Heamonchus/ Barbers pole worm

[HedgeHog]

I have a group of lambs that were doing great until about 2 weeks ago when weight started dropping off them. Literally withering away despite them having clean back ends. PM’ed 2 of them and they were full of heamonchus so I’ve wormed them for it in the hope they turn around quickly. Should I be drenching the ewes for it as well? They’re not with the lambs, weaned a while ago, but do I do them regardless?

 

[neilo]

Have you done a FEC test on the ewes? If they have them, they will be shedding eggs in large numbers (which they otherwise wouldn’t be). It’s relatively quick & cheap to do, rather than go through them ‘just in case’. They may, or may not, be shedding heamonchus eggs in vast numbers.

 

[Muddyroads]

I had a brush with this 3 years ago when I unwittingly took on some infested ground. It had a serious effect on lambs. The vets advice was to only graze with adult sheep or cattle if the ground couldn’t be put up for mowing to break the cycle.

 

[JSmith]

Had a horrendous experience of this a few years back with bought in ewes an lambs! Worst thing I’ve ever dealt with, lambs weren’t doing when being wormed mineral’d, scratch your head for a while, lambs start dying, get the vet, zolvix B12 and jab with cydectin, lambs still keep dying, repeat the process until it stops! If you can move to fresh ground after treating then all the better but don’t put anything else there after for quite a while! You’ll have to find out the life cycle of the eggs, can’t remember! Put me off buying in ewes and lambs, now everything gets a zolvix when it lands on the place an put on a sacrifice field!!