[Jacob-list] Parasite control

[kristi frick]

Hi Tina and Chris,

The best way to treat parasites is to use managed grazing, and have
fecals done on at least the worst members of your flock so you can
know what parasites are causing the problem. We had a problem with
loose stools in our flock this year so
I started treating them for coccidiosis, but it wasn't helping with
all the sheep, so I ran a fecal and found we had trichostrongylus
 which caused similar symptoms. If we would have just had the fecal
run we could have saved ourselves the $80 bottle of corrid. We have to
dry lot our sheep at certain times to keep from overgrazing our
limited pasture, and this makes it difficult because we have to clean
up uneaten feed every day, twice a day, plus we have mats down in
front of the feeders that we clean twice daily in order to  keep them
from eating around their feces, thus reinfesting themselves. If you
are mainly using pasture to feed your livestock, it may be wise to
invest in some electronet to quardon them off in areas small enough
that they can eat them in a 12hr period, and move them 2x a day. I
would recomend electronet brand from premier (the white kind with the
plastic struts and not tension net!), and if your area is extremely
wet, disconnect the bottom two wires so that they don't ground out the
fence. Don't let the sheep graze the pasture down shorter than two to
four inches. The parasites like to be deep down in the crowns where it
stays moist, and plus, the shorter the grass is grazed the closer the
sheep are eating to their feces.  The best way to create sever
parasite problems is set stocking.




http://www.wormboss.com.au/LivePage.aspx?pageId=531


I hope this helps, and good luck with your lambs.

Lynette Frick
IDEAL FARM
Jacob Sheep
www.idealjacobsheep.com