1. Always make sure any treatment you give is fully effective.
SCOPS is an industry led group that works in the interest of the UK sheep industry. It recognises that, left unchecked, anthelmintic resistance is one of the biggest challenges to the future health and profitability of the sector.
The SCOPS group was formed to develop sustainable strategies for parasite control in sheep, facilitate and oversee the delivery of these recommendations to the industry and ensure that new research and development is incorporated to refine and improve advice given to the sheep industry.
SCOPS includes representatives from a wide range of industry organisations – logos and links are below. The equivalent organisation for cattle is the Control Of Worms Sustainably (COWS).
With the weather warming up across the UK, it's no surprise to see plenty of red and black dots on the map - indicators of high/very high nematodirus disease risk.
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Consider your indiviudal situation in terms of high above sea level compared to the weather station dot on the map, age of lambs, riskier (south-facing) fields etc. Risk assessment guidelines are provided alongside the map.
1. Time to start faecal egg counts (FECs) on lambs. Towards the end of April is a good time to start your FEC monitoring of lambs. Done regularly, FECs will help build a picture of the worm challenges and enable you to treat when necessary, avoiding unnecessary worming but also preventing performance loss by waiting until there are dirty or ill-thrifty lambs. More here.
2. Choose the product to be used. Discuss the best option with your vet or adviser, and remember to make sure you always dose accurately. More here.
3. Don't forget to test after treatment. When you do treat lambs, don't forget to take a second FEC sample after treatment (seven or 14 days later, depending on the product used) to check how well the wormer has worked. This is really important, because it can be an indicator that there is resistance developing to the group of wormers used. More here.
