Barber Pole Worms

[Ram20]

I have a few ewe's that show signs of barber pole worms. They have fluid bag under their neck. I wormed with valbazen about three weeks ago. A few days ago I noticed that in the afternoon after they had beed grazing they had they bag under the neck and jaw. I talked to a vet and was advised to give 1cc per 100 lbs. of ivermectin. I did that Thursday. Today they still had bag and side of face was swollen on three ewe's. Is this from worms or something else and will it clear up after the worming.

 

[Sheepshape]

The swollen face (called 'bottle jaw' over here) is a sign of anaemia and is not specific to Barber Pole Worms, but can be caused by any worm which makes the ewe anaemic. Discuss with your vet about a different worm treatment.

 

[Ram20]

Yeah we call it bottle jaw also. The vet advised me to give the injection. Just wondering if anyone had any other advice for this problem

 

[Southern by choice]

If it is being caused by flukes than you will need a wormer for flukes. We like Ivermectin PLUS (regular ivermectin will not work). The treatment is specific as only the adult flukes are killed. 3 treatments 10 days apart will end the cycle.

 

[hilarie]

• I had a really bad go-round with barber pole worms last summer. One doe especially was hard hit. Our vet is VERY adamant about testing for parasites before doing a blanket treatment. So many people have automatically wormed X times a year with Y treatment, and now there's rampant drug resistance (what a surprise ). I was told to use cydectin and fenbendazole for her bad infestation, and it worked beautifully; her next stool sample showed ZERO worms. Worst downside: the milk discard was SIXTY DAYS after treatment

Has anyone ever heard of using lespideza (either in pellet form or as browse) to naturally control parasites? This sounds very promising, but I can't find it anywhere.

 

[Southern by choice]

it grows wild here and when it comes in we cut it and give it to our goats. It is great.

 

[Southern by choice]

I agree, running a fecal is most important. Flukes however are difficult to identify. The Large American Liver Fluke is identifiable by it's poles. However other flukes look similar to many other eggs, only it's size is very large. Even our state lab doesn't break it down to individual parasites.

Flukes are grossly under-diagnosed.

 

[hilarie]

it grows wild here and when it comes in we cut it and give it to our goats. It is great.

BIG case of vegetation envy. I have no pasture on which to grow forage (my acreage is all rocky, hilly woods) and lespideza apparently doesn't grow here - too cold, probably. Even my conservative Tufts-educated vet thinks it's a good idea to feed it, at least intermittently. I would if I could find a source.

 

[Southern by choice]

@hilarie
these people sell pellets
http://simsbrothers.com/ourProducts.htm#available

 

[Ram20]

Thanks guys for the info. I will put it to use.