Strike!

[Pasty]

My Wilts are starting to shed already but the more I read, the more I panic about the Jacobs with the warmer weather coming, especially with such a mild winter passed.

What's the best approach for strike? Clik? Tea Tree oil? Early shearing? I'd rather get them shorn and keep them healthy sooner if it would help. What do most people do with the wooly ones? Most of my fields are on or near the river so I'm guessing flies could be an issue.

 

[ThatsSomeSheep]

My advice would be to calm down.

It's only February!!

You will have plenty of other sheep issues to worry about between now and fly time (late June onwards up here, possibly earlier with you)

TSS

 

[Pasty]

My advice would be to calm down.

It's only February!!

You will have plenty of other sheep issues to worry about between now and fly time (late June onwards up here, possibly earlier with you)

TSS

Yeah, just want to be prepared and not end up with being that idiot with the welfare problem. Might just shoot them all now and be done with it

 

[llamedos]

As above, but I would get them shorn early'ish my limited experience with Jacobs, has found them rather susceptible to being struck on the shoulder and down the armipt, likewise with any x bred black lambs from them.

Just my experience.

 

[Man_in_black]

Look for a product with growth regulator for prevention, one that covers fleece. Click works but by God it costs!! I use dysect. Works a treat but follow precautions (bloody awful stuff to get on you). It can also be used for established strike whereas I'm pretty sure Click doesn't (elanco will make you buy crovect for that)

Can we get lambing finished with first though please????

 

[Pasty]

Look for a product with growth regulator for prevention, one that covers fleece. Click works but by God it costs!! I use dysect. Works a treat but follow precautions (bloody awful stuff to get on you). It can also be used for established strike whereas I'm pretty sure Click doesn't (elanco will make you buy crovect for that)

Can we get lambing finished with first though please????

Yeah, I've got a whole 2 due to lamb in March. Going to be mental! Seriously though, to be honest, the cost is not so important to me in year 1, I'd rather get it right and a few quid a ewe is worth spending on my scale.

 

[JP1]

My Wilts are starting to shed already but the more I read, the more I panic about the Jacobs with the warmer weather coming, especially with such a mild winter passed.

What's the best approach for strike? Clik? Tea Tree oil? Early shearing? I'd rather get them shorn and keep them healthy sooner if it would help. What do most people do with the wooly ones? Most of my fields are on or near the river so I'm guessing flies could be an issue.

They are all close to home , right?

Just keep an eye on them as you would with your daily stock checking. You'll soon see the tell take signs of early onset of strike (swift nibbling and then the trademark saddle marks), you can then get them in and treat appropriately

I doubt very much you will see anything until around June

 

[Man_in_black]

They are all close to home , right?

Just keep an eye on them as you would with your daily stock checking. You'll soon see the tell take signs of early onset of strike (swift nibbling and then the trademark saddle marks), you can then get them in and treat appropriately

I doubt very much you will see anything until around June

With respect to @Pasty if he new to sheep then the "tell tale " signs aren't quite so obvious.

 

[JP1]

With respect to @Pasty if he new to sheep then the "tell tale " signs aren't quite so obvious.

Agreed. That's why I outlined the two main signs

 

[Pasty]

With respect to @Pasty if he new to sheep then the "tell tale " signs aren't quite so obvious.

I'll Youtube it!

 

[JP1]

@Pasty

A sheep will dive for it's rear end or it's shoulder blades when maggots first strike

When the maggots first burrow in to the flesh, there is black / brown waste fluid from the flesh that looks like a "saddle" across the shoulder blades. If you observe the fidgeting on the first day, this will probably be the only sign

 

[llamedos]

@Pasty again from experience with Jacobs, they are bloomin hardy and it takes a lot for them to show signs of distress from strike, to their own detriment.
As with your other thread on feet there is a lot of info in the NADIS section, just click any one of the blue tags for sheep info and it will pre select all sheep info for you,

 

[Pasty]

@Pasty

A sheep will dive for it's rear end or it's shoulder blades when maggots first strike

When the maggots first burrow in to the flesh, there is black / brown waste fluid from the flesh that looks like a "saddle" across the shoulder blades. If you observe the fidgeting on the first day, this will probably be the only sign

Thank you.

 

[TrewithickFarm]

@Pasty dont be worrying about srike yet for a few months! like @Man_in_black said can we get lambing done first. But i would recommend using click on all your ewes about 3 weeks after shearing as i think it gives 18 weeks protection but has a long meat withdrawal and clickzin which will give 8 weeks protection but with a shorter withdrawal period on your lambs that will be going for meat. Crovect and alike will only protect the area you apply it to. So you have to have a completely blue sheep to be 100% protected. Crovect or mole valley equivalent are fine for treating strike. But thats all in my opinion.
I would rather pay a few pence more per head to know they are protected and not going to be eaten alive. Still doesnt mean you dont have to keep an eye on them but gives you peace of mind.
And before anyone says yes thats fine if you only have 50 sheep, We do it and have 300 breeding ewes.

 

[Pasty]

@Pasty dont be worrying about srike yet for a few months! like @Man_in_black said can we get lambing done first. But i would recommend using click on all your ewes about 3 weeks after shearing as i think it gives 18 weeks protection but has a long meat withdrawal and clickzin which will give 8 weeks protection but with a shorter withdrawal period on your lambs that will be going for meat. Crovect and alike will only protect the area you apply it to. So you have to have a completely blue sheep to be 100% protected. Crovect or mole valley equivalent are fine for treating strike. But thats all in my opinion.
I would rather pay a few pence more per head to know they are protected and not going to be eaten alive. Still doesnt mean you dont have to keep an eye on them but gives you peace of mind.
And before anyone says yes thats fine if you only have 50 sheep, We do it and have 300 breeding ewes.

Thanks. Not up to 50 yet but will be soon! All ewes for breeding aside from a couple or 4 lambs (not scanned so no idea) so not fussed about withdrawal this year.

 

[JohnGalway]

Usual signs is a sheep that looks towards it's rear end in conjunction with a lot of tail wagging if maggots are in that area. Discoloration and "wetness" of the fleece as mentioned. I'd also be checking any sheep that's doing a bit of rubbing at risky times of year. Warm damp weather is the worst for maggots, also depends on the area, for example my farm has a damp wood that runs along side of it, a haven for flies.

Sheep can also make maggots in between the feet if they have footrot, and rams sometimes get them in the head if they're prone to fighting. Neither are as common as the tail or shoulder area.

Diagnosing by sight starts by watching them now, so you can easier rule in or out if she's behaving out of sorts or not. That goes for a lot more than fly strike.

I'd prefer it never happen but when it does, I can say there's no sight more pleasing to me than a dying maggot #barstewards.

 

[spin cycle]

ok...IME wilts can get struck to if not treated....all be it lower dose

So.....the jacobs won't shear if you go to soon?

i treated mine with crovect mid may last year.....but it was a cold may and i could've waited another week perhaps?
i started getting odd wooly one struck mid june
i put 5ml on wilts head,bottom and any thin ewes not shedding....didn't have a wilt struck last year

on clik...is it worse to handle than crovect?....also shearing interval?

 

[Pasty]

ok...IME wilts can get struck to if not treated....all be it lower dose

So.....the jacobs won't shear if you go to soon?

i treated mine with crovect mid may last year.....but it was a cold may and i could've waited another week perhaps?
i started getting odd wooly one struck mid june
i put 5ml on wilts head,bottom and any thin ewes not shedding....didn't have a wilt struck last year

on clik...is it worse to handle than crovect?....also shearing interval?

Yeah, not saying the Wilts will be immune. I know that. Hope they'll have it a bit easier and maybe also easier to spot the signs? When you say the Jacobs won't shear, do you mean you won't get a decent product when you shear them? To be honest, given the value of fleece, I'm not fussed about that at this time. I'll be interested in the value of skins as I'm just up the road from Devonia if we get some ram lambs in 2018 but for the moment, I want to keep all the ewes as healthy as possible, even if it means shearing and binning the fleece.

 

[spin cycle]

Yeah, not saying the Wilts will be immune. I know that. Hope they'll have it a bit easier and maybe also easier to spot the signs? When you say the Jacobs won't shear, do you mean you won't get a decent product when you shear them? To be honest, given the value of fleece, I'm not fussed about that at this time. I'll be interested in the value of skins as I'm just up the road from Devonia if we get some ram lambs in 2018 but for the moment, I want to keep all the ewes as healthy as possible, even if it means shearing and binning the fleece.

i'm no expert on wool....but tried to shear a ram one year and underneath the fleece was yellow and gunked up the shearing piece

wool experts please reply

 

[JP1]

Yeah, not saying the Wilts will be immune. I know that. Hope they'll have it a bit easier and maybe also easier to spot the signs? When you say the Jacobs won't shear, do you mean you won't get a decent product when you shear them? To be honest, given the value of fleece, I'm not fussed about that at this time. I'll be interested in the value of skins as I'm just up the road from Devonia if we get some ram lambs in 2018 but for the moment, I want to keep all the ewes as healthy as possible, even if it means shearing and binning the fleece.

I think @spin cycle means if you try to shear a Jacob too early in the season the wool won't lift