BETTER Farm Update: Keeping a close eye on parasites
Dr Frank Campion of the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre reports on testing lambs and weaning on the BETTER sheep farms.
Internal parasite burdens have been monitored across the flocks since early June, with farms submitting faecal egg samples from lambs every two to three weeks. Lambs are then dosed based on the faecal egg counts and the results of previous drench resistance tests. Worm burdens rose across most of the flocks in late June/early July, with farms having to dose with either a yellow (2-LV: levamisole) or clear (3-ML: macrocyclic lactone) anthelmintic.
However, there has been significant variation between farms due to location, system and intensity, demonstrating the importance of each individual farm using faecal egg counts to make decisions.
The hill flocks are weaning lambs this month, while the lowland flocks have begun preparations for breeding. It can take eight to ten weeks to put on a full BCS unit in a ewe, so flocks lambing in early March are already inside this window. The BETTER farms have separated and clearly marked thin ewes. These were carefully checked for any obvious issues (mouth, lameness, etc.), and are getting preferential access to grass from now until mating. Ewes that fail to regain sufficient BCS will be culled.
This article first appeared in the Teagasc Sheep Advisory Newsletter for August. Access the full publication here, where key information on grassland management, purchasing SIS-eligible rams and biosecurity for bought-in stock is shared.
Dosing best practice
The Teagasc Sheep Specialists have prepared a series of videos to help limit the development of anthelmintic resistance on sheep farms nationally. This video series covers key topics such as: identifying worm burdens through routine faecal sampling; quarantine treatment of purchased sheep; the anthelmintic groups; calibration of the dosing gun; drench testing to check product efficacy; understanding pasture contamination; and the effect of dosing on pasture worm population.
Identifying worm burden – routine faecal sampling
In the video below, Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep, Teagasc outlines how carrying out routine dung samples from a batch of lambs will help identify whether or not the lambs need a dose. Michael also runs through the process of how you take a sample.
Additionally, Michael also touches on the importance of drench testing to check product efficacy. The drench test is a very simple procedure to check and see if the drench is working and killing the worms in the lambs.
Quarantine treatment – avoid buying in resistant worms
As new sheep come on to a farm, they could be carrying resistant worms and you don’t want those spread on your farm. So in order to prevent that you need to quarantine treat the incoming sheep up on arrival, Dr Orla Keane explains this process in more detail in the below video:
Stomach worm control – anthelmintic groups
In this video Damian Costello, Teagasc Sheep Specialist outlines the five anthelmintic classes that we rely on for the control of stomach worms.
In the second video, he details the importance of calibrating your dosing gun.
Effect of dosing on pasture worm population
Michael also explores the effect of dosing on pasture worm population in the below video, explaining how anthelmintic tolerant populations can grow when ineffective dosing products are being used on farm.
More information on anthelmintic resistance is available here.