Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
heavily infested. The real danger is not knowing they're there. To avoid need-
lessly losing animals, catch and examine your sheep if anything looks at all
suspicious: watch for fl y-strike, which is usually indicated by large numbers
of fl ies continually harassing an individual animal. Observe the sheep for
moist areas in the fl eece, and monitor injuries for infestation. Notice if ani-
mals scratch excessively on fences. Look for white specks in the wool that
resemble individual curds of cottage cheese — these are the egg sacs that the
fl ies deposit.
When you locate an infestation, clip all the wool around it and spray with
a strong hydrogen peroxide solution. If the maggots have gone “deep,” some
other product, such as an avermectin product, may be necessary (see Drugs
for Sheep, starting on page 226). Depending on the nature of the wound, you
may need to spray the sheep with a fl y repellent until the wound heals. Even
when the sheep is sprayed, it should be kept under close observation for a
few days and treated again if needed. If the sheep has not been sheared, you
might want to shear it after treating the area and removing all the maggots to
make it easier to spot other infestations.
The following measures will lessen the chances of trouble with maggots:
■
Keep rear ends of ewes regularly tagged, or clipped of wool, especially
any time that droppings become loose from lush pasture or stomach
worms. Urine can also attract blowfl ies if it soils heavy tags.
■
Treat all injuries with fl y repellent during hot weather. Injuries and
even insect bites can invite blowfl ies.
■
Put fl y repellent on docking and castration sites on lambs in warm
weather. Check the wounds periodically until they have healed. To
avoid this problem, dock and castrate early in the spring or later in the
fall — try not to perform these tasks in hot weather.
■
Use fl y traps or large electronic bug killers to cut down on the number
of fl ies in the barn and surrounding areas.
■
Be especially vigilant during prolonged wet periods in the summer.
Warm, moist conditions invite fl y-strike.
If you have a maggot problem with your whole fl ock, which is unlikely
unless they were attacked by dogs, you can use sheep dip on them.
