you start worrying that your potatoes will get blight.  We then apply Crovect to the mature animals once they are shorn - we hand shear them a few at a time and there is enough fleece to hold the spray - if they are bare clipped by machine they need a couple of weeks of regrowth.  We prefer to have them all done by now as strike is a distinct possibility in this weather, although we still have 16 to go.  The ones we have not shorn are watched closely for signs of strike.
Products such as Crovect should not be applied to animals in full fleece if the fleece is going to be used in any way, for the sake of those handling the fleece and for the environment if they are to be washed/scoured.  It can be applied to lambs as their fleece will not be shorn for another year.   With just a handful of sheep you will be able to observe the adults closely so you shouldn't have any problems.
We have found Crovect to be the best product for us and it apparently now comes in small bottles.  We don't use the supplied applicator as we were losing more in run-off than was going on the fleece.

[lachlanandmarcus]

According to all the farmers forums, Clik is the best for flystrike prevention and Crovect is for flystrike treatment. But either is a lot better than nothing!
Flystrike prevention and heptavac jabs against all the clostridial diseases etc  are the only routine chemicals for my flock, and they seem to thrive on the regime.

The other thing I have found is the the lazy boys seem to be more prone than the more active girls. So altho we havent sheared the main flock yet as the weather has been so wet in NE Scot the last few weeks, we did get in on a short dry spell and did get the 3 boys done(1 ram,2 companion wethers).

[feldar]

Clik doesn't work well for us, we still got strike! we use Vetrisin and we find it is good, but i saw at Sheep South West that they are stopping vetrisin and bringing out a new stuff called Cliksin! didn't work hard on that name did they
I not sure if that means they are stopping  pure Clik as well??

[Fleecewife]

Crovect prevents maggots as well as killing any which you already have.  Vetrazin prevented the eggs from developing but if maggots did hatch it didn't kill them.  We did use Vetrazin but when a neighbour allowed his flock to develop a massive strike problem we had to move up to Crovect to deal with flies coming to our sheep.  We use the least environmentally destructive product we can safely use and Clik is one step too far for us - too persistent.

[Padge]

have heard of clik not working for one or two people    wonder if its a breed thing      we use crovect as fleecewife says

[Fishyhaddock]

Thanks for all the invaluable advice. Proabably will go for Crovect. Horn just came off one of our lambs - yet another first!

[Fishyhaddock]

"We have found Crovect to be the best product for us and it apparently now comes in small bottles.  We don't use the supplied applicator as we were losing more in run-off than was going on the fleece. "
Fleecewife - what applicator do you use? I haven't bought the gun and wondered how best to apply? Thanks Fishy
 
 

[Fleecewife]

Well.....legally obviously I can't recommend what we do as it's probably only licenced and covered by warranty etc etc if you use the correct applicator. However, for our little sheep which don't have a wide horizontal back, liquid applied with the supplied applicator simply runs off, not dosing the sheep and contaminating the land.  A handheld sprayer - recycled from the bathroom (Cif or similar) and well cleaned out works better than a garden centre sprayer which can't take the chemicals.  When we first started doing this we worked out how many squirts equated to the recommended dose - I genuinely can't remember how we did it but I do remember that it involved spraying water, perhaps into something then sucking it up with a syringe?  Anyway, we now know how many squirts from our sprayer to use per sheep.  We then spray it along the back, round and down the tail, up under the crutch ie between the back legs, in front of each back leg and behind each front leg and a spot on the head, making sure it doesn't run into the eyes.  With males we also do a bit around the sheath and purse.  Once the fleece starts to grow we make sure that we open the fleece in the most strike-prone bits and get the spray down to skin.
I hereby deny all responsibilty for writing this    it wusnae me 

[pikilily]

Hiya,

i use Clik - i like it because it has a good length of duration - up to sixteen weeks, and i feel it is very effective. Clik also has a long shelf life....so ecconomical for me!!...... I applied two weeks ago, am just south of you, this will allow the product to be effective past the bad-fly-period, hopefully! There are a number of things to remember - leave a bit of time >week after shearing to allow the fleece to grow a bit. Its the lanolin in the wool that transports the products over the entire sheep.  It's withdrawel period is 40 days, so plan ahead for selling at market or slaughter times!!  Also this stuff is pretty nasty if it gets on your skin so best not to spray just before shearing.

HTH Emma T

[Fishyhaddock]

Thanks Fleecewife and Pikilily. All is becoming clearer. Sheep are Wiltshire Horns so they shed their own fleeces - just waiting for the ewes to shed theirs - they have taken longer than the wethers presumably because of lambing etc. 

[pikilily]

Now heres a thing...i was speakin to Jock my sheepy-guru. He was telling me about a pal of his who dilutes crovect (ten parts water to one of crovect) and has a very good effect. So jock is saying he is now going to try this, but dilute 50/50, because when he uses the full strength he has a nasty nasal reaction (he was working with the other chap's mixture and came home feeling fine). Also by diluting 50/50 you can spray the recommended dose over a wider/twice the surface area of the sheep.....sort of makes sense??!!!
Emma T

[SallyintNorth]

I wear full protective clothing, face and eye mask, latex gloves, the lot, when using Crovect.  And I nearly always still end up with sore eyes because I will touch something that came into contact with the Crovect after I have taken my latex gloves off...    On a hot day I will be wheezy for hours after, even if I had a hanky or mask across my mouth and nose.  The overtrousers will never be the same again, it rots them - they go wrinkly and pucked.  (And once rotted they are no use in protecting you from Crovect...)

It's still better than flystrike, though.

Diluting sounds interesting - you'd have to be careful there wasn't so much water it all ran off.  50/50 sounds better than 1/10 for this reason.

My understanding is that Clik is very effective but also highly noxious to the environment, including dung beetles.  I am told that in pastures where Clik has been used on the livestock you may find it taking a long time for their dung to break down.  It would be interesting to see if you observe this effect, Emma T?

[pikilily]

MMMmmmm!! not actually heard that one Sally..
..will now commence dung studies!!
 No, i dont want any extra for my 'contro'l thankyou!!! LOL
Emma T