
Spring sheep solutions
With this season's lamb crop on the ground, it is time to evaluate your parasite and mineral programmes to ensure you get the most out of your young stock this season.
A well planned parasite management programme can help reduce the impact of worms. The timing of the first lamb drench can vary from farm to farm depending on factors such as climate, pasture larval contamination, and worm species present. A faecal egg count (FEC) can help guide this decision.
To slow the progression of resistance, using triple combination oral drenches is preferable to dual combinations. As abamectin can be toxic in lambs less than 20 kg, a combination containing the safe alternative ivermectin, such as VETMED's Triplemax iTape Oral, is recommended.
This drench provides a triple combination to target roundworms and praziquantel to treat tapeworm in a convenient one mL per five kg dose safe for lambs 16 kg and over. Once the smallest lambs have reached the 20 kg threshold, switching to a triple combination containing the more potent abamectin, such as VETMED’s Triplemax Oral, is advised. These drenches have a convenient 14-day meat withhold and are mineralised with selenium and cobalt.
As drench resistance becomes more prevalent, taking a 10-day post-drench feacal egg count is crucial to monitor the effectiveness of the drenches you are using. Ensure a minimum of 28 days between drenches to give time in the worm life cycle for a population of ‘undrenched worms’ to be present for refugia.
Drench should not be the only tool in your parasite management programme. Consider practices like integrating cattle or undrenched low body condition score ewes in the lamb finishing area. Using summer crops can also help reduce larval intake and decrease the need for drench use.
Lambs are the largest contributors to pasture larval contamination. Lessening the impact of your increasing worm burden depends on how quickly the lambs grow and are moved off the farm. Optimal lamb growth requires good nutrition and adequate mineral levels. Selenium and cobalt are two minerals that are important for your growing stock, but commonly low in New Zealand soils and pasture.
Selenium: essential for a robust immune system, muscle production, and vital for healthy growing stock.
Cobalt: converts to vitamin B12 in the rumen and essential for glucose production. Low cobalt levels results in below optimum levels of B12, leading to poor growth rates.
Although VETMED drenches are mineralised with both selenium and colbalt, if base levels are well below requirements, consider an injectable B12 such as Horizon's Cobalject with the option of added selenium.
To learn more about how the Horizon and VETMED products can benefit your growing stock this season, contact your local PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative or visit your local PGG Wrightson store today.