[Hellybee]

We really want to phase it out here, but must keep it just in case.   Never ever use it without protection, I have to my stupidity.  And if it makes me that feel bad I just wonder what it would feel like to a young sheep.  I'm sorry I don't mean that from a bad place I'm very sorry for your loss 


If Baz feels dry sheep this morning we on it later.  Been so wet, and when we could last do it we lost our darling  Oliver dog, and so that time was full of looking for him and field checks.  Two days ago in a right Hoolie we found caught and treated two shearlings, both in good fettle.   We have both clik and clikzen here, not sure which one we will use yet, no lambs going til October, so no worry about withdrawal.


IMHO i don't think it's about resistance with crovect, i just don't think it s as strong at it was.  Perhaps I'm wrong.


The pink n green it is for us. 

[Kimbo]

So are Clik and Clikzen less toxic? If so, why the longer meat withdrawal period?

[Anke]

Well after not having been able to get a dry-enough window to Clik my sheep (at 70 quid a bottle I don't want to have to repeat) and having checked them regularly (and it has not been that warm here until this last weekend)... I found today one black Shetland hogget covered in maggots... Much more difficult to spot at some distance, but she was away from the flock and I could actually go up to her and just pick her up... Spent 2.5 hours cleaning her up, all over her body, but hopefully mainly superficial. I (and she) now smell lovely of Battle's Maggot oil, but it does seem to bring the bu&&ers out. She is still upright now, in a pen in a field and has actually eaten a bit of mix.. not having much hope she will pull through though...

What antibiotic would you use? Betamox LA ? - I have got that. Can't get hold of (farm)vet until tomorrow.

Has anyone experienced coloured sheep to be more susceptible or is it just an individual thing? She has a clean behind, and flies laid all over body, so I suspect it was after the massive downpour on Saturday followed by a very warm and humid Sunday...

[Kimbo]

sorry to hear that Anke.
Those buggering flies are evil

[Anke]

She's got a shot of Betamox, I drenched with twin lamb (as she hasn't either peed or pood since early afternoon - I think she stopped eating a while ago)  and offered some willow and hazel branches along with some hay. Not sure she will touch it though... not holding much hope, she looks like she has given up, let me just catch and hold her for her injection - not normal for any of my ewes...

[princesslayer]

Thanks Sally, I didn't explain myself properly. I understand you can overdose, I meant had anyone lost a sheep to crovect overdose, that wasn't struck?

[SallyintNorth]

My turn to be confused! 

How would you come to overdose a sheep that wasn't strucken?  Giving it more swipes with the 'wand' than you should, do you mean?

[Kimbo]

My turn to be confused! 

How would you come to overdose a sheep that wasn't strucken?  Giving it more swipes with the 'wand' than you should, do you mean?

That's the exact query I had a few weeks ago but no one advised me  I decided you would have to do an awful lot of extra passes with the wand for it to be dangerous. Anyway, no one has come to any harm so far

[SallyintNorth]

The trick is to have the right amount in each spray so that the number of stripes you want to do gives the correct dose.

For instance, if you want some on its head, some down the back, some around the crutch, and some across the shoulders, then divide the total dose by 5 and set the gun to that.   If you only want to do the back and crutch, divide the total by 2.  (Unless you know you're not very accurate and want to do each stripe twice to be on the safe side... in which case halve the dose in the gun again.)

[Fieldfare]

Really trying to not use toxic chemicals willy nilly but I have just had my 3rd case of medium-stage flystrike in 5 years. Castlemilk Moorits- supposedly flystrike resistant! Each time it has hit a lamb. Each time the lamb has had a touch of scour. I 100% know it is coming as I see a greenbottle or 3 perched on its behind. Upon catching the lamb it is obvious that it is unwell with light coloured eyelids as per the FAMACHA eyelid guide attached (probably has a high worm burden). Also they seem to be the lighter, less robust lambs.

So I have sheared their behinds, removing all maggots and washing with iodine/antiseptic spray. This seems to do the trick and the lambs have so far thrived, gained weight and look fine (in fact 'bounces' back dramatically in a few days and puts on weight- I'm presuming due to the reduced worm burden).

There is obviously a close link (direct or indirect) between worm burden, weakened animals and flystrike. So I think I am coming to the conclusion that routine worming in my young sheep just before 'fly-strike season' may actually be necessary to help protect them from worms and flystrike (leaving the mums unwormed to reduce chances of selecting for resistant worms). Going to worm all lambs in the next days  Will this prevent incidences of flystrike?

I hope others find this useful!

[Gunnermark]

Would love some Flystrike resistant sheep, would pay decent money for them!!!

[Coximus]

I've just got in from dealing with a case of flystirke in a Hebridean x texel ramb lamb - Horrific as though none of the maggots had got to any decent size it was a huge infestation, from backside to front legs on Rhand side - Im attributing it to some kind sod throwing a dead fox over the wall into the paddock where the ram lambs are being kept this week.

That said its interesting you point out the link to worms, as this particular lamb had tape worm segments in its droppings - and would otherwise of been one of the most robust of this years crop.

Im trying barrier H blow fly repel as a preventative at the moment, and after 3 weeks I can still whiff the lemony kick of it masking the sheeps smell - hopefuly as a less destructive alternative to crovect et al.

[Anke]

Whereas a mucky behind will always attract flies, I wouldn't have thought that healthy sheep are at less risk in he right conditions. My struck hogget is as clean as a whistle and in good condition. Actually all my sheep this year have been really clean and I have so far not had to worm the lambs even... (they will of course start to squit by tomorrow I am sure... ). Other than a case of flystrike in a foot this is my first case this year, and none of my sheep have had preventative treatment.

So in case of clean sheep (and all my serious cases of flystrike over the years have been clean sheep...) it is I think a combination of weather conditions and individual sheep maybe having a attractive (to the flies that is) body smell, maybe just under the weather that day (as it usually happens on humid, still days)...

[clydesdaleclopper]

Is mineral deficiency perhaps a factor. I know Pat Coleby in her books sets great store by mineral supplementation preventing all sorts of issues such as parasites and worms. Just putting it out there as an idea as I don't know myself.

[SallyintNorth]

There's certainly a link between worms => mucky bottoms => strike, so keeping lambs clean through worming and dagging is an important part of strike prevention.