What's Your Deworming Program?

[vt_mountainman]

I purchased my sheep last fall, so this is the first spring I will be turning them out onto pasture. I've read many of the old posts about worming on this forum, and I must say that now I'm more confused than ever!

I have talked to my vet, who recommended Dectomax injections. The local farm supply store sells a pelleted product, "Safe-guard', which I believe is fenbendazole. I don't feel knowledgable enough to give them injections, and I don't know the proper techniques for drenching them, so the pellets seem like the best overall solution for me.

It appears to be a topic with many different opinions and choices, and I really don't know what to do. Is it necessary to deworm them at all? If I don't deworm them now, what are the signs that I have a parasite problem? What do you do about worming your flock? I'm hoping some of you can give me practical advice based on your experiences, and point me in the right direction about this seemingly complex issue!

 

[purplequeenvt]

We do minimal dewormings here. Our schedule is usually this:

Ewes get dewormed right after lambing.

All adults will be dewormed several days before being turned out on pasture.

Lambs get dewormed on an as needed basis based on condition, eyelid color, poop, etc... Usually 2x during the summer.

Breeding ewes and rams get dewormed a couple weeks before breeding.

Anything a year and over does not get dewormed during the summer unless they need it.

We use drenches. Safe-guard (comes in pellets, licks, paste, and drench) has lost much of it's effectiveness due to overuse.

We mainly use Cydectin and Valbazen and sometimes Safe-guard and ivermectin.

If you wish to avoid treating unnecessarily, getting fecals done on a regular basis will help. The vet will be able to tell you what kind of parasites you are dealing with and if they are at a level were they should be treated.

 

[bonbean01]

We also check eye lids here for how pale or rosy red they are...and only worm those who need it. Have not heard that pellets or injectables are effective here. We use Prohibit, but only when necessary.

 

[vt_mountainman]

Thank you for such detailed information purplequeenvt, and for you added suggestion too bonbean01. There is so much out there on this topic, and so many different ways of handling it, that it's really difficult for a beginner like me to know where to start!

 

[SheepGirl]

My ewes are "officially" checked once a year for barberpole worms only, at shearing. I check their eyelids, if they are white I deworm them; if they are light pink or red I don't deworm...if they are a lighter shade I do however check other symptoms to help me determine if I should deworm said sheep or not.

Throughout the year if I have a sheep walk up to me I may check their eyelid color just for poops and giggles but usually I go by other symptoms of parasite infestation before I catch the sheep to check eyelid color, such as dags, poor body condition, pot belliness, bottle jaw, etc.

I haven't dewormed a sheep in years, except for one lamb born last year. After 2 weeks in a dry lot he was losing condition fast and I checked his eyelids and they were white. Dewormed with cydectin and the next day his eyelids were back to red.

I do not check fecal egg counts... it is too much of a hassle to collect poop and send it off to be analyzed when I can just go by the symptoms of a sheep that is overcome with parasites. You just have to know which symptoms are caused by which parasite and if it is possible to confuse the symptoms of a parasite with a disease.

 

[vt_mountainman]

That is really helpful advice SeepGirl! I only have a few sheep, and they all run up to me as soon as I enter the pasture, so it would be fairly easy to check their eyelids. For myself, and probably others who are also new to raising sheep, one of the problems is knowing what to look for, so that we can recognize the symptoms of various health issues when they occur.

 

[Baymule]

Does anybody practice moving their sheep to new pastures to break up the life cycle of the worms? Asking as a total non sheep owner, but they are on my someday list.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Does anybody practice moving their sheep to new pastures to break up the life cycle of the worms? Asking as a total non sheep owner, but they are on my someday list.

Do you mean rotational grazing? If so, then yes, that is what we do.

We graze the sheep in an area big enough to last 5-7 days and then move them to the next area. We try not to graze the same area again for at least 4 weeks to let the pasture rest and let some of the parasites die off.

Some people do intensive grazing where the sheep are in a small area for 12-24 hours before being moved. I don't have the time for that.

 

[Baymule]

Thank you Purplequeenvt!

 

[vt_mountainman]

I've been looking for more information (in addition to what everyone has helpfully posted here) and came across this site about internal parasite control:

http://www.sheep101.info/201/parasite.html

I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, but I thought there was some interesting information there for those of you who haven't seen it.