[shearling]

Hi have spoken with the vet re vaccinations, to follow a flock plan and she suggests perhaps only for blackleg. The sheep live together on a main field but two have new lambs and I have kept them apart due to weakness in one at birth and stable not in main field (summer job to make one). Having read the books and posts here I am a bit concerned about what to do. We are getting a worm count done and one of the older sheep has always sounded a bit wheezy. But I do not want to release the lambs into the main flock if they are likely to go down with anything - but then the vet has been trained, and I have not! (she is a proper livestock vet).

[supplies for smallholders]

I would at least consider including Omnivac or Heptivac in a vaccination programme.

[woollyval]

I personally do not vaccinate, but that is personal choice as I think it very stressful for the sheep. I am extensive in the way they are kept and ground is well rested.....for eg once lambing finishes they are all going on to a field free of sheep for 2 years....

I think.....and again this is personal, that the more stress and greater stocking density, combined with higher amounts of concentrate and grains can make sheep more prone to problems.....many organic farmers think this way.......

Right now taking cover

[Madcow]

Oh good, I am doing something right ! when I read all the different vacinations people do I kept my head down, but over here in France we have had blue tongue vacinations for last 2 years and blood test for TB, so apart from spot on for flies/ticks I very rarely do anything else, only worm if the sheep have a problem, but touch wood nothing for last 3 years. Admitedly I only have 5 ewes and a ram, and currently 9 lambs but on over 5 acres I can rotate my land so that chemicals are kept to a minimum ! I too dont like to stress my animals, but can also see that if you have larger flocks interventions may be needed.
As all the sheep are well and thriving it must be alright

[shearling]

Thanks Woolly Shepherd. We have 7 ewes, 1 ram, 2 ram lambs in 2 1/2 acres, all Portlands. We have not wormed, and do not expect to do so unless we get a very high count. We are trying to keep to organic. the field has had the same sheep on for a number of years. Our neighbours have a field, currently with horses on it. When they go to their other field would that be OK to move our sheep onto, to give our field a brief rest? We do not have enough field for a 2 year rest.

[lachlanandmarcus]

The only vacc we do is Heptavac P+ as it covers so many nasties and also passes on some immunity to the lambs. plus we do also pour on for flystrike esp with the boys as they seem to get struck more.

The other vaccs are really optional, if you looked at a recommended calendar of treatments the poor sheep would be pin cushions if you did them all. If you are not overstocking, you are using nice clean ground for lambing and then moving to well rested ground and have land which isnt riddled with fluke etc then you dont need as many of the treatments. But Heptavac or Ovivac I think is a good baseline.

[Rosemary]

We use HeptavacP Plus, Crovect plus a flukicide as routine but nothing else. We faecal egg count and worm as required. Our vet said only to vaccinate if you know you have something to vaccinate against - I got very stressed about all the vaccines advertised in the farming press. 

[shearling]

WE have used Crovect but did not vacinate the ewes, so lambs not either.

[VSS]

We vaccinate everything with Heptavac P plus. We don't lose lambs to pneumonia any more.

[shep53]

I think vaccination is a personal decision based on flock history. when i was young pulpy kidney was a common killer of good lambs now its very rare but is making acome back in organic flocks and flocks where they have stoped vaccination to save money. When i was organic lamb dysentry became aproblem and was one of the reasons i came out. If pneumonia is aproblem vaccine helps. never seen blackleg so cant advise. Many closed flocks especially on the hills dont vaccinate. so personal choice

[Freddiesfarm]

I always vaccinated with Heptavac P Plus but one year bowed to pressure and didn't do my lambs and lost three in a week - equivalent to the cost of vaccinating the whole flock three times over!  Now vaccinate as an annual booster.

This year I am also going to vaccinate the ewe lambs for toxoplasmosis as I know I have an issue with this in my main flock causing abortion and small lambs, but this is a one off vaccination and covers the animal for life.

[woollyval]

Shep has said the key thing here.....firstly personal decision and then flock history. This is quite right and i for one would never say do or dont over this! For example a friend lost some lambs from pasturella and I urged him to Hep P immediately and for the forseeable future.....it was a problem with the previous owners on the farm they had just bought, but they were not told this.
Cost will not come into it....or shouldnt
Toxoplasmosis is an interesting one - once a sheep has either had it or been vaccinated they are immune for life. A good friend of mine with much more experience than me told me 20 years ago what they and old shepherds would do to avoid it....and my vet who kept sheep agreed.....not scientific but seemed to work....

What they did was to lamb their 200 ewes outside in a field of about 10 acres with a large barn attached where the lambing pens were set up, the sheep lambed outside and were bought in to pens for 24 hours then let out into some fields amounting to another clean 10 acres the otherside. When lambing had finished all the shearlings were put into the field where the lambing took place for several weeks to get exposure to toxoplasmosis nasties that were lurking, catch them, get over it and become immune......then when they were put in lamb themselves in the autumn they had immunity and therfore didn't have a problem.

Now this worked for them for donkeys years.....they are retired now!