[minibn]

Hi,

Does anyone know if you can use horse wormers for sheep. I have 3 sheep 2x Welsh Hebridean mule types and 1x Shetland.
In the past I have always bought sheep wormer, however only having 3 sheep I barley use any and the smallest I can buy is 1ltr. Needless to say it goes off way before I have used it all. I do however have 3 horses so was wondering if horse wormer is safe for sheep. I have done a bit of reading and the ingredients look to be the same (ivermectin based). However if this is not viable does anyone know where I could get sheep wormer for 3 sheep from without forking out a small fortune.

Thanks for reading

[PipKelpy]

Email the company and ask them.

I did, regarding worming my pigs with sheep wormer. I've still got the printed reply somewhere with how they worked it out for me as their water was a 20litre water tub tied up with rope (it's still there, the whole set up is, you never know....... Not had pigs for a few years now!)

[Rosemary]

Do you do faecal worm counts? Cross grazing, you may not have to worm at all. When we only had a handful of sheep, our vet would dispense the required amount, so no wastage.

[harmony]

There was a wormer in liquid form that was safe for horses, pigs and sheep. I think it might have been a form of panacur but it was withdrawn. Any manufacturer will tell you that you should only dose the animal on the packet.


I would go with Rosemary's suggestion of FEC for horses and sheep. You may not need to worm and if you do it will tell you what wormer to use. If you need to worm then you should FEC again after worming to make sure your animals are resistant to the wormer you used. Some feed merchants over a worm count service.

[twizzel]

I doubt it; horse wormers aren’t licensed for sheep. The best bet would be send a poo sample to the vet  to see if they need worming, and if they do normally the vet will have a bottle of something to split.

[Richmond]

There was a wormer in liquid form that was safe for horses, pigs and sheep. I think it might have been a form of panacur but it was withdrawn. Any manufacturer will tell you that you should only dose the animal on the packet.


I would go with Rosemary's suggestion of FEC for horses and sheep. You may not need to worm and if you do it will tell you what wormer to use. If you need to worm then you should FEC again after worming to make sure your animals are resistant to the wormer you used. Some feed merchants over a worm count service.

My vet gave me dog/cat wormer - Panacur - to deal with tapeworm in one of my sheep. It is the same stuff - 10% fenbendazole.  Clearly said dog and cat on the bottle but vet prescribed the dosage based on the sheep weight.

[Scottym]

Do you do faecal worm counts? Cross grazing, you may not have to worm at all. When we only had a handful of sheep, our vet would dispense the required amount, so no wastage.

I would echo this, as sheep keepers we need to be responsible when using wormers as so many flocks are developing resistance to wormers, so we shouldn't be using any old product as there are different types depending on the worms found and their burden level.

[Anke]

I would echo coments re doing a FEC prior to any action on worming. If you need to worm and if the type of wormer you have for your horses (from the vet I presume?) is suitable for sheep (i.e. Ivermectin based) then the vet can work out the dosage rate for you. Vets can prescribe ANY product licensed for one kind of animal for another if in their opinion it is suitable. As a goatkeeper I have to forever get products that are either sheep or cattle, or in some cases cat/dog...

[landroverroy]

Yes you can use Panacur or Ivomec horse wormers for sheep. But if these are adult sheep and they are grazing the horse pasture, then as mentioned, they probably won't need worming.
I use the same Panacur 10% for my poultry, dogs, sheep, cattle and equines. You can find the relative doses on the internet for each species.