Worm Problems

There has been a steady build up of both gut and lungworm larvae on pastures throughout the summer and on into the autumn and we have noticed a number of farms have stock that are showings signs of internal parasites. We have a tendency to visit farms at about the same time each year to tuberculin test cattle either for sale or for your annual test and it has been quite noticeable that there are cattle of all ages coughing and some animal scouring more than they ought to. There is a tendency to hold back the last wormer of the season until stock are housed and you get the benefit, when using a pour on product, of keeping the animals clear of lice for the duration of the housing period as well.

Timing the Last Dose

At this time of the year there is limited feeding value from pastures and stock will sink in weight and condition if they have a worm burden to contend with as well. The ivomec type wormers, in whatever form you administer them, do have a persistent action so they will go on killing worms for twenty eight days or more after each application. There is always the option of getting the stock in to worm them and keeping an eye on the calendar to see that they are housed before the end of the activity period is reached. Modern wormers are efficient and effective. It is better to use the pour on products when their backs are dry as, no matter what it says on the box. There will be more that runs off saturated skin and it is an expensive dose if some of it ends up on the floor. It is always difficult when you fatten bullocks and heifers at grass as you might not always know exactly when they are going to be selected for slaughter and you might have to gamble with the gap between worming doses so that you do not put the meat withhold times in jeopardy.

New Injection

There is a new product on the market that has been first licensed this year to inject sheep and protect them against worms, scab and fluke. This is quite a viscous injection so there is a warming jacket supplied with the bottle and it is delivered via an automatic syringe through a wide bore needle. With most wormers there is a wide safety margin and many of us tend to dose a group of animals based on the weight of the bigger ones assuming that the lighter ones will benefit most if they have a little bit extra. This does not seem to be a safe assumption with this new multi parasite wormer so care should be taken to get an accurate weight and watch the dial on the dosing syringe.

Balancing Copper

Copper is a vital mineral for sheep, but it is a bit unusual in the way that it causes problem if there is not enough in the ration and it will cause more problems if there is too much. Many hill pastures are short of copper, this will not necessarily cause problems for grazing livestock as they might find sufficient supplies if they have supplementary feed especially if it is brought in or from a different part of the farm. The only way to be sure is to take blood samples from four or six breeding ewes and check out what is going on inside the animals. If the levels are low it will be important to correct them before the ewes get half way through their pregnancy of you will get some lambs with swayback when the spinal column fails to develop properly.

Giving Too Much

Copper toxicity can occur if sheep are supplemented with the mineral when they have no need for it, so it is better the check blood samples every year as there is no point in buying copper products if you do not need them. Most feed mixes contain some copper as it is essential for growth. Some breeds, notably Texels have difficulty metabolising the mineral and too much can accumulate in their livers. Once this process has started the cells of the live become friable and are readily damaged. Copper poisoning tends to occur mostly in growing lambs that have been kept on concentrates for too long, or if the manufacturers have been a little bit generous with their supplements. Pig feeds are always high in copper and care must be taken to ensure that pig rations are not fed to growing sheep and that sheep do not gain access to areas where the feed is stored.

Pigs and Tuberculosis

DEFRA do not seem to have any concerns to reports that the numbers of pigs found to have tuberculosis in abattoirs is rising so far there have been twenty reported cases this year. I think there were only six in the whole of last year. Most of these cases have occurred in the south west of the country. I understand that some tuberculosis pigs have turned up at the abattoir in Bishops Castle, but I am not sure where the animals originated from. The argument has always been that bovine TB develops only slowly in pigs and that most pigs have such short lives that they would be slaughtered long before the disease has an impact on them.

Porcine Pets

This is not always true as pigs are popular again now and many owners keep their animals more as pets than farmed stock and could not contemplate them ever going away for slaughter. We should also remember that in some parts of the country wild boar roam at will and there is no reason to suggest that some of them will not survive for many years also. It is possible to test pigs for tuberculosis, but this is normally only done before breeding stock are exported. It is most unlikely that there will be any formal surveillance to discover the extent of the problem. It is assumed that they play little or no part in the transmission of the disease back to cattle so their role in the cattle disease has little significance. It would be badgers that give them the diseases, and the badgers will still be around alongside the pigs to pass on the infection. It would be sensible if you keep non commercial pigs to keep their pens tidy and store their feed in an enclosed building that cannot be raided at night. Do not give more food than they can eat during the day so you do not attract unwelcome night time visitors.

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