[moprabbit]

I'm sure I've seen this sort of question answered before - in fact I might have asked it!! I have 2 paddocks that I use for my sheep. I've been using them both - one in the daytime and a 'safer' one at night. But now I think one of them should be rested for a while. I wondered what the minimum time is for resting a paddock. I've only got 4 sheep and do regular FEC's and have never had a worm problem.  Thanks

[Melmarsh]

Hi, if you have no problem with worms I wouldn't worry. You obviously have limited grazing so unless you can close one off long enough for a cut of hay or allow something other than sheep to graze it I would carry on monitoring your FEC 's and chat to your get if and when you need to .I expect others will have other ideas  but good luck

[Fleecewife]

I agree with Melmarsh.  Your current regime is working for you. 

[moprabbit]

OK! Thank you for your replies! I'll keep on checking with FEC''s.

[Castle Farm]

Get some ducks.

[Womble]

Why? 

[Oopsiboughtasheep]

Ducks...ooh, that's interesting....can I tell my husband I need ducks to clear the paddocks for worms like I told him we needed to get some sheep as mowers...? 

[shygirl]

I read the title and thought you meant earthworms.  ha 

[Womble]

I could sort of see how ducks might eat mud snails and thus reduce the incidence of fluke, but I still can't figure out what they'd do for sheep worms.

They're great for getting rid of slugs too. The paddock the ducks are in is slug free, whilst all the others are full of them on a damp night like this.

[clydesdaleclopper]

You need chickens for livestock worms. Take a look at what Joel Salatin does with his rotations

[Buttermilk]

The chickens spread out the muck exposing the worms to sunlight ect but the majority of worm eggs and larvae are too small for chickens to find and it is far more likely the rotation and not the hens which keep his worm burdens down.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

I'm with Melmarsh,


                        in order to say a pasture is "clean" for your sheep it would have been free of sheep for 2 seasons = 6 months. Grazing sheep with another type of livestock or alternating the livestock that you put on the pasture is seen to help with worm reduction as animals will ingest some of the worm burden but as the worms are host specific the worms do not complete their life cycle in a different species.


Poultry are considered beneficial for this but Buttermilk may have a point.


Low stocking densities also help as well as buying in sheep that have low worm counts and have been subject to worm monitoring. The system for sheep used to be to worm and move onto clean pasture and still is for many comercial farmers. But those of us who manage small flocks often juggle them about as you do and this coupled with current advice to worm less to aviod althalmic resistance makes this model impractical for smallholders.


If you bought clean sheep and you put them on clean pasture and you do FECs and you worm as instructed by your vet when needed and you do a post worm fec if you want to check for resistance....then you have got it covered.


If you really do want to rest half though I would suggest putting them in a small area from Oct to March and feeding hay to replace the grass. The grass slows down at about that time anyhow so you can rest it and turn out onto clean pasture in spring.


HTH