deworming sheep without known histories (fecal first?)

[promiseacres]

So one of my new sheep has an occassional cough....plus their histories are unknown...:/ I am making a catch pen
So now they can be handled! I am thinking they at the very least need something for lung worms due to the one coughing but no other symptoms. I know a fecal wont show lung worms if she doesi have them.... my other concerns is without a scale is there any way ti figure out weights? Also. All the wormers I have seen comes in super large quantities....I only have 11 sheep....some still nursing the youngest are almost 2 weeks...

And is drenching or injectable the only options? Thanks

 

[BrownSheep]

A lot of wormer will last for several years if stored properly.

I tend to guesstimate my ewes sizes to be about 200 lbs but I am raising big breed sheep. There are weight measuring tapes that you can purchase or you can just go by breed average.

I just know of drenches since that's all we have ever used.

 

[Southern by choice]

Do you have a lot of snails.... that is how they get lungworm. Lungworm needs an intermediate host.
We have to watch for this as we have very wet areas with a bajillion snails... the geese and ducks really do a good job.
Occassionally you can see the eggs in a fecal float but it must be done right away... the most accurate way is the Baermanns float, very few do these ( usually sent to a lab) and even they are not real accurate.
It could be hay, or pollens etc.

We went through a season of goats coughing on and off but everything was fine...we were convinced it was lungworm... because of the extreme snail population. Then we switched out where our hay was coming from.... no more cough.

 

[promiseacres]

The cough started not long after I got her...figured she brought it with....as far as I know we don't have sn ails but we are on some mucky land so not impossible.

 

[promiseacres]

Maybe a stool sample be first? her lambs have the pot belly wormy look. Yes they should of been quarenteed but mama did not think that was a good idea. my other sheep appear fine, all stools appear normal. I've checked some of their eye lids and the 3 I'm concerned about are less red than the others but not badly. I prefer to be as "natural" as possible b/c we will be eating at least one of the lambs. BUT feel like something should be done. At this point I feel like everyone has been exposed so a wormer should be done to everyone, then check fecals and deworm as needed. I don't have a problem learning to drench but just want something safe and something that will work.

Appreciate any advice as I'm very familiar with horses but still learning on sheep (despite having them in 4H....) I don't remember my parents worming our sheep at all.


THANK YOU!

 

[Southern by choice]

Do you run your own fecals?

Run the fecals on each animal not a collective sample. Collective samples will not tell you who has what issue or "load". In just about every herd it is 20% of the herd that are responsible for 80% of the parasite issues. Ok, so didn't word that very well but know you get the point.

Individual fecals then you can determine who needs treated and with what. The eyelid method (FAMACHA) is only effective for ONE parasite. Barberpole.

Many people use the FAMACHA method but are often guessing. Very few people are certified and really taught. FAMACHA is only one thing to look at. It doesn't tell you if you have tape, rounds, or flukes etc.

Fecal first then determine if load count warrants a de-wormer. If HIGH counts and you need to use a commercial de-wormer than it will at least be done and eradicated then you can use more organic methods. There are quite a few that do herbals and never have a parasite problem.