Worming lambs

newbie · May 23, 2018

Sorry guys, another rookie question...
My lambs are now 2 months old and looking well. I FEC'd the ewes last back end which came back really low.
So far the lambs are clean and only a couple of ewes have shitty bums which I suspect is more due to the flush of grass we've just had.
Is it worth worming the lambs with a white wormer now or would you leave it until you saw a few mucky bums?
Thanks in advance

It was already broken. · May 23, 2018

Mucky bums = damage already done. White wormer and a count would be the way forward for me.

Jerry · May 23, 2018

Don’t worm unless you need to.

Only way you to know if it’s needed is do a FEC count.

Dkb · May 23, 2018

Jerry said:
Don’t worm unless you need to.

Only way you to know if it’s needed is do a FEC count.

Is this the case with nematodirus though?? I don’t think they show up well on a FEC maybe I’m badly wrong

jemski · May 23, 2018

Dkb said:
Is this the case with nematodirus though?? I don’t think they show up well on a FEC maybe I’m badly wrong

You are right. If you can see nemo eggs you should have already wormed them....

muleman · May 23, 2018

Dont be messing about testing this time of year,get them dosed for nemotodirus.

Northeastfarmer · May 23, 2018

Done all mine with a white wormer today

yellowbelly · May 23, 2018

Nemo forecasts are high pretty much everywhere now. From mid April onwards it's best to keep an eye on this..
http://www.scops.org.uk/forecasts/nematodirus-forecast/..........and dose when your area becomes a risk.

Egg counts for everything else

newbie · May 24, 2018

Oh thanks all for your rapid reply. I'll do them all this weekend

Chasingmytail · May 24, 2018

Main risk factors

If your lambs are grazing pasture that carried lambs last spring and you answer yes to one or more of these questions, your lambs are at risk.

Are they old enough to be eating significant amounts of grass? (generally 6-12 weeks of age but may be younger if ewes are not milking well)
Do you have groups where there is also likely to be a challenge from coccidiosis? For example, mixed aged lambs are a higher risk
Has there been a sudden, cold snap recently followed by a period of warm weather?
Have you got lambs that are under other stresses e.g. triplets, fostered, on young or older ewes.

Woolless · May 24, 2018

jemski said:
You are right. If you can see nemo eggs you should have already wormed them....

Dkb said:
Is this the case with nematodirus though?? I don’t think they show up well on a FEC maybe I’m badly wrong

You are right to an extent, although a friend of mine (very experienced sheep vet) says he's never seen a nemo outbreak without eggs on the slide when a FEC was done. There's no point doing them before there's worms there, then sitting back and thinking they are safe. For what it's worth, I did a FEC on my biggest mob last friday which had 50 epg nemo. Lambs looked fine and on average a bit on the young side for major nemo risk, so I've left them and will do another sample tomorrow. I would expect them to need dosed after that but if it's 50 again I'll wait another week. I think @Tim W does weekly checks for nemo eggs and manages this risk in a similar way.

Jerry · May 24, 2018

Mine had a white drench 6 weeks ago as we went into the first warm spell, FEC showed a few eggs but gut instinct said get them done as conditions were ripe for it.

They have not shown and significant worm numbers in recent FEC, due a re test next week.

Im hoping they are now out of the Nemo risk period, stongyles are the ones that always seem to catch me out.

Tim W · May 24, 2018

I manage nemo by;
Lambing later which means that lambs are not grazing too much when the nemo rise should occur
Knowing the history of nemo on each farm i graze
Taking FEC regularly so i have an idea of worm trends (this includes FEC on ewes with very young lambs at foot)
Watching for dirty bums/lambs lacking ''bounce''
Breeding for worm resistance ---this is making a noticeable difference to the worm burden ----egg counts in lactating ewes are steadily decreasing year by year which means less eggs on the pasture for the lambs (ewes in effect act as a ''hoover'' clearing up worm eggs)

This year is different in that i am lambing on 3 new farms so i don't know any of the history ---2 farms are ok so far and i am hoping to get away without treating for nemo
1 farm the lambs are just looking a bit under the weather this morning and they have had a huge tick problem (tick bourne fever) so i may have to dose them
Annual actions below
2017 ---9/6 1 flock treated for nemo (3 flocks not done)
2016---21/6 same flock treated for nemo (some strongles present too)
2015 --- no nemo treatments
2014----7/6 same flock treated for nemo
2013----27/6 a different flock treated for nemo & strongles

Whiteleyfarm · May 24, 2018

Honestly, I would get them drenched. I know there is the concern of wormer resistance, but having been in the situation where we rang the vet to say we had concerns over shitty arses and lack of growth, to be told it couldn't possibly be be nemo because the sh!t would be pouring out, to loosing approximately 15 lambs, to drenching them and the " mysterious disease" vanishing - i wish I had trusted my gut earlier and wormed

for the record, we FEC and nothing at all showed up in either lambs or ewes.

Top Tip. · May 24, 2018

Northeastfarmer said:
Done all mine with a white wormer today

Likewise

Woolless · May 25, 2018

Took another fec from the same mob this morning, 350 epg nemo and 200 strongyles, so I'll be dusting off the dosing gun.

newbie · May 25, 2018

Drenched the lambs this morning. Thanks again everyone

scottish-lleyn · May 25, 2018

Woolless said:
Took another fec from the same mob this morning, 350 epg nemo and 200 strongyles, so I'll be dusting off the dosing gun.

do you just hold the lambs up in a corner and pick up the $hit or do you take samples from the lambs individualy?

Woolless · May 25, 2018

scottish-lleyn said:
do you just hold the lambs up in a corner and pick up the $hit or do you take samples from the lambs individualy?

I just tend to wander round the field and pick up any dung which is clearly from a lamb and fresh, whilst keeping an eye for any that actually have a dump while I'm close enough to see where it was dropped. There always seems to be any amount of sheep turds lying about, until you're actually in the field waiting for them to crap when they seem to get temporary constipation!

Northeastfarmer · May 25, 2018

Woolless said:
I just tend to wander round the field and pick up any dung which is clearly from a lamb and fresh, whilst keeping an eye for any that actually have a dump while I'm close enough to see where it was dropped. There always seems to be any amount of sheep turds lying about, until you're actually in the field waiting for them to crap when they seem to get temporary constipation!

Worming lambs

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