[Copeson]

Hi could anyone advise on treatment for lice in ewes who are about 2-3 weeks of lambing Thanks 

[Herdygirl]

How bad are the lice?

[shep53]

Crovect / Dysect / Zermasect    will all work quickly and safely , do it very calmly maybe while eating , if you don't do it the lambs will be infected after birth .  Are you 100% sure its lice?? .    Remember the product needs 4 hrs to dry and  no very heavy rain in the first day or so ,  but you can apply to damp wool it helps with the spread

[Copeson]

Hi thanks for your reply we are bring them in at night and out in the day , going to have a closer look at the weekend being Kerry hills they can be a little quick  have also been told to use spot on

[shep53]

The reason I didn't mention spot-on is that if you read the leaflet it says that " it reduces the incidence of lice over 4-6wks " so not as quick as the others in my post , so if you use it the lambs can still be infected

[SallyintNorth]

For lice you are really wanting to get the Crovect or similar onto the skin, so it's best if you can part the fleece and squirt it onto bare skin.

You also need to be sure you know that it's biting lice not sucking lice - Crovect treats the former but not the latter.  We've used Dectomax (injection) for sucking lice in the past.

In sheep not used to much handling, the amount of handling you'd need, so close to lambing, might be an issue and cause more problems than you solve.

I would ask your vet what s/he suggests - they'll know what it is most likely to be and advise accordingly.