[andywalt]

photos for conversation, see anything you like to comment on?  flystrike patch?

[andywalt]

Id love to see some photos from you all, It would be nice to see other breeds, as you can see these 10 store lambs are 5 x southdownx clean  and 5 x charollais  RIP abottoir in 16 days time

[morri2]

You've some good sheep there Andy.  Keep a close eye on the flystrike patch though.  I am going to try and post some photo's of mine shortly - just need a bit of time to sit down here and work out how its done (I'm such a technophobe!!!!) 

[woollyval]

Andy....that patch of strike will be a lot bigger than that!!!! Cut the wool back asap to make sure the margins are clear.....I would suspect a patch about the size of a dinner plate at least from that pic

[andywalt]

I have checked it thoroughly, and its had direct crovect treatment to the patch and across the back, you think I still need to cut more away?

[morri2]

Andy, I've enlarged your photo -  I think Woollyshepherd is right you know thats a well established wound - cut away some more fleece around it and check there are no more maggots burrowing into the skin.  Sounds like you had a good look, but the little blighters have a habit of spreading and starting on new patches of skin once they get a grip and its often hard to see them once they've made a hole for themselves in YOUR sheep (how dare they!!!) This happened to me last year.  Thought I treated a lamb for strike on its shoulder, spent about an hour cutting away and spraying - watching the maggots drop to the floor and low and behold, a few hours later, there was another patch of strike on its middle, so had to start the whole process again.  AND they'd been treated only two weeks before.  Can never be too careful with this.  Good luck!

[andywalt]

Thanks for your comments, very helpful, ive checked at lunch time today and all is good, no more signs at all, no wet patches or fleece falling out,  I did put crovect into the patch as well as a shot over its back, but when I check tomorrow if any doubt I will cut away some more fleece.

This is all ver helpful apprciate any comments

thanks

[woollyval]

You wont see anymore wet patches nor fleece falling out.....that strike is a very well established one by the time that happens! The problem is the blighters burrow away from the area! Please for the sake of your sheep....and the vet at the abattoir.....who will have your guts got garters if not cut back ......and yourself.....the fines can be high if animal welfare issues come to light at the abattoir....cut back the fleece to the skin, with shears or even a good pair of scissors until their is clear wool and clean skin, you cannot possibly see until you do...believe me I know Make sure their is no broken skin as maggots secrete acid that burns the skin, treat if appropriate with an antibiotic spray, or at least an antiseptic one and the cutting back and looking proves to the vet that you have good welfare on your holding!

[andywalt]

ok no problem, sounds as if I really should so I will

thanks for that

andy

[daddymatty82]

would find all the fly strike problems now as crovect has 8 day withdrawal so if its not sorted in the next week that abbitoir trip in 16 days it wont be happening if you have left pockets of maggots on the sheep it will still look a mess even though you treated them as there still alive where they have burrowed away from the chemical the vet wont be happy if you paas them through and then you got the trouble of rebooking

[andywalt]

yup, im aware of the withdrawl of crovect, and take on board your comments.

[andywalt]

but I also thought that the crovect chemical obsorbed into the skin and repelled and killed the maggotts, also when i first parted the wool at the patch I could not see any maggotts at all I only saw the eggs, so what happens if eggs hatch onto skin that is protected by crovect? is it not 100% that they will be killed?  I really would like to know if you know?

[daddymatty82]

if you found every egg on the sheeps body and eradicated the problem 100% then your sure to be sorted but there are alot of factors that sheep get struck again be sure you sorted the problem in the 1st action against it and the wool being cut off in you pics are just a tiny area thats been looked at to take half the wool off will sort the problem as then the maggots cannot get the fresh wound and the flys wont be attracted to the wound and lay in the wool around the area  iv been out untill midnight doing fly strike on a farmer friends sheep but then every lamb of his are about £100 a piece so he dont like to lose lambs to the problem

[lachlanandmarcus]

I work on the basis that the only assumption is that the Clik or Crovect will prevent reinfestation, and I dont rely on them to remove the existing ones, I remove every single maggot right at the start ( I scrape them off with the (blunt)side of the hand shears. I just cant bear them being on there a moment longer once Ive noticed the outbreak.

 It means all the antibiotic spray will get into the wound rather than landing on eggs or maggots too. Def echo re cutting back all the fleece to beyond the point that its pink and healthy. Even without any wet or dark patches its revolting what can be going on under the fleece.

If there is an early infestation elsewhere under the fleece, and the crovect in in existing wound and along spine, those maggots can hatch out and start eating poor sheepy alive on other parts of the fleece, cos theyre already in situ.

Get your vet to give you some Alamycin antibiotic spray, its very useful to have anyway and will help to heal the wounds, and if theyre not having antibiotic jabs (which would have too long a withdrawal for the abbatoir date) is prob the least I would go for.

EDITED TO ADD I am very jealous of your dog and your sheep gathering skills, I really struggle with my 25 with no dog!

good luck and well done so far...

[andywalt]

Thanks very much, all good information building for me as I want to get it right and im very grateful for the time you have all given to explain thoroughly.

As for my dog he is 7 now and I knew he had the natural ability from when we had holidays on dairy farms when he used to help get the cows in and take them back out, he was younger then and a fairly hard dog on the cattle, this is my first year with my store lambs and he has surprised me as he is not at all hard on them, but when they test him he has none of it and will give a small charge at the stuborn ones to move them on then pull back and drive them gently. he is just getting the hang of getting around behind them to drive them to me and the pen, hes improving by the day. such a wonderful dog and so loving in our home.

Bit of a shame that i use amixture of hand signals and commands like get back and shhhshshhshs to drive him on but we are devolping our own language, would be an eye brow raiser if seen by anyone involved with "one man and his dog" but who cares as long as we understand each other!!

he wont take any non sence from the other dogs at the stables where I keep the lambs, we take a walk around the yard after he has finished his work where we meet other people and dogs ect,butI had to laugh my head offwhen he came face to face with the stables cat where he recieced a swift swipe on the nose !! and when ever he sees him now he takes off and sits by my van ready to go home