[donna c]

Just had our first case of fly strike; Our favourite ewe has fly strike, We were checking every other day but the time we discovered her fleece was loose from her skin. WE treated her and removed all infected fleece, her skin is now very red but she is eating again. Should I call the vet for antibiotics or any other tips 

[Anke]

YES to antibiotics, can you move her inside (with a friend) until she is healed over a bit? Also I would clip her fleece ALL off just to make sure you have got all the maggots out. If she has open sores I would wash those with antiseptic every day (Savlon) and spray with blue spray. Hope she recovers...

[Buttermilk]

I have used pain relief but not antibiotics on fly strike victims, I would only use the antibiotics if there was any sign of infection.  Over use contributes to resistance.  Do not be surprised when she gets wool slip in a couple of weeks time.

[twizzel]

I’d use painkillers for sure and if the skin is broken a long acting jab of alamycin. Then cover the area in yellow summer fly cream to protect it when she goes back out.

[SallyintNorth]

We were checking every other day but the time we discovered her fleece was loose from her skin.

You need to check at least twice a day in the fly season.  A sheep can very easily die within 48 hours once struck.

[Anke]

I have used pain relief but not antibiotics on fly strike victims, I would only use the antibiotics if there was any sign of infection.  Over use contributes to resistance.  Do not be surprised when she gets wool slip in a couple of weeks time.

I have lost ewes with flystrike over their body (as opposed to small areas usually around dirty bum and/or feet, around the scurs on wethers' heads etc) and now would give a routine AB injection. It is all risk assessment, and I have now also come to the conclusion if the ewe got flystrike without a definite cause (as in mucky bum for example) that she is best pts as she will get struck again… and I will not retain her offspring either.

[Melmarsh]

As already said , twice a day minimum checks required in fly strike weather, if the conditions are right the eggs can hatch very quickly and much damage can be caused in a 12hr period let alone 24 plus. My vet also told me that if the skin is broken , that best practice advises antibiotics ( for possible sepsis) and a pain killer/anti inflammatory. 
I would advise also to treat the others with a preventative such as clik to try and avoid a repeat . Hope she does well .

[bj_cardiff]

I've just had my worst case for years, poor lamb was totally alive with them, some red raw patches the maggots had moved on from and others where they hadn't done as much damage. I applied loads of maggot oil and gave shot of antibiotics. Checked again in 24hrs (and found more live maggots I'd missed) and more maggot oil. Next day I was confident I'd got them so I sprayed the bits of remaining fleece with crovect.

I'm surprised he made it TBH.. Rest of the flock were sprayed with crovect this morning.. on closer inspection another 2 lambs had been struck some time ago but hadn't shown signs.

[twizzel]

I've just had my worst case for years, poor lamb was totally alive with them, some red raw patches the maggots had moved on from and others where they hadn't done as much damage. I applied loads of maggot oil and gave shot of antibiotics. Checked again in 24hrs (and found more live maggots I'd missed) and more maggot oil. Next day I was confident I'd got them so I sprayed the bits of remaining fleece with crovect.

I'm surprised he made it TBH.. Rest of the flock were sprayed with crovect this morning.. on closer inspection another 2 lambs had been struck some time ago but hadn't shown signs.

Had they had any fly prevention treatments this season prior to getting struck?

[Fleecewife]

I have used pain relief but not antibiotics on fly strike victims, I would only use the antibiotics if there was any sign of infection.  Over use contributes to resistance. 

This comment worries me.  Yes, overuse of antibiotics contributes to the emergence of bugs resistant to antibiotics.  However, this doesn't mean not to use them at all.  As Anke says, it's all about risk assessment.  A badly struck animal is severely stressed, more than you might realise just on first appearance.  They are at risk of infection in the open areas of skin, from the flies themselves and from bugs present on the ground and in soil, where they lie, and these infections will already be getting going, though not showing overt signs.  They are also at risk of pneumonia from the inevitable immobility caused by suffering from strike for more than the first nibble. 


So this is a case where we should be using antibiotics.


The cautions about antibiotic use are there to guard against the willynilly use of antibiotics as a general disease preventive, in all livestock, especially in baby pigs.


I follow the principal that if I would use antibiotics on a human with that condition, then I will use it for a sheep, for the welfare of that sheep.

[bj_cardiff]

Had they had any fly prevention treatments this season prior to getting struck?

Yes, it was well out of the 6 weeks protection that Crovect gives though, its one of those jobs I'd put off till 'tomorrow'

[twizzel]

That’s the reason I switched to Clik this year. No spraying crovect every 6 weeks and worrying about when the 6th week is up 

[bazzais]

Yep Clik or Clikzin is king, the old Crovect only comes out of its horrible cave on special occasions thank god. 
Its very useful after finding strike, its what we use after clearing fleece, maybe a bit of topical spray on any open wounds first, crovect after.

[landroverroy]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/news-science-shows-how-maggots-heal-wounds/[/

I am with Buttermilk on this. In 30 years of sheep keeping I have rarely found a maggot wound (fly strike) to get infected and in fact the above article in Scientific American confirms this.
I find the main problem with raw wounds is that they dry out, while healing and crack open again, so I apply liquid paraffin or some other cream/oil + tea tree oil which is soothing, antiseptic, and a fly repellent.
To reach for an antibiotic at the slightest possibility of infection is not good practice nowadays as antibiotic resistance is now a very real problem. 

[Black Sheep]

In 30 years of sheep keeping I have rarely found a maggot wound (fly strike) to get infected and in fact the above article in Scientific American confirms this.

Not quite. The article notes that maggots are being used as a method of debriding some wounds and that they may do something that modulates the immune response in addition to eating dead tissue. However that is a very different set of circumstances to maggots causing fly strike and the ensuing conditions.

The maggots used in wound care are sterile - they have been hatched in sterile conditions and are provided in sterile packaging then applied to a wound which is often being kept very clean. The patient is often on antimicrobial treatment too already. Very different to maggots that are hatching from eggs laid in fleece by flies that have just been trotting about on faeces in the field, where such maggots then start eating healthy flesh and cause the wound, which is exposed to the elements and multiple sources of contamination.

The other point about decades of experience not showing up an infection caused by strike is more important though. This is about risk and making a judgement.

In humans if we get a cut, even one with some muck in it from the garden, we don't start antibiotics in case it might get infected - they are unnecessary. If however that wound is much worse, seriously contaminated, or is a wound type very likely to become infected (like a deep puncture wound from a cat bite say), then we probably should. If the wound is in an individual at high risk of infection, perhaps due to immunosuppressive drugs, then maybe we would.

We should apply the same logic to sheep who after all also possess pretty good immune systems. So a minor case of strike in an otherwise healthy individual, caught quickly maybe doesn't need routine treatment with antibiotics. A more extensive case found later in a very young or very old sheep who isn't in great condition, perhaps does.

To reach for an antibiotic at the slightest possibility of infection is not good practice nowadays as antibiotic resistance is now a very real problem.

Completely agree and every single use adds to the risk. Resistance is not a reason not to use antibiotics at all but it absolutely is a reason to use them judiciously.