Australia's resource for control of worms, flies and lice in sheep, |
Early spring was dominated by high temperatures with a return to more usual levels later in the month. Good rains fell over much of the coastal and subcoastal temperate regions while the pastoral zones remained very dry.
While not all worms ‘disappear’ when temperatures drop, neither do all worms disappear when conditions become dry. The difference between worms is how they wait out the dry times. For instance, Haemonchus (barber’s pole worm) eggs and larvae are not at all dry-tolerant, so the adults find a quiet spot inside the sheep. When areas of green pick around leaky watering points encourage sheep activity, these adults respond by producing spectacular numbers of eggs resulting in hotspots of infection in an otherwise dry landscape. In contrast, the scour worms such as Trichostrongylus spp (scour worms) and Teladorsagia (small brown stomach worm) find the drier conditions not quite so taxing and the relatively few eggs produced wait stoically on pasture for rain before continuing on.
In the State Outlooks this month, conversation is all about the weaners, fresh low worm-risk paddocks and efficient drenches.
By Stephen Love, Veterinarian / Research Officer (Parasitology), NSW DPI
Recently there have been a small number of confirmed reports of reduced efficacy, including resistance, involving new sheep drenches in Australia. What should sheep producers do? >> Read more.
by Deb Maxwell, ParaBoss Operations Manager
Barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) occurs in all sheep production areas of Australia, even in arid areas. With the introduction of the Barbervax® vaccine it is timely to clarify the areas of Australia in which it is recommended for use and how to manage barber's pole worm where it is sporadic. >> Read more.
from the FlyBoss web site
Docking the tail to the correct length at lamb marking time is crucial in minimising stain around the breech and reducing flystrike risk throughout the sheep’s life. >> Read more.
from the LiceBoss web site
If you sometimes struggle with the jargon on lice product labels, you're not the only one. See our product label terminology page to make sense of those terms. >> Read more.
This 3-question quick quiz tests your knowledge of sheep parasites and their control.
>> Take the quiz.
Click the question to open the page then go to the poll at the top right hand corner of each web site.
WormBoss: Did you prepare a low worm-risk paddock during the last 12 months?
>> View results of previous polls
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