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SHEEP-fed-barely-sprouting-fodders, page : 109
To know whether the worm is becoming resistant to the drug you are using you should do an egg count. If the egg counts are done just before and then 1 week after administration of the prescribed dose of wormer and the percentage of decrease in the number of eggs is less than 80%, the presence of resistant parasites must be strongly suspected.
If possible treat all new additions to your flock before they enter your premises, check with your veterinarian. After your new additions have been treated the animals should be penned in a dry-grass free area for 24 hours to avoid contamination of pasture with viable eggs that did not pass out of the sheep when the worms are killed.
Targeted worming:
In most sheep farming areas, only approximately 5% of the worm population survives on the pasture during the winter months. This means the remainder of the spring's worm population is in the sheep in the form of arrested larvae that are housed in the form of a cyst.
It is good practice to deworm your sheep 2 to 3 days before turning them out on the pasture so that they do not increase the population of worms in their new environment. The larvae they expel in the barn are left in the feces and the larvae cannot survive.
Double-drenching is another method of deworming. It is an oral worm medication and used in the summer dry climates, some farmers are of the opinion that this method reduces the worm burden for the season. They begin by deworming the sheep during dry weather and follow up with another deworming 6 weeks later which should take the level of worms to a less than harmful level. Hot, dry weather significantly reduces the larvae population in pastures. It is also advisable to move the sheep to a clean pasture 24 to 48 hours after each deworming to help keep the pasture clean.
EXTERNAL PARASITES
For the most part, external parasites are more of a nuisance than a major threat to health, however, there are always exceptions.
The external parasites that cause a threat to sheep that can turn to be deadly and have a substantial affect on profit are, sheep ticks, lice, maggots, nose bots and scab mites. You might wish to check with your vet to see if there are any additions to this list in your part of the world.
Sheep ticks:
A sheep tick is not a true tick, it is a wingless parasitic fly called a "ked". These ticks spend their entire life cycle on the body of sheep laying little brown eggs that are white inside. The eggs take about 19 days to mature.
If possible treat all new additions to your flock before they enter your premises, check with your veterinarian. After your new additions have been treated the animals should be penned in a dry-grass free area for 24 hours to avoid contamination of pasture with viable eggs that did not pass out of the sheep when the worms are killed.
Targeted worming:
In most sheep farming areas, only approximately 5% of the worm population survives on the pasture during the winter months. This means the remainder of the spring's worm population is in the sheep in the form of arrested larvae that are housed in the form of a cyst.
It is good practice to deworm your sheep 2 to 3 days before turning them out on the pasture so that they do not increase the population of worms in their new environment. The larvae they expel in the barn are left in the feces and the larvae cannot survive.
Double-drenching is another method of deworming. It is an oral worm medication and used in the summer dry climates, some farmers are of the opinion that this method reduces the worm burden for the season. They begin by deworming the sheep during dry weather and follow up with another deworming 6 weeks later which should take the level of worms to a less than harmful level. Hot, dry weather significantly reduces the larvae population in pastures. It is also advisable to move the sheep to a clean pasture 24 to 48 hours after each deworming to help keep the pasture clean.
EXTERNAL PARASITES
For the most part, external parasites are more of a nuisance than a major threat to health, however, there are always exceptions.
The external parasites that cause a threat to sheep that can turn to be deadly and have a substantial affect on profit are, sheep ticks, lice, maggots, nose bots and scab mites. You might wish to check with your vet to see if there are any additions to this list in your part of the world.
Sheep ticks:
A sheep tick is not a true tick, it is a wingless parasitic fly called a "ked". These ticks spend their entire life cycle on the body of sheep laying little brown eggs that are white inside. The eggs take about 19 days to mature.