[Bionic]

I had my first taste of fly strike today (not literally you understand). I brought the girls in for fluke drenching and discovered it in one of the lambs. The girls didn't get drenched in the end as we were concentrating on the poor lamb.


I have never seen so many horrible maggots. We used the dog clippers to get most of the fleece off of her back half, took out as many maggots as we could and then sprayed her with crovect. She was looking pretty sorry for herself when we finished so gave her some pen and strep too. It's  very, very wet here so I have kept her comfortable in the stable as I didn't want the crovect to wash off.

Having never seen fly strike before, I hope we have treated her correctly.
 
Well Tilly seems ok'ish this morning. We gave her another dose of pen and strep and she was keen to get back to her friends so we let her out. I was going to take a pic of her new hair cut but the camera was out of battery 
The others had to be drenched (the job we were supposed to be doing yesterday that started all this off)so they got a thorough check up too and were all ok.     Tilly gets over this ok.

 



Tomorrow the other girls will need to come back in so that they get their drench and they will get a thorough going over at the same time.   We don't have another day like today

[Ladygrey]

Hope she recovers fine 

I (so far) have not had any fly strikes this year so have been very lucky, bringing the ewes in for crutching tomorrow so will make sure I check everyone now!

[Bramblecot]

It is a nasty shock when you see it for the first time but at least you caught it quickly.  The flies are still out here too as the weather is very warm and wet.  One quick job turns into a marathon .

[Backinwellies]

Gosh Sally ..... now you have me worried again ... thought that was one thing I could forget about for this year!  Hope lamb recovers quickly.

[in the hills]

Oh Bionic    .... well done for sorting it. Must admit I'm paranoid about it and just the thought of it makes me want to vomit.


Four years and no cases yet  . Must happen one day.


A neighbour had 2 cases the other day.


Did the lamb look ill out in the field? Could you see the critters as soon as you got them in or only on close inspection?


Scared I'll miss it. Very wet here too but mild and loads of houseflies ..... having to open all windows to let them out.

[Bionic]

The lamb looked fine in the field. I was dagging her and didn't notice. OH took over and found what he thought was a little cut on her tail. As we both checked the cut we could see something wiggling........
Time to inspect her coat much closer and it was only by delving right down through the coat to her skin that we could see more, many more. I was horrified that there could be so many and I hadn't noticed.
She looks pitiful now as we have taken a lot of her coat off. I will try to get a pic tomorrow.

[TheCaptain]

Don't feel bad about it - fly strike is one of those things and you certainly don't expect it at this time of year or I should expect as far north as you are. I had one of mine with it last week, and my other case this year wouldn't have been helped by crovect as it started on his side!


Just make sure you've cut the fleece right back and a good old dose of blue spray doesn't go amiss either!

[in the hills]

Right. Thanks Bionic.


So not easy to know then.    Check mine twice a day but only by watching them for a few minutes. Ooooo......


Wonder if it was the very start of it then and caught before lambie felt unwell or uncomfortable.


Hope she makes a speedy recovery .... poor thing.

[Tudful Tamworths]

I was shocked to see it on three of my lambs in September - I've never had it that late. Will be checking the entire flock again now, having seen your post. Just goes to show that, with the climate changing as it is, we're going to have to change our husbandry routines, too. Thanks for posting this timely reminder.

[summermeadows]

From April to end October any wet and warm weather makes the fleece attractive to flies, especially if they've laid in muck or are scouring. Look out for the sheep standing still with head low to the ground, as if waiting for the next fly to land - on alert. If struck they often look around quickly to the affected area and kick to try to get rid of it. If you just observe them for 5 mins if they're struck you can usually tell by this strange behaviour. Look out for a very characteristic rotten smell as well. I've had a lamb die in October quite late so you can never think you're safe unfortunately... click is the best treatment for preventative. Expensive but peace of mind for 4 months at a time.

[Bionic]

Even when we were up close I couldn't smell anything nasty. Lets hope that means it wasn't too bad.
We used clik earlier in the year but it will have worn off a while ago. As soon as we get a small dry spell I will crovect all the girls. I have nothing to loose. The shelf life, once opened, is only 3 months so, as I can't save it until next year, I might as well make the most of it and give them all a spray.

[Bionic]

My friendly local farmer has suggested that a good way to help the lambs is to shear their tails. I might try that next year.

[Foobar]

As soon as we get a small dry spell I will crovect all the girls. I have nothing to loose. The shelf life, once opened, is only 3 months so, as I can't save it until next year, I might as well make the most of it and give them all a spray.

Yes, that sounds like a good plan .  It is still warm and wet, ideal for flies.


I don't think I could be doing with shearing tails though, sounds like far too much work!  I opt for the cull approach, I get rid of anything that gets struck (once its big enough to go).  I've no idea if it'll work, but I don't want to have to be coating my animals in chemicals all the time if I can help it.   Strike is just another item on the list of annoyances that mean that that animal gets struck off my "keep" list.

[Bionic]

I don't think I could be doing with shearing tails though, sounds like far too much work!  I opt for the cull approach, I get rid of anything that gets struck (once its big enough to go).  I've no idea if it'll work, but I don't want to have to be coating my animals in chemicals all the time if I can help it.   Strike is just another item on the list of annoyances that mean that that animal gets struck off my "keep" list.

foobar, that sounds a bit harsh. It isn't the lambs fault she was struck 

[Foobar]

Yes, I know it does seem a bit harsh, but when you have more lambs you can't keep them all and you have to use some method to decide which ones are the best ones to retain. I just use this as one of the factors on my list, alongside having to dag, mis-mothering, assistance at lambing etc etc.  I wasn't of course suggesting that you cull your little girl .



And was it the lambs fault?  Probably not, but what if it was?  Do some sheep have a propensity for strike? I know in NZ they have been looking into breeding for strike resistance!  Perhaps some don't lift their tails high enough when they wee or poo and thus the smell of the wet wool is more attractive to the flies?  I dunno, I'm sure there is someone somewhere doing research on this .