[melodysheep]

A random question for you peeps who have a great deal more experience than  I - does everyone use pour on fly prevention as the norm or do some of you just treat with, say, Crovect, if or when it is necessary?
I was about to Click them (only 5) this morning and then just thought, why am I doing this!
Would be interested in views - polite ones only though please!!
p.s. they are Shetland so tend to have pretty clean bottoms!

[bj_cardiff]

I think it depends on how much land you have, how tame your sheep are and how easily you can pen them up. If their very tame and easy to manage then you could just wait and see if any get struck and treat accordingly.

I have around 80 sheep of various ages spread over 25 acres. I check them all daily but some sheep are skittish and you can't always get that close to them to check them. Any bad flystrike is obvious but minor strikes aren't always easy to spot. Most of my fields are across a small road so I can't pen or move my sheep without a second person. If I see a struck sheep it sometimes has to stay like that until I can find help which can be a few hours. I treat mine with Crovect every 6 weeks or so throughout the season. The ewes closest to my house I haven't treated yet, but they are easy to collect and move and I can treat those on my own if needed.

[kanisha]

Good question having applied a pour on regularly i stopped during the schmallenberg outbreak. I want my sheep to be immune to this virus. I sat back and waited for the rash of flystrike... So far far to date it hasn't happened and that must be five years or so.  I do think fleece type also has an influence. My sheep are on two wildy different sites so location ie on top of a hill would not seem to be the the  factor.


My sheep shed their tail and tail head fleece of their own accord so i don't dag.
Just a couple of days ago i noticed my ancient wether had a few flies bothering his open horn which does get a bit foetid so applied pour on to his head. Other than that nothing needed and my fleeces are good for spinning :-)

[Fleecewife]

It has been suggested that Primitive sheep are less prone, or immune, to fly strike.  This is not so - a sheep is a sheep and needs care.


We use Crovect on our lambs usually from mid May.  We don't treat adults until after they are shorn, and we have had no problems for many years now.  Your query has made me question whether we need to use Crovect at all    on adult sheep.  It does give peace of mind and we both detest fly strike so much that in itself is I suppose a reason to carry on using it.  By the time I harvest the fleece for handcrafts, any Crovect has been denatured by the winter weather.


For Shetlands, their fleece is thick so strike can be hidden, for example under the crotch or around the penis, so we check ours (two wethers) frequently


The only time we have had a real problem with strike was many years ago when a neighbour didn't deal with strike in his flock, and the flies seemed to go for our various breeds through the fence.  He is no longer allowed to keep animals so the land is rented by proper livestock keepers who care for their animals, and we have double fencing with hedging which tends to stop stuff coming through from nextdoor anyway.

[Fieldfare]

Flystrike is easy to prevent and treat with good shepherding. Crovect is a long-lasting synthetic pyrethroid. Who knows what harm the countless thousands of litres of this stuff is doing to the environment, insects and our health. I keep Castlemilks and have had 2 cases this year (of course, no Crovect). As soon as I spot the signs, I catch 'em up, shear/roo the offending area to remove the maggots and treat with iodine. I know that I am looking after the environment and the meat/wool I produce doesn't contain weird chemicals!

[melodysheep]

Thank you all for your comments.

I think I'll go on the 'wait and then deal with it' course. With the exception of a rather ancient old boy (18!) who does get a bit mucky underneath, the younger sheep are all pretty tame and easy(!) to pen up.

I've always been a bit sceptical about using chemicals so haven't been difficult to persuade!

Wishing you all a 'fly free' summer!