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Paul Nilon, Nilon Farm Health, Tasmania (pandonilon@bigpond.com):

The final missive for 2011 concerns planning for the expected and the unexpected. The former is planning for a second summer drench. Even the driest areas of the state are lush enough that a second summer drench should be required. Monitor weaners and adult dry sheep on perennial pastures every 3 weeks after the first summer drench and drench at a trigger of 150epg. This is a higher trigger than recommended for western Victoria, but if it were much lower the drench gun would never get a rest. Remember that summer drenches are designed to protect pastures, so sheep on crop or bush runs need not receive it.

Planning for the unexpected is a Christmas rush necessity:

• If great Aunt Nellie, the one with bad teeth and two yappy dogs, parks the Winnebago on the front lawn and calls for power (3 phase) you know she is staying for a while so it is a good chance to go inspect the weaners.
• Scouring, ill-thrifty weaners may well be wormy. The weaning drench may have been less than effective or (more likely) contamination of your low risk weaning paddocks is higher than imagined. Do not blaze away with the drench gun: get a diagnosis through egg counts and or post mortems. The point is not to expect paddocks to be worm free/low risk after a spring like the one past. Relying on Dicyclanil to suppress flies is fine, but do not leave young sheep uninspected lest you come back from the fishing shack to find a mob of disasters. They are too valuable.

Happy Christmas and tight lines.

Download the December edition of Tasmanian worm update in PDF format (80Kb)