[Haylo-peapod]

I know other people have experienced coccidiosis in their flocks but I just wanted to let you fellow shepherds know that there is appararently a high incidence of it this year - possibly due to weather conditions.
 
Our vet has just done a FEC on some samples for us so that we could decide what to do about our worming regime. On the positive side the lambs are worm-free, on the negative side there was a high incidence of coccidiosis.
 
This was a huge surprise to me as the lambs appear to be fit and healthy - they seem to be eating well and there is no sign of scouring. The vet did say that quite often the only indication will be that lambs aren't growing and putting on weight as quickly as they should.
 
I'm so relieved I decided to get the FEC's done this year.  I'm just hoping this post may prove useful to other TAS members.

[Foobar]

Wet and warm are the ideal conditions for it I believe.


Keep moving your feed troughs to new clean areas. And possibly disinfect around water troughs?

[in the hills]

 


Thank you - will get one done

[Haylo-peapod]

Wet and warm are the ideal conditions for it I believe.


Keep moving your feed troughs to new clean areas. And possibly disinfect around water troughs?

Good points foobar - unfortunately it doesn't help explain it with my lambs unless they contracted it 4+ weeks ago as they are simply out at grass (plenty of acreage) and get water from the stream. I guess the location of the lick bucket could be an issue - I'll have to move it around more.
 
Anyhow I'll get them drenched with Vecoxan and move them onto cleaner pasture so hopefully the problem will be eradicated - at least for now.  Does anyone know whether I will need to dose them again later in the year?

[Foobar]

According to this the original source could have been Mum - http://www.nadis.org.uk/bulletins/coccidiosis-in-lambs.aspx, and yeah if they were otherwise healthy perhaps it hasn't affected them too much over the past weeks.

[kaz]

It normally affects the healthiest looking lambs and is what I call a silent killer. You think everything is going o.k. and then you will find a dead lamb.
We now dose the lambs with Vecoxan as soon as it allows and then another dose a few weeks down the line as a matter of course. This is one product that you must dose accurately by weight.
It's lucky that you have found it now before you started losing healthy lambs. Hope everything goes o.k.

[Hazelwood Flock]

Once it is on your ground you will need to treat every lamb crop. I dose mine the same as Kaz does, and the lambs respond very well. They are certainly fed up with the constant rain though...

[Remy]

I've had more serious problems this year than I've ever had in my five years of sheep keeping.  I've lost 3 adult sheep and 3 lambs at lambing time, and have had seemingly never-ending other problems - I wonder if the weather conditions are to blame ... 

[Foobar]

Can you get any of the treatments in small quantities?  I've only ever seen huge bottles for mega-bucks.

[kaz]

Try your vets. Mine has Vecoxan.

[Remy]

My vet gave me enough Vecoxan to treat all the lambs too.

[SteveHants]

I've never seen it, but apparently its not as prevalent in outdoor flocks - I also dont feed in troughs and its a rare treat that my ewes see a sheepnut anyway.


I have just taken a fecal sample for an egg count, will be interesting to see if I have it. At sub-problematic levels I'm thinking of using a bucket lick to treat it if I do have it.

[Haylo-peapod]

Wow, it is expensive stuff!
 
Our vet was going to decant some for us but their cost/ml was very expensive.
If we bought 1 litre from them it would have been £143, but if they decanted it they were going to charge us £2.65/ml - OUCH!
 
I've done some shopping around on t'internet and found it for £89+VAT for 1 litre. Since the stuff lasts for around 3 years and this year we have to give 20 lambs and 2 calves 2 doses each you can guess which route I'll be going.... 

[SteveHants]

Turns out I do have sub-clinical levels of cocci, so this was a very useful thread, thanks!


Nobody scouring, all lambs gaining weight. The vet agreed that this is unusual in outdoor flocks to see the counts that I have, so I'm putting it down to the weather. I have ordered some cocci buckets as I'm buggered if I'm paying for vecoxan when cocci are at a subclinical level. I'll have another count done in a few weeks and se how well they work.

[Haylo-peapod]

Sorry to hear your sheep have Cocci but I get the impression it is more common than people realise. The good thing is that at least you now know and can do something about it.
 
Keep us posted on how you get on with the buckets.