September 2023
Quarantine Protocol for purchased sheep
As Autumn approaches many farmers look purchase sheep to add to their existing flock. Whether it’s tups
or replacement ewes, it is so important to protect your flock by following quarantine and isolation
procedures.
- We recommend to isolate bought in animals for 28 days. The isolation area should be at least 2 metres
away from any other stock and in a different airspace
- All sheep should have their feet examined and it is good practice to footbath them 3 times at a 5-day
interval during isolation.
- Any ill health or abnormalities during isolation should be investigated by seeking veterinary advice;
respiratory signs, scour, lameness, swellings, skin disease, etc.
- Vaccinate to the same status as the flock.
- The animals can enter the flock after 28 days or 14 days after the last vaccine and once any test results received.
Some diseases to consider:
Worms
Step 1. Treatment:
All sheep brought onto the farm should be treated with a product, likely to remove all worms.
Resistance is reported in the UK with BZ (group 1-White), levamisole (group 2-Yellow) wormers, ML
(group 3-Clear) wormers and now (Group 4-Orange) wormer. The recommendation is to treat with 2
broad spectrum wormers which are most likely to kill all worms carried.
Step 2.
Hold sheep off pasture for 24-48 hours, until any worm eggs present in the gut have passed out with the
dung. Faecal egg count (FEC) sampling at least 10 sheep, where possible, 14 days after treatment will show
that the worming regime has worked. Manure produced during this post-treatment period should NOT be
spread on grass that will be grazed by sheep.
Step 3.
Bought-in animals should then be turned out onto pasture, contaminated with the farm’s natural
population of worm eggs and larvae. This helps to dilute any resistant worms that may have survived the
treatment and rapidly infects the new animals with the farms specific worm population.
Liver Fluke
A treatment with fluke products other than triclabendazole is important (resistance to triclabendazole has
been reported in sheep, and more rarely in cattle). Sheep should be kept on fluke free pastures (no habitat
for water snails) for at least four weeks after the second treatment to prevent resistant fluke being
introduced (infected animals can pass eggs for up to three weeks after the adult flukes have
died). Remember that ). Remember that there is no ideal single treatment for fluke and please
ask us for further advice if you think you may have a fluke problem in your stock.
Scab
Resistance of scab to group 3 injections (clear wormer) was identified in late 2017, and that the use of these products also increases the resistance of worms to clear drenches. This emphasises the importance of using drugs responsibly and of quarantining bought-in and sheep grazed on other holdings. There is a blood sample available for detecting whether sheep have been exposedto scab. This can be used to monitor the disease in sheep grazed on open fells, in purchased stock (2 weeks post purchase) or as a marketing tool if selling sheep. Alternatively sheep can be dipped using a licenced product /contractor.
Small animal Vaccination Clinics
We are now happy to be able to offer vaccinations for your pets
Why vaccinate your dog or cat in the first place?
When puppies and kittens are born they receive some protection against disease from their mother, similar to calves and lambs. This protection is temporary and declines within the first weeks.
We recommend to start vaccinations for your puppy or kitten at around two months of age and to keep up with and annual booster to keep immunity up.
One of the most important diseases we vaccinate dogs against is Leptospirosis. Leptospirosis can be transmitted by rats to dogs. Rats tend to urinate wherever they travel, leaving a trail of urine along their path and around puddles and waterways. Working and other country dogs are most at risk of infection as they can become infected either via contact with rats or indirectly through contaminated water. At this time of year when there is a a good food supply for rats from harvest and feeding pheasants we strongly advise you don’t let your dog drink out of close by puddles and ensure they are fully vaccinated against Lepto.
As such it is important to vaccinate your working dog even if they don’t meet other dogs. Unvaccinated cats are at risk of feline flu viruses which we often see in kittens that become unwell with eye and respiratory symptoms, plus feline leukaemia and
enteritis.
From September, we are offering vaccination clinics at our Ludlow and Leominster branch as well as preventative health care products (wormer and flea treatment).
We can vaccinate your dog and cat while on farm too. Our veterinary service for pets are above only.
Please contact either office to get your cat or dog vaccines booked in.