SCOPS for UK sheep farmers

Use faecal egg counts (FECs) ahead of worming lambs

• 'Test don't guess' when it comes to controlling worm burdens in lambs this spring and summer.
• Consider leaving a proportion of a group untreated 
• Never move treated lambs straight onto 'clean' grazing.
• Use a post-drench FEC to check your wormer has worked.

Choose the right product and deliver it correctly

• Use the SCOPS Know Your Anthelmintics Groups guide to understand which products belong to which group, and take advice on what group is most suitable for your flock when.
• Use that product correctly – weigh animals, calibrate the drench gun/use the correct drenching technique, or use the correct injection technique.
• At all times of the year, only use a combined worm and flukicide product if both are required.

Find out more about a new scab project in England

• Could you be involved in a cluster in the North West, South West or Midlands? Free blood testing and one-to-one advice available for participating farmers.
• Watch this space for updates as the two-year project progresses, including how it relates to initiatives in other parts of the UK.
• Click here for more.

Sheep famers need to be on their guard this week, as the warmer weather has increased the risk to HIGH / VERY HIGH in many areas and reports of disease have been received from several areas across the country. Even where the risk remains medium, farmers should consider south-facing fields where the sunshine may have encouraged hatching even if ambient temperatures have not been high.