The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Worms

September 17th, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in farming

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We’ve been pretty fortunate with parasites as far as our sheep are concerned. Until now, we hadn’t done any worming at all, and that works just fine with our low input farming approach. As far as I’m concerned, livestock that needs to be medicated on a regular basis should get a ticket off the property.

But after being confined to the permanent paddock in late July, the purebred Dorper ramling we bought earlier this year to be our main breeder started to look a little ill. He was lethargic, not very responsive and he was losing weight. Then the diarrhea (scours) started.

Our vet recommended a worming paste that’s normally used on horses and cattle. He did not improve. We took fecal samples and it turned out the ramling and the older ram he’s confined with are both “full of worms.”

Older sheep are often more tolerant of worms. The big ram, who is a year older, still appears to be in the pink of health. While we wait for the UPS man to deliver a different medication the vet ordered, we stopped at Tractor Supply and bought a big syringe with “drench tip” for administering the drug.

Stay tuned….

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