[OhLaLa]

I'm reading conflicting things about giving Fluke drenches.

From experience please:

How many times/What times of year to drench (have read Sept/Oct and/or Jan)?
Is all the flock given Fluke drench or just the lambs?
If given to all the flock, what if the ewe is pregnant?

Thanks.

[Foobar]

It really depends on your locality and whether you have a fluke problem or not.  You are best consulting your vet to work out the best plan for your farm.


I posted a link to a couple of videos here: http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=39406.0
which detail the lifecycle of fluke etc.  Also good information on the SCOPS website: http://www.scops.org.uk/endoparasites-liver-fluke.html


Flukicides can be given to sheep of all ages, including pregnant sheep (read the label of your particular product obviously).

[Marches Farmer]

Problem with fluke is unless you get reports back from the abattoir or it's almost overwhelming the sheep and you see bottle jaw you don't know your sheep have it (bear in mind it can be spread by rabbits and deer as well as other sheep).  Also you may clear it out with a fluke drench but the sheep can ingest a new batch as soon as they graze. 

[landroverroy]

I give it every back end to my stock - cattle, sheep and donkeys - just in case. If using valbazene, it should not be given in early pregnancy.

[SallyintNorth]

We are in a flukey area and on wet ground; we drench from October through March every 6-8 weeks every year.  In recent years the fluke has also been active through the summer, so we've been drenching year-round.

The NADIS bulletins tell us whether we need to be drenching

[Tim W]

You can get an idea of your fluke status by doing a FEC although it's not as definitive as for worms

You can also do a blood test which will tell you if the sheep has anti-bodies for fluke which will indicate if they have been challenged in the past

Talk to your vet

I test a few skanky ewes every year to see what's what----so far so good . mainly due to luck and a strict quarantine of all bought in stock