Liver Fluke inside shed??

brooklyn07

Member
Livestock Farmer
Hi

I'm having a constant problem with fluke.

I have pregnant ewes in 2 sheds - one is a steel shed, the other is a stone walled shed.

Fields are constantly wet in the autumn/winter so i fluke every 4 weeks to try to keep on top of it. Fluked all the sheep before I brought them into the sheds just before christmas.

The sheep in the steel shed seem to be fine - but the sheep in the stone shed seem to be constantly getting fluke every 2-3 weeks - different sheep not necessarily the same ones.

I drenched them all again 4 weeks ago but every now and again a sheep will pop up with bottle jaw so I'll drench it again and within 48 hours the bottle jaw has gone.

I'm trying to understand how the fluke is surviving - my understanding is that its usually present in warm/wet conditions and needs mud snails to survive but the shed is dry, the bedding is dry so how is this possible? Could it be from the water tank? Its connected to the mains so self filling but could it be that is contaminated somehow??

Thanks
 

brooklyn07

Member
Livestock Farmer
yep switched to flukkiver which was supposed to be better than cydectin which was the drench i used before i brought the whole lot into the sheds. I can understand the resistance but I don't understand why its only one shed that are constantly showing signs of re-infection whilst the other shed are fine - they were all grazing the same land before i brought them in.
 
Location
Cumbria
Assuming you have put Cydectin instead of triclabendazole as a typo because Cydectin only ever covers worms and scab.
I can't understand why you have a problem after bringing them inside.
 

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
you really need to speak to a vet , something isnt right , they wont pick up new infections in a shed , fluke need the mud snail for life cycle , so your either not killing the fluke or its something else
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
but don't forget they could look poor if their livers are damaged even after treatment.
its not an instant fix and can be terminal even after killing the fluke ..
 
Sadly, resistance is the most likely problem.
Have you tried using a different product?
Sorry to butt into the conversation but farming online www.farming.co.uk together with Liverpool Uni have been developing a liver fluke early detection app to try and help forecast fluke to enable more accurate dosing to help with the problem of possible resistance which a lot of pharma companies we talk to are worried about We are looking for volunteers to look at a prototype front end for the app to find out what producers would like to see to help with the problem...
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
Like others have said, there's resistance to think about.
In addition to that, different flukicides act on different life cycle stages, so it could be that you didn't catch them at the right time with the right product.
Also, bottle jaw isn't necessarily a clear diagnosis of fluke. Heavy worm infestations (Ostertagia, if I remember correctly) can also cause bottle jaw.
 

Raider112

Member
Do these snails live in water tanks? are you catching rain water for that shed? we catch some and there are sometimes little wriggly things swimming around which I have wondered if they are the snails that cause fluke.
 

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