[feldar]

I hope BWM don't get it cause i have just persuaded my OH to get some. it's taken a lot of pleading and promises of...... well we wont go there! but they are a breed i have always admired and would love to own.
OH is a terminal sire man so he always said no before but we've managed to find a MV accredited flock on the Isle of wight and the man has some ewes for sale, so i am well excited   sorry off topic a bit

[SteveHants]

I am almost scared to say I have never yet had a BWM with flystrike.........  and I don't think from what he was saying the other week when we were over there that it is a problem that Edward Williams has encountered either. 

I don't have the article to hand but I am almost certain that no claims were made by Edward on behalf of the other black breeds.  Anyone who has had the pleasure of learning about BWM's from him will know that he is not in the habit of making extravagant claims, especially in relation to breeds about which he has no personal knowledge.
 
I do think wool type may have an effect.

Well, if I put my serious hat on for a minute - it makes a lot more sense than white getting struck less than black. All the primitives are dark and those sheep that have re-primitivised themselves (there are islands around NZ and elsewhere that have been abandoned, leaving flocks of sheep) end up mostly black/brown - there almost certainly seems to be selection pressure against white sheep of some form or another.

[Plas Nant]

I've just had my first case of strike in a Soay, I thought they were very resistant and its never happened to my flock before. Consequently, I stopped using pour on a few years back but now regret it. I used to use Click but notice that people mention using Crovect to kill the maggots when treating. My question is does Click also kill maggots or is it just preventitive? Click lasts up to 16 weeks against Crovect at 6 weeks so for me, with difficulty in gathering them in, Click wins through. Just concerned as to whether it will also do treatment. In my recent case which was quite severe, and disgusting to deal with, the animal was crawling with maggots in most places. I sheared right back, removing all maggots I could find and applied maggot oil, again not sure if that actually kills any that are missed. Its an awful thing to happen, I certainly hope it doesn't run in families or I can expect more in future.

[Foobar]

I think flystrike can happen to any breed really, given the right conditions.  Those conditions being either dirty bums and/or warm and wet weather.  If you get a big hatch of flies in a short period somewhere that will increase the likelihood of strike, regardless of colour or cleanliness of a sheep.
In my case at the moment I'm keeping an eye on horns, as we have a lot of midges about and the boys are getting irritated.  It would take much for a fly to be attracted to a bit of blood scratched up by a ram itching its head.

[SteveHants]

I've just had my first case of strike in a Soay, I thought they were very resistant and its never happened to my flock before. Consequently, I stopped using pour on a few years back but now regret it. I used to use Click but notice that people mention using Crovect to kill the maggots when treating. My question is does Click also kill maggots or is it just preventitive? Click lasts up to 16 weeks against Crovect at 6 weeks so for me, with difficulty in gathering them in, Click wins through. Just concerned as to whether it will also do treatment. In my recent case which was quite severe, and disgusting to deal with, the animal was crawling with maggots in most places. I sheared right back, removing all maggots I could find and applied maggot oil, again not sure if that actually kills any that are missed. Its an awful thing to happen, I certainly hope it doesn't run in families or I can expect more in future.

Click is an insect growth inhibitor and kills maggots before they develop mouthparts - it does not therefore, treat flystrike.


Crovect/Dysect etc are insecticides and kill flies at any stage.

[feldar]

Flystrike does happen to my other sheep too! it was an observation that we seem to be prone to  strike in family members more often and over consecutive years. We still get the odd one who gets it right on the end period of treatment so almost to the day the spray runs out ... bang; case of strike.
We are near the coast on marshy ground and do seem a very fly and midgy area.