Author Topic: does everyone vaccinate (Read 5123 times)

highhorse · « **on:** February 18, 2014, 04:09:32 pm »

as a new sheep keeper could someone advise a good health plan.

for eg, does everyone vaccinate and if so how often and what with?

ive got my girls on a combinex dose every couple of months but what else shoud they be having?

any advice appreciated!

Rosemary · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:22:59 pm »

This might help as a starter

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/sheep

Yeoman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:24:41 pm »

Heptavac P or equivalent to prevent a host of serious conditions. Ewe's need to be boosted before lambing so that they pass the resistance on to the new lambs during the critical early stages.

I think the current advice is to worm when the need it not on at a set interval. Do it when they need it is easy advice to give but knowing when they need it is a bit more tricky unless you get a Fecal Egg Count done.

You would be well advised to make contact with your vet. They prefer to get to know you before you call them in the night with an emergency. A good vet will do a "hello" visit and provide you with some reading material / advice. Mine sends me free reminders.

Tim Tyne's book seems to be liked my many - I have used Sheep Ailments: Recognition and treatment by
Eddie Straiton.

Take a range of opinions into account.

fsmnutter · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:30:50 pm »

As mentioned on another thread, modern recommendations are that worming without knowing worm burden can increase wormer resistance and wormers will stop working sooner than later. A poo sample can be analysed by your vet, several samples will estimate overall worm burden in your sheep and see if wormer is needed. Two worms don't fit this pattern, where fluke eggs don't show, except on a more specialised test, and young fluke that are not yet producing eggs can cause disease. Nematodirus also can cause problems in late spring / early summer in lambs before they start producing eggs. Usually the vets will be able to advise when and if you would need to treat for those, if you are in regular contact for them to check your sheep poo samples.
In terms of vaccination, it is highly recommended to vaccinate against clostridial diseases, which include tetanus and mostly cause serious illness or sudden deaths that don't respond well to treatment. Heptavac P also covers Pasteurella type pneumonia which can also kill very quickly. Your vet can let you know what is likely to be a problem in your area and supply vaccine. Usually starting dose is two injections, 4 weeks apart. If the sheep will be lambing, having the second dose, or the annual booster 4-6 weeks before lambing gives the lambs some protection.
Hope that helps, enjoy your sheep, and feel free to ask as many questions as you need!
Suzanne

highhorse · « **Reply #4 on:** February 20, 2014, 05:40:56 pm »

thanks everyone. i think i will look up some info on vaccines then, i dont even know if they are supposed to have annual boosters or just the course when they are young and then again before lambing. $:-\$ with regards to worming i think i wil try those worm count things in th summer, i have some stuff that i may as well use up before thn but after that i think the worm count kit is the way to go. dont want my girls getting sick!

thanks eveyone! x

Womble · « **Reply #5 on:** March 30, 2014, 07:49:17 pm »

I've been looking into this too, and could do with a quick sense-check, since we're due to get our first sheep shortly.

They'll be on a Heptavac-P plan already, and also dosed with a broad-spectrum wormer when we get them, to hopefully avoid bringing in any nasties. They'll then be turned out onto pasture that had our neighbour's flock on it over the winter.

Apart from keeping up with the Heptavac and any additional worming as required, and making sure all the tagging and movement documents are ok is there anything else I'm missing? I'm trying to put together a management / health plan just now, in the hope that the vet can hopefully ok it with minor changes, rather than have to start from scratch. It's all ever so confusing though!!

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #6 on:** March 30, 2014, 09:42:18 pm »

You may have to think about fluke where you are, Womble. Ask a local farmer if they fluke their stock, and keep your eye on the NADIS forecasts to check the risk level for your area - it varies according to a number of factors, and in recent years has affected areas previously clear. The seasonal profile also differs year by year, so without NADIS or information from your vet you could dose unnecessarily or fail to dose when they need it.

You may also need to think about mineral supplementation, particularly if you will be breeding. We're cobalt, copper, selenium deficient here and need to give the sheep licks and drenches to top them up.

Womble · « **Reply #7 on:** March 30, 2014, 10:17:10 pm »

Thanks Sally - fluke is on my list of things to ask the vet, as I know my neighbours suffer at times and some of our ground is classic fluke territory. (I'm hoping they'll recommend a wormer that does fluke as well, assuming of course they say I need to.)

For minerals, I know our neighbours use the yellow tithebarn buckets - I've been collecting them from the ditches for ages to use as plant pots in our polytunnel, but I'll take advice on them too.

One thing I'm not sure about is tagging, since I'm collecting them from Englandsshire. Assuming they're already tagged in accordance with the English regs, what should I do with them for Scotland?

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2014, 10:46:30 pm »

Can't answer about Scottish tagging, sorry.

Just wanted to say that at some times in the year a combined fluke-and-wormer is a good idea, and at others it's better to use just the one you want. For instance, in winter there would usually not be a need for worming but you would want to fluke, and in some summers there is no fluke risk but you need to worm.

I guess with a small flock it's easier to buy a single product and use that all the time - but the vet may be concerned about increasing resistance by using meds when not necessary. No doubt they will be able to advise what best suits your circumstances.

Womble · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2014, 09:58:07 am »

Well, I left the Vet's yesterday feeling like a right junkie! One set of syringes pre-loaded with an intra-muscular wormer injection, and the smallest available bottle of Trodax, containing a lifetime's supply of flukicide for sub-cutaneous injection (sadly with a shelf life of 28 days once opened).

And there was me hoping I'd just be able to squirt everything down their throats! Still, I'll have some knowledgeable help available, so I might as well learn how to do it now, before I need to know in an emergency.

The vets have also offered to help me out with a health plan, so that's good peace of mind that everything's covered for the future

. It all suddenly seems a lot more hardcore than keeping a few chickens though!

I'm thinking that if they're already double tagged (metal and electronic) for England, they won't need any additional tagging when I bring them back to Scotland. Can anybody confirm?

Rosemary · « **Reply #10 on:** April 04, 2014, 11:35:19 am »

Phone your local Animal Health about the tags but I guess they'll be OK. We need one EID and one management tag here and I guess that's what you've got.

Make sure you know what wormer you've got so that you can change it in the future.

It's pity the CSSA sheepkeepers couldn't get organised with wormer and fluke drenches.

We don't dose with minerals, just give a mineral bucket. With only a few sheep, there's not such an issue with shy feeders or bullying.