GETTING THINGS RIGHT

FOR WORM CONTROL IN

SHEEP AND GOATS -Gareth Bath

Professor Emeritus, University of Pretoria

Member, ECSRPC

Webinar 4 March 2016

PARASITES -

Love them or loathe them

Is there a balance?

The animal host (sheep or goats)

should be the focus

THE PROBLEM

• Relying on dosing worked previously

• Led to laziness and bad habits

• Reinforced by sales force pressure

• Long lag period for problems

• “Silver bullet” mentality

• Multiple anthelmintic resistance rampant

• Need changed attitudes, not drugs

• Sustainable, holistic control is complex

We’re still unrepentant and unrehabilitated

DRUG ADDICTS!

AVOID!

• Blanket treatments

• Frequent treatments

• Dry Season treatments

• Fixed dosing programmes

• Dose all & move immediately

• Estimation of weights

• “Herbs & spices”

• Unproven unregistered “remedies”

CAUTION!

• Long-acting remedies

• Combination remedies

• Ultra-wide spectrum drugs

• Generics

• “Specials” on sale

• Same remedy continually

• The latest “best” remedies

• Advice from the seller

IMPLEMENT

• Holistic, sustainable management: THE

BIG FIVE

• Targeted selective treatment FAMACHA,

5 POINT CHECK

• Regular faecal egg counts (FEC)

• Periodic FEC reduction tests

• Selection of rams

• Culling of ewes

IMPLEMENT

• Quarantine & treat introduced stock

• Concentrate on lambs & ewes

• Proper grazing programme

• Long pasture rests

• Alternation with cattle etc.

• Use the right pastures (S.L.)

• Avoid hotspots

FAMACHASolutions must be practical

Solutions must cover major internal parasites

Solutions must be practical

Don't mix them up!

Cull ewes

Select rams

Nutrition

Other diseases

Exposure to worms

1

Survival of the fittest

Length of stay

Time of absence

Alternation

Grazing pressure

Hot spots

2

Life cycle

Type

Height

Slope

Irrigation

AspectSoil type

3

Fertilisation

TRIAL 4 Smart man’s lucern: FEC means

Average of means: SL = 3079.5; SL & Natural = 3726.4; Natural = 4584.2 (49 vs 23% difference)

Day 0 Day 8 Day 13 Day 27 Day 48 Day 69 Day 950

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

SL Grazing

Mixed Grazing

Natural Grazing

FEC

Number (%) of sheep treated

TRIAL 4:Numbers and proportions of sheep

treated per group

GROUP 0 x 1 x 2 x 3 x TOTAL TREATED

G1 (SL only)(n = 22)

13 (59.0) 8 (36.3) 1 (4.5) 0 (0) 9 (40.9)

G2 (SL/Veld)(n = 25)

13 (52.0) 10 (40.0) 2 (8) 0 (0) 12 (48.0)

G3 (Veld only)(n = 21)

3 (14.2) 12 (57.1) 5 (23.8) 1 (4.7) 18 (85.7)

FEC’s

Efficacy

TST results

Tests

Weather Grazing

4

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

negligible small moderate high severe

RISK TO FLOCK

% OF FLOCK PER

CATEGORY

1 2 3 4 5

FLOCK RISK EVALUATION USING FAMACHA SCORING

Weigh

TST

Read the label

Target weakest

Don't buy on cost

Beware untested products

5

Faffa Malan

Which drug?

SHEEP· Select rams

· Cull ewes

· Nutrition

· Exposure

· Other Diseases

WORM LOAD· Grazing period

· Grazing pressure

· Time of absence

· Alternation

· Hot Spots

PASTURES· Grazing height

· Pasture type

· Slope

· Aspect

· Irrigation

MONITOR· Dung samples

· Sheep

· Weather

· Grazing

· Drug effects

DRUGS· Use TST/TT

· Label

· Dose

· Quarantine

· Warnings

2

13

4 5“THE BIG FIVE”

WORM CONTROL: ...try to use

them all...

MOTTOS TO REMEMBER:

• Stop selecting sissy sheep!

• Leave the best, treat the rest

• Look before you treat

• Mindful managers must measure

• Avoid Farmercologist’s advice

• The solution is not always in a bottle

Dankie!

Thank you!

Nkosi!

Ngiyabonga!

Gabotse!

Ke a leboha!

Inkomu!

Ngiyathokoza!