Good stockmanship and early detection of sick animals is vitally important in reducing mortality rates. Signs of ill healthSigns of good health Not eating/ poor appetiteActive IsolatedLively/bright Lying for prolonged periodsGood Performance/Liveweight gain Scour with traces of bloodNormal eating or grazing pattern DullNormal Faeces Poor performance/Liveweight gainNormal temperature Breathless or blowingSteady breathing Raised temperature

Biosecurity is the prevention of disease causing agents entering or leaving any place where they can pose a risk to farm animals, other animals, humans, or the safety and quality of a food product. The same principles apply within the farm, preventing disease spreading between animals and groups Biosecurity

Water Stock Animals Weather Feed People Vehicles

 The main biosecurity risk for a sheep farm is from purchased in sheep  Try to maintain a closed flock  Quarantine purchased animals  Examples of the main infection risks from purchased in stock: risks on sheep farms Biosecurity risks on sheep farms ScabOrfFoot rotCODDJaagsiekte (OPA)

Step 1: Yard On arrival, yard or house sheep. Do not put directly out to pasture or mix with other sheep. Step 2: Treat Treat all new sheep with an orange or purple drench (no resistance detected) and treat for sheep scab. Step 3: Quarantine After hours put out to pasture that has been used to graze sheep but keep separate from other sheep for 3 weeks

1. Worms 2. Fluke 3. External parasites  Blowfly  Scab

Worms can cost £10 +/lamb

 If lamb growth rates are reduced from 300 g/day to 100 g/day twice as much energy is needed to reach the same weight  To gain 10 kg takes 14 weeks at 100 g/day and lambs eat 120 kg DM or 5 weeks at 300 g/day and lambs eat 65 kg DM Impact on profit:  Decrease in lamb price over 9 weeks  Extra cost of feeding  Competition for grass with ewes  Lamb losses Worms can cost £10 +/lamb

1. Industry has intensified 2. More dependence on wormers 3. Which has led to Resistance In % of anthelmintic treatments as part of the STAP programme in ROI were not fully effective (did not kill > 95% of worms)

What is anthelmintic resistance – when a worm can survive exposure to a dose that would normally kill it. The ability to survive is genetic and is passed onto the next generation of worms. Resistance categories

2013 results from treatments carried out under the STAP programme Type of Wormer% Resistance White69 Yellow49 Clear24

1. Weigh the group to be treated – use the dose rate recommended for the heaviest of the group 2. Check your dosing gun using a syringe or measuring jar. Clean the dosing gun after use 3. Dose correctly over back of tongue

 Don’t treat and move  When sheep are drenched only resistant worms survive.  To reduce the selection pressure for resistant worms you should either:

1.Know which parasites threaten your lambs 2.Use regional information and assess risk Did the pasture graze lambs last year – higher risk SCOPS Use Faecal egg counts to monitor the need to drench only dose if there is a high worm burden

Choose a narrow spectrum product to deal with specific parasites. Avoid combination products.

 A FEC gives an indication of the number of adult worms in the gut of a sheep.  Measured as eggs per gram of faeces  FEC’s are used to: ◦ Help determine the need to treat ◦ Determine the level of pasture contamination ◦ Test the efficacy of a worming treatment

 Collect dung samples fresh from lambs  Take random samples. Do not seek out scouring or dry lambs.  Take 10 samples per group. These will be pooled at the lab.  Send to either vet / AFBI VSD or you can use a DIY test kit

LowMediumHigh < >750 Interpretation of an FEC is quite complex and depends on a number of factors you should discuss with your vet or adviser. The figures below are ONLY a guide.

 Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT).  Faecal samples are collected from 10 animals before dosing and again 7 –17 days after dosing  Samples are sent to lab and faecal egg count reduction is calculated.  Resistance is declared if dosing does not reduce faecal egg count by at least 95%.

 Mature fit and healthy sheep have a good immunity.  Pre tupping – no treatment usually needed  At lambing - ewes immunity levels are low. This allows more worm eggs to be shed, contaminating ground for lambs. ◦ Dose at or soon after lambing ◦ Give correct dose ◦ Leave 10 – 20% untreated (fittest, mature and rearing singles).

 Wean early and move lambs to clean grazing (silage aftermath)  Mixed grazing with cattle and reduced stocking density.  Grazing quality – healthy well fed lambs are more resilient to worms.  Grazing by mature ewes – use post weaning to hoover pastures (does not apply for nematodirus)  Alternative crops – chicory and birdsfoot trefoil  Breeding for resistance to worms

 Results in the movement of large numbers of immature flukes through the liver or from the presence of adult fluke in the bile ducts.  Can infect all grazing animals both cattle and sheep  Bigger problem in sheep – no natural immunity

 History of liver fluke on farm  Wet ground/meadows (habitat for snails)  Very wet years  Grazing pattern

◦ Chronic Disease ◦ Acute Disease

Disease type Peak incidence Clinical signsFluke numbersFEC (epg) Acute July to December (much longer this year!) Sudden death dullness difficulty breathing, fluid build up in chest cavity and abdominal pain mainly immature 0 Subacute October to January Rapid weight loss, anaemia, bootle jaw and fluid build up in chest cavity in some cases adults and immatures. <100 Chronic January to April Progressive weight loss, anaemia, bottle jaw, diarrhoea/scour 200+ adults100+

1.Use abattoir feedback – currently underused (Aphis Online) 2.Investigate deaths – post mortem results 3.Watch for clinical signs – weight loss, poor thrive, bottle jaw, abdominal pain and sudden death 4.Use performance indicators – BCS, LWG in lambs, scanning results 5.Discuss with vet – fluke egg detection and use of blood tests.

 Key to the fluke life cycle is the snail - therefore reduce the area suitable as snail habitats e.g. ◦ Identify the high risk wet areas! ◦ Fencing off wet areas ◦ Drainage ◦ Repairs to water leaks / broken troughs  Quarantine purchased stock and treat  Grazing management – either avoid grazing wet areas or graze wet areas where snails are likely to be present in early summer.

 Consult your Vet  Use the right flukicide for the right stage of liver fluke  If high risk use triclabendazole (Fasinex) in the autumn – kills mature and immature fluke  No residual effect  Manage stock to avoid re-infection – graze dry areas  Avoid unnecessary use of combination products  Treat effectively (weigh/dosing gun/technique)  Treat ewes in spring to remove adult fluke and reduce contamination of pasture

 Can lead to high economic losses in infected flocks  Form of allergic dermatitis  Mainly a winter disease  Signs: restless, rubbing against posts, soiled stained wool  Severe cases – bleeding wounds  Leads to loss of condition, secondary infections, hypothermia, death  Treatment: either Dip or inject with Moxidectin/doramectin or Ivermectin product

 Affects 80% of flocks each year  Fly attracted to wounds of soiled fleece  Each female fly lays 250 eggs, hatch in 12 hours  Signs: ◦ Patch of discoloured wool ◦ Agitated  Risk period – May to September  Prevention/ Treatment ◦ Dip ◦ Pour – on

 Lameness can cause long term pain and increase production and treatment costs  Main issues identified in NI sheep flocks include scald, Shelly hoof, Foot rot (covered in vet night)  Lameness is impossible to eliminate but can be controlled  Regular foot inspection important  Routine foot trimming not necessary, can cause more harm than good

 Correct diagnosis and early treatment improves the chances of success  Rough or dirty handling pens can cause hoof damage and spread infections  Always record or mark treated animals. If lameness persists, repeat treatment after 14 days  If third treatment is required consider culling  Seek vet advice if necessary

Forms of treatments  Antibiotic sprays  Long acting antibiotic injections  Foot bathing – Zinc sulphate, copper sulphate (blue stone), Formalin, commercial solutions

Routes of Administration:  Injection  Subcutaneous – Under the skin  Intramuscular – Into the muscle  Intravenous (vet) – into the vein  Intramammary: tubes for mastitis  Topical: Pour-on, Spraying, Dipping  Oral: Dosing, Bolus, In feed Administration Of Medicines

 Locked medicine cabinet  Sharps container  Record book in cabinet Storage and Use

Veterinary Medicine Record Book:  Legal requirement  Need to be kept for at least 5 years following administration of medicine  Failure to keep proper records can affect SFP and result in a fine of up to £5,000. Recording Medicine Usage

 Name of the product  Batch number  ID of animals treated  Quantity given  Date(s) of administration  Withdrawal period  Name of person administering medicine  Reason for use What do I need to record?

Dosage and administration Sheep of all ages: 2 ml per injection. The vaccine should be administered by subcutaneous injection. In adult breeding ewes the yearly booster injections should be given during the pre-lambing period, 4-6 weeks before lambing

11/11/ ml Heptavac P Plus H176Y A02 12/15Andy Vet, 14 Practice Road, Mallusk. BT36 4TY 0 days

Heptavac P Plus 12/12/ ewes AF 12/11/ ml H176Y A02 Andy Vet

 Antibiotics are essential for the treatment of infectious diseases in both animals and humans.  Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria that are usually sensitive to a type of antibiotic to become resistant to it.  The more you use an antibiotic, the higher the risk that bacteria will develop resistance to it.  Why worry about it? - Very few new antibiotics being developed. - Important we use our existing antibiotics wisely to ensure these life-saving medicines continue to stay effective for ourselves and our animals.

 leaflet _responsible_use_of_antimicrobials_in_livestock_leaflet_final_2.pdf leaflet _responsible_use_of_antimicrobials_in_livestock_leaflet_final_2.pdf  Important we use antibiotics in the right way: - the right medicine - at the right dose - at the right time - and for the right duration to slow down the development of antibiotic resistance.