FLYSTRIKE SURVIOUR!!!WARNING,GRAFFIC PHOTO'S!!!!!!!

[Neko-chan]

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[patandchickens]

What exactly is a fly strike?

Flystrike is when blowflies lay eggs in damp ucky wool and the maggots start eating their way thru the wool and don't stop when they get to the 'actual sheep'. So you get the maggots eating away through the living flesh. Given that this tends to be associated with enclosed, damp filthy conditions (b/c of being hidden under the enfolding layer of wool) it leads to severe infection and potentially death (or at least loss of condition - is why TOR mentions 'only' score of 2, that's on a condition score of 1-5)

scours in human terms is diarrhea.

Yes. Squirts

I would imagine "dags" are just "dingleberries" (left on the wool after failure to use adequate toilet paper...)

No, crud-soaked areas of wool. E.g what you get back there when the lamb has been scouring and not crutched (crutching is the sheep version of a bikini shave).

This is largely why most wool sheeps' tails are docked -- because the problem would be even greater and more common if they had their full tails (which go down to the hock or longer). Too much wool hangin' around in areas where it will function as toilet paper.

Although, TOR can correct me, but I am under the impression that the term "dags" would also include any cruddy awful bits of wool, e.g. if the sheep have been sleeping on filthy or muddy pen floors or stomping too much in mud.

At a hobby-farm scale, the daggy bits you cut off and discard when shearing make great mulch for individual garden plants, they prevent evaporation while letting rainwater thru *and* a bit of a nutrient boost from them too for a while. I do not imagine that Australian sheep ranchers look at it this way though LOL

Pat

 

[Icu4dzs]

Roger "Fly Strike" Understand all.
Maybe I'll hold off on sheep for another year till I learn about hogs.
Thanks patandchickens and Neko
Best
//BT//
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[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,thank you N-C for the link,I hope it was of value to those of you who are "not' sheepie's.

There were a few a questions which I will try to answer.
Icu4.Hi and thanks for your reply,"normenclature" had me reaching for the dictionary.......PLEASE.if I at any time use words,phases or terms that confuse,ask for an explanation,as I forget that some of the forums members knowledge of sheep is limited...Don't be put off having sheep,just ask around your area which breeds do the best,decide what you want wool or meat,hair or woolly.........The injury in the photo was that the maggots had started to "eat " the flesh of the lamb,that is why the skin looked so "raw".But as soon as the skin is exposed to the air it "scabs over" and healing begins almost straight away.
IMO.most "breech strike" is a management issue as it said in the link,but the bulk of our strike this year was "hip and shoulder"and this was due to the prevailing weather at the time.Our Suffocks are "open-wooled"types and it was because that our sheep are quite flat between the hips,there is a little depression in which the water did not drain off the sheep's back ,the same thing in the shoulder strike, the gap between the shoulder blades was enough to give the fly's something to lay there eggs in.One thing I should add is that the link was designed for Merino's,we dock our tails much longer than is recommended and we have never "Muslied".Careful management of grazing in the spring is the key along with a good "drenching strategy. The "dags" question has already been answered.

P&C.Thanks for your input as well,on the score issue,3.5 is considered ideal,that lamb was about2.25,which I thought was good considering the amount of damage the flies had done.It will no doubt surprise you to know that there are lots of "sheep people" who use "daggy wool" as mulch or as we do in our "compost pile".You were right about "daggy wool" ,but mostly it is "solidified scours".(if you look at the lamb photos in the journal you will see that we dock quite long).I must say I like the term "bikini shave"LOL.The excessive amount of strike this year was because of the weather conditions as our sheep (and sheep generally in Aussie)live all there lives outside in paddocks.

Certain "animal rights groups"who de-cry some of the management down here seem to forget the things they complain about were developed in some cases over 50yrs ago,by the "experts' in the field at the time,in the last 20yrs a lot of breeding work has been done to produce a "plainer bodied" Merino.We smile when we see on TV people dressed up in sheep suits with red paint on there bums as I don't believe they have ever seen a "fly struck sheep"and their efforts seem to us to be more "money raising"than providing solutions to the problem.They don't realize that the treatment and loss of production ,costs a lot of "Profit"and if there was an "easy answer"we would implement it immediately.In our case we had 3 "fly waves"over 3 months this season,every week I had to "muster and inspect and treat" the whole flock.

we are happy to answer any more question s on the subject,regards.........T.O.R..........................

 

[Wallybear]

Great topic! I have always been afraid of raising sheep because of this. I have raised goats and they always seems easy in some ways when it comes to health related issues compared to sheep. Most of that is the unknown I guess.

So how does one keep these conditions from happening? Do you need to keep the hind end sheered to keep it clean? What about keeping the wool dry? I live in SW Washington State where we see up to 100 inches of rain a year. Do you have to provide shelter for sheep to keep them from getting too wet?

 

[Icu4dzs]

OK, so TOR considering the sheep is most valuable for its wool, do any "sheepies" *(other than the 4-H'er or Aussie equivalent) ever bathe the sheep and clean that wool?

Seems to me that Merino wool is the most expensive and makes the best socks (nice sweaters, too).

So is cleaning these sheep ever done?

I have pair of hogs lined up for this year and a couple of donkeys. The donkeys are a breeding pair and are currently bred so I will get a little one (I assume.)

I may still wait till next year to get the sheep because I need to learn the habits and handling of the hogs first. But, sheep are next. I am picking up my 3 packages of bees tomorrow so I am really a busy boy.

Thanks for a great topic. (I don't get shocked easily by "graphic pictures" being in my "profession"...(I'm the county coroner, too!)

Cheers Mate
//BT//
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[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,firstly welcome Wallybear,and thank you for your interest.

The management of sheep is determined by the type and the area you live in,its wether you are working with "Nature" or working against it....Lets say you are in a higher rainfall area near the coast,you are setting yourself up for trouble if you wish to grow "Finewool Merino's",as these sheep have a high "greasy weight "fleece and the humidity makes it very hard on the sheep.In the Dryer zones the fleece is so dense that in the main the water is shed quite efficiently,the denseness also that dirt and sticks and the like do not penetrate the surface of the wool and its only the "tip" which is affected by the "ultra-violet light".If you ever get to see anything run by AWI(it will be something to do with fashion, I'd say)up there they will most likely have some "fleece" on display..Fine /Superfine Wool is "snow-white"and raw wool is greasy to the touch,but its the fineness thats makes for the really light and soft knitwear.
As I said this year all but two of our "struck" sheep were hip and shoulder,but then this year was not normal for our district,we are usually "winter rainfall " with quite "dry" summers.If this change is to be the "norm" in future we will have to change our "shearing time" to take account of the climate change,currently we "late Fall"shear about 8 weeks from lambing and then late summer crutch,for the Fall break.
If you are going to get sheep look around for "sheep farmers"(not studs)in your area and observe who is successfully raising them and let that be your guide in the choice of type/breed .

Icu4:There is only one instance that comes to mind re wetting the sheep and thats a shower dip to prevent strike or to treat same,but this is going out of fashion because of the problems of residue left in the wool by the chemicals.You can also have problems with VM(vegetable matter ) in the fleece from grazing "burry" or "prickly"country.Good Luck with your Bee's,NOW thats an interesting profession.

But enough for now I had better go and start work,LOL and I'm days behind on the journal and I fear the "natives "will be getting "restless"over there .............................T.O.R.................

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Hi Gang ,we are sure you remember this little ram,here are some photo's I took today.

As you can see it all healed up nicely,he has suffered a set back in his growth ,but otherwise is OK,we will see how he goes this Spring.But he will never be used for "breeding".
...........................................T.O.R.....................................

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Hmmmm .... When I opened this thread, I had only heard of flystrike as it affects rabbits. I'm using a mister system to cool mine since it's been over 100F. They do stay moist, but one good thing about the unbelievable 24/7 winds we've had for months is the almost zero flies (also unheard-of).

But ... I also have a llama with thick long wool that has a few mats. I need to shear her but she's a bit more to handle than a sheep and I'm trying to teach her to stand for it so I don't lose a lot of ground by forcing her (as well as risking one or both of us getting hurt). The temps are bad for her too, so I've taught her to come and be sprayed down once or twice a day, so she is often wet.

Llama wool doesn't have the lanolin of sheep wool ... But. Now I'm wondering if I may be putting her at risk by doing this. It's not something I was even aware of the possibility of, outside of rabbits.

Thanks for mentioning it, and all your explanations!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Here's a further update,the Ram is on the left and the wether on the right was also "flystruck" but in the hip region,it's interesting to note that there is no sign of the strike and he has held his condition much better.

Shiloh Acres:I'm surprised that you have to resort to mister's for your rabbits ,I assume you cage them above ground and if the ventilation was "sufficient" they would regulate their tempts OK...Maybe the misting may be better where the "air intake "is for the shed?How do you control the manure output?Do you have worm farms under the cages?....I'm not sure about your Llama,but down here you just need "warm and wet" for "fly-strike "to occur.I would think a nice "shady" spot during the heat of the day would be OK for her?