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Author Topic: Dirty tails!  (Read 3204 times)

shepherd by mistake

  • Joined Mar 2020
Dirty tails!
« on: March 22, 2020, 05:12:28 pm »
HI!
A few months ago I got 10 lambs to graze down my grandkids football acre. No experience with sheep really. Now, trapped at home by the virus and vulnerabilities, I'm stuck with the lambs for a few more months, and hope to sell them as breeding stock in the summer. A very unexpected problem.

So now I'm hoping for advice. One or two of the lambs is very dirty around the tail end - does that mean they have worms?  I dosed them around September.

What do I need to do now?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Shepherd by mistake

crobertson

  • Joined Sep 2015
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2020, 09:35:08 pm »
It completely depends, the dirty bums may be caused from worms where the best thing would be is to ring your vets and ask if you can bring a group faecal sample in for a worm count. If high then yes they need worming, if low then no they don't need worming there is another cause.

Have they been moved to fresh pasture at all? It has been a mild winter and sheep sometimes do get mucky bums when moved to new, lusher grass.

What was your original intention for them if you don't mind me asking/

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2020, 09:46:58 pm »
First and foremost you need to clip off all the dirty wool.  The sunshine will bring flies, and flies lay eggs in dirty wool which, if not spotted and dealt with immediately, hatch into maggots and eat the sheep alive.

You imply that you would not still have these sheep but for the virus.  If you could find a local farmer or sheepkeeper - through Facebook or wherever - who could take these sheep, I am certain the transfer would be legitimate for animal welfare reasons.  You could arrange for it to be done without yourself having to leave the house, so you would not put yourself or others at risk.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2020, 10:18:57 pm »
Get the dirtiest in either a small pen or a concrete area and collect dung from them either by using a glove from the anus or wait until it drops on the ground and take to your vet for a FEC  , as said can be worms or a flush of grass or both

shepherd by mistake

  • Joined Mar 2020
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2020, 10:28:29 pm »
Thank you for your replies. A lot to think about.

In response to the question  - what was I planning?

I had an informal understanding with  the man who sold the sheep that he would take them to market when I asked him to.

The problem was that when I asked him a few weeks ago he was very busy with lambing, and I felt no sense of urgency - who saw this virus coming?  Now we are both locked down.

Keep well all of you.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2020, 12:13:55 am »
Farmers are not locked down, not for anything that relates to food production and or animal welfare.

I am sure he will come and dag them, dose them and anything else which is necessary for their welfare, once he is through his peak lambing time.  Most farms have a main busy lambing period of about three weeks when they really can't spare any time at all.

But you do need to determine if they have worms and what type, because some of them kill quite quickly.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

bj_cardiff

  • Joined Feb 2017
  • Carmarthenshire
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2020, 06:01:46 am »
As you haven't wormed since september I would definately worm them, or as others have suggested do a worm count. Do you have much grass at the moment, could they be eating to much lush grass - if so offer them hay which can sometimes help to dry them up? Trim away all of the messy bits from aroudn their tail. You can do it with scissors.

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2020, 07:41:43 am »
Markets are still open (for now), abattoirs are still open and will be even if markets shut. If you keep them they will need shearing, fly pour on etc etc.

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2020, 05:22:35 pm »
Markets are still open (for now), abattoirs are still open and will be even if markets shut. If you keep them they will need shearing, fly pour on etc etc.



10 lambs on an acre  :thinking: If that's all the land you have are you going to have enough grass to keep them. Markets are open but around here many lambs sent home unsold as no buyers. Once you dose etc you will have to observe the withdrawal period.
I would ring your local market and have a chat about possible sales or even a farm to farm sale. Markets are operating under strict guidelines. Drop off only. No getting out of your vehicle. Then leave. Only selling for meat trade. Not ewes with lambs, dairy cows etc. Waiting lists at abattoirs.

shepherd by mistake

  • Joined Mar 2020
Re: Dirty tails!
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2020, 12:10:04 pm »
Well - I have taken most of the actions recommended here. I have dosed them, cleaned the tails(only one was really bad so not such a big job as I expected), and expanded the pasture by opening up a half acre of woodland which has some grass.

My thanks and appreciation to those who helped out with advice. It's useful to know there is a place I can come to for help.

Thanks.

 

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