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Sheep Goats |
Sheep Goats |
Whether or not you managed a summer holiday away from the farm, on most properties, there will still be a holiday from drenching sheep.
Unless there is significant summer rainfall, this is the time of year when sheep should have their lowest worm burdens. Even if sheep carry some worms, the vast majority of any worm eggs dropped onto dry pastures will die quickly, and never reach the larval stage that can infect sheep (or goats).
By this time of year:
However, there are a few boxes to be ticked to ensure the best possible worm control:
If any of these issues raise queries, the answer is to take worm egg counts to check that worm control is on track. If there is a summer pasture germination, allow 4–5 weeks after the rain before taking dung samples, as it takes time for worms to develop in the sheep.
Hot and dry conditions are bad for worms—but they are survivors, and we need to be sure there are no nasty surprises down the track!
Recently this region experienced some hot weather with more to come over the weekend. Pastures are dry, and the kikuyu could do with some rain. Hopefully, producers have enough summer feed and stubbles available so that weaners and hoggets can be drenched onto them at the summer drench.
Over the next 1–2 months, warm, dry weather will help kill larvae on the pastures. Three months of hot summer weather is needed to classify a spelled paddock as ‘clean’, even perennial pastures (though up to 6 months is needed through winter). Keep this in mind when planning your worm control strategy for the year.
If there is significant rain over the summer months, some scour worm larvae that have been protected from the heat inside the egg shell, inside the faecal pellet, may hatch, but barber's pole worm will barely survive for one week in the facecal pellet. It is recommended that sheep are monitored four weeks after rain to check for worms, especially barber’s pole becasue they favour the warm wet conditions.
Monitoring of worm susceptible sheep—weaners and hoggets and any sheep that are nutritionally stressed—is recommended in late February. These sheep do not always make it through the summer with a low worm burden, and may require drenching before autumn.