thanks Carol, you are a wealth of knowledge. and thank you for reminding me of how I want a strong flock of blackbellies.
Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol J. Elkins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info> Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 10:59 AM Subject: [blackbelly] deworming > Hi David, > > Your question prompts me to reiterate what has become over the years my > regular "lecture" on parasite management. These comments are not directed > at you, but more to folks new to sheep and new to the Blackbelly listserv. > > Blackbelly sheep are much more tolerant of a parasite load than other > breeds of sheep. So my first rule of thumb is "know thy parasites." Take > regular stool samples from your flock and either have your vet do a fecal > egg count or learn to do your own. If your sheep have worms, don't > necessarily run out and buy dewormer. Depending on the type of worm, > blackbellies can withstand the parasite load. The most common worm is > Haemonchus Contortus , and a good measure of how your sheep tolerate this > worm is to do the Famacha eyelid test. It identifies the level of anemia > by > comparing the color of the eyelid and comparing it to a chart. You can > learn a lot about this test by searching the Internet; a good place to > start is http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/meatgoat/FAMACHA.htm > > For years my vet (a woolie guy) has told me I have a massive worm load in > my sheep. (To a woolie shepherd, the only acceptable worm count is zero, > yet that is never possible in sheep.) My sheep show no debilitating > effects > of worms and their eyelids are a healthy dark pink. I have never dewormed > my sheep in the 9 years I've had them. I live in Colorado, a cold-winter, > arid state that is much less hospitable to worms. If I listened to my vet, > I'd be pumping my sheep full of chemicals every other month. So you need > to > learn what to look for. Each worm has a different set of debilitating > symptoms, and your specific geographic region will determine what kind of > worms thrive in your area. > > Am I suggesting that you shouldn't deworm your sheep? No. But by > thoughtlessly deworming to prevent something you haven't adequately > identified, you increase the likelihood of developing tolerance to > dewormers in whatever worm population you might have. And more > importantly, > you contribute to the overall decrease in worm tolerance that we are > seeing > in blackbelly sheep. By artificially selecting for sheep who cannot live > without deworming medications, you contribute sheep to the gene pool who > lack the parasite tolerance that make blackbelly sheep so popular in the > first place. > > Use of more "organic" deworming methods is certainly a good place to start > (and I'm glad you're looking into it.). There are no scientifically > conducted studies indicating that vinegar, diatomaceous earth, or > Shaklee's > Basic H detergent have any effect as dewormers, yet I've read many > anecdotal reports from list members who say the opposite. Careful pasture > rotation is one of the best methods to control parasite counts. Cedar > seems > to have a natural deworming effect as well. > > To sum up, the old adage "don't try to fix it if it ain't broke" applies > well here. Every time someone asks me about dewormers, I ask them how do > they know they have a worm problem. Almost everyone says they read in a > book that they need to deworm their sheep, or that their vet told them to. > They haven't taken a fecal egg count; they don't know what kind of worms > they have; when they do identify the worms, they don't necessarily report > any debilitating effects in the sheep. Simply "having worms" seems enough > to cause them to run to the dewormer bottle. > > I'm glad these folks are reading books and talking to their vet. So many > people don't. But I have a problem with the idea that the only way to > practice good sheep husbandry is to routinely deworm. Should you let your > sheep die from a worm load? Only you can answer that question. To some, > this is a "natural" death that lets Nature select the hardiest animals to > contribute to the gene pool. To others, this seems cruel. One doesn't > necessarily need to let an animal suffer from the effects of worms; you > can > slaughter the animal or otherwise cull it from your flock. But I strongly > suggest you prevent these susceptible animals from continuing to produce > more susceptible animals that will, eventually, destroy the breeds' > reputation for being parasite tolerant. > > Carol > > At 06:41 PM 2/9/2006 -0500, you wrote: >>thanks carol, all the ones i could find used it as a drench. what are your >>thought on chemical vs natural? i know sometimes chemical is needed, and >>not >>against it, just thinking of going a little more organic. > > _______________________________________________ > This message is from the blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info > http://lists.blackbellysheep.info/listinfo.cgi/blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info > _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info http://lists.blackbellysheep.info/listinfo.cgi/blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info
