How To Prevent, Diagnose & Treat Parasites (Worms) in Sheep

Parasites or worms kill more sheep than any other issue, and the losses they cause many farmers to stop raising sheep. Learn the strategies we use to help prevent disease or even death that parasites can cause in our flock, as well as how we identify and treat for them when issues do arise.
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[@jessikagallopandfamily223]

Thank you guys, this is really helpful for new sheep owners!

[@YouCanFarm]

I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@MrSibabale]

I LOVE your videos they are very informative and what I love the most is that you speak from experience. Please keep them coming. Watching from South Africa.

[@YouCanFarm]

Thank you for watching!

[@belindaneal123]

Thank you so much - really useful and clear information.

[@janefromcanada6943]

Thank you for sharing what you've learned

[@YouCanFarm]

My pleasure!

[@birgitelisabeth9661]

Very informative, comprehensive, and straight to the point.Thank you for making this video.

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks for watching!!

[@OingoLove]

I also love your videos. I feel like I know so much about small farming now. I was so excited to see a new video! Keep em coming! 😃

[@YouCanFarm]

Thank you so much!

[@getreal200]

@@YouCanFarm do you feed them DE?

[@YouCanFarm]

@@getreal200 No. DE only kills organisms with exoskeletons, so it is completely useless against internal parasites like worms. Also, it can be cancerous if inhaled.

[@getreal200]

@@YouCanFarm farmers almanac site says food grade is used to kill internal parasites. Iff so, it will make life a lot easier for all of the farmers.

[@YouCanFarm]

@s That's a fallacy, and I've seen plenty of people try DE only to have it do nothing. There is a good review of several properly controlled scientific studies that concludes it has no effect. www.sheepandgoat.com/de

[@AgnesMariaL]

I think Horns is gonna be your new favourite... We started with Icelandic, which are all horned, and just recently picked up a couple Romanovs which are polled. I tell you, it is SO much easier to handle and control a horned sheep! Yesterday, I had to manually shear (with scissors) one of my Romanovs in order to treat a massive lice infestation, but with no horns we had to use a dog collar and leash. Well, she was constantly strained against the collar the whole time, which negatively affected her breathing, I felt so bad!

[@YouCanFarm]

I can see the advantages. We only want horned goats!

[@akatsukiawsome13]

I raise goats, and parasites are the number 1 problems new goat owners have. Good to have more people talking about famacha instead of “schedules”! Management practices, and culling over generations, are a huge contributing factors to how well your flock/herd handles parasite problems. Multi species managemen/rotation can help reduce problems, and grazing in brush as opposed to pasture is a huge huge benefit to goats and sheep. We have acres and acres of blackberries and brushy baby trees and that is best for browsing ruminants such as sheep and goats. I deworm so infrequently that I have had more death to meningeal worm than to barber pole etc. Then again, I raise DAIRY goats, and they tend to be far more resistant due to dairy producers reluctance to use wormers and lose out on milk. Meat and fiber breeds have unfortunately been the victim of “routine” deworming practices and have become less resistant as a result… Love that you don’t feel the need to dock tails and instead breed for short ones and keep the sheep diarrhea free to prevent fly strike, rather than relying on short tails to do so. Hate to see the prolapses so common in sheep with docked tails… Thanks for the vid, was a good watch. 😊

[@YouCanFarm]

All really good points, thank you for the great feedback. It's good to know there are other knowledgeable and responsible goat raisers out there!

[@user-jz8hq1ex7x]

Thank you 🙏🏾 you are very kind women

[@YouCanFarm]

Thank you!

[@PaulEglinton]

Excellent video. Thank you

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks for watching!

[@waykeeperfarmandnerdery]

We have a really hard time sourcing the different dewormers, especially Prohibit. I’m starting to test out Copper Sulfate which I learned about from the Linessa Farm KZbin channel, since this is easier for us to buy and have on hand.

[@YouCanFarm]

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never tried copper sulfate personally. Giving copper to sheep worries me since it can be toxic to them, but I know others use it with good success so it does seem like a good option in your case. I'd love to hear about your experience with it in the future!

[@spoolsandbobbins]

We’ve been using copper sulphate for 1 1/2 years with good success except when we didn’t treat one of our ewes early enough, got chronic diarrhea and passed.

[@no-_-limits]

Good stuff!

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks!

[@bernardkehoe7610]

Very smart women great video thank you for sharing.

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks for watching!

[@nihsumi]

Just a fyi, there is a vid on YT from 8 yrs ago about how to do the FAMACHA test. The vet says you should in scoring the animals to try and look at the lower membrane, via the "cover, push, pull pop" method. Unfortunately even in her video one of the pics shows it done differently than she recommends.

[@YouCanFarm]

Yes, that is the best method, but not always that easy to execute in the field. Thanks for sharing.

[@jobiden6518]

Great video. I've always added apple cider vinagre to their water troughs, clean their pens weekly, rotate them when grass is too low, I even buy some Coors light and add it to their water from time to time.. And even though it sounds cruel, cull the ones that are weak, sick...

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks for sharing, that's all great advice!

[@Cornerstone_Acres]

Good video

[@YouCanFarm]

Thank you!

[@_sunshine_84]

Great video! I was wondering if you have a chart or info for Ivermectin injection dosages for your sheep by their weight? I can't find anything for a sub q dosage to take care of external parasites. Thanks!

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks! I found a couple of sources that all say to give subQ Ivermectin 1% solution at a dosage of 0.5ml per 25kg bodyweight, and to give 2 injections 7 days apart.

[@faithfulacreshomestead-fai6876]

Where do you recommend purchasing the Toltrazuril?

[@YouCanFarm]

This is where I have bought it from in the past - horseprerace.com/toltrazuril-5-200ml/

[@beccasue2067]

Thank you! What's you favorite dewormer for barber pole.

[@YouCanFarm]

I have had very good success with Prohibit (Levimasole), but it is not the safest drug and is usually reserved as a last resort option. Statistically, Moxidectin (active ingredient in Cydectin and Quest dewormers) has the best rate of success in killing barber pole, and after not using it for a long time I tried it again this year and it worked very well.

[@beccasue2067]

@YouCanFarm I use sidected, but i'd like to maybe keep prohibit on hand just in case. We just have a small herd of 11 but we have 5 mama's expecting. I loved your last video thank you it was very informative.

[@thelittlelearningfarm622]

My family and I are trying to get started with hair sheep this year. Would love to hear any tips you may have to help us get started

[@YouCanFarm]

That's wonderful! My best advice is to start with a couple of weaned wethers (castrated ram lambs) in the spring, raise them until the fall and harvest them. That way its a short term, low risk investment that will allow you to learn, see if you like raising sheep, and most importantly see if you enjoy the final product. Also buy your sheep from a local farm that is raising them the same way that you intend to so you get animals that are best suited to your situation. Huge bonus if that farmer will serve as a mentor too!

[@thelittlelearningfarm622]

@@YouCanFarm that makes sense. Thank you.

[@user-yr3ky7ko4e]

Just a heads up. You are not checking the famacha correctly. You have to push in on the top of the eye before rolling the bottom eyelid.

[@YouCanFarm]

I realize I didn't demonstrate the technique as taught by the inventors. Difficult to do when just grabbing sheep out in the field without help, and I guarantee I am seeing the membrane clearly the way I do it and getting the info I need to asses the animal's anemia level.

[@user-yr3ky7ko4e]

@@YouCanFarm ok

[@user-yr3ky7ko4e]

I wasn't trying to start drama. I was just trying to inform newer sheep owners there is a correct way to do it. It's difficult to do in the field I understand that.

[@YouCanFarm]

I didn't think you were, and appreciate the comment. I should have pointed that out in the video myself.

[@user-yr3ky7ko4e]

Good video by the way.

[@desmomotodesmomoto2033]

I eat lots of raw beef and lamb, these parasites can be transferred to humans too? I eat mostly eat muscle meat, and fat.

[@YouCanFarm]

As far as I know, most sheep parasites reside in the intestinal tract, not in the muscle or fat.

[@shawngordon1563]

why not using pumpkins they are natural dewormers and sheep and goats and other animals like them to

[@YouCanFarm]

Pumpkins are a great healthy treat for sheep and goats. I've looked into the science behind using them as dewormers, and the goo around the seeds does have some anti-parasitic properties, but it is not potent enough to do much, and the fleshy part that they actually eat doesn't do much for them. If they ate pumpkins daily this might help with some parasite prevention, but they certainly will not deworm an infected animal effectively.

[@marthamaxim5924]

How do you prevent deer tick bites?

[@YouCanFarm]

We don't do anything except pull them off if we see them. As far as I know, there isn't a tick preventive drug available for sheep. In my experience they very rarely get tick bites and I've never seen one effected by it.

[@melikesgames5452]

Get a few ducks and they’ll eat them all!

[@bryanduchane2371]

When the females are in heat, do the rams go crazy and fight each other? Do the master constantly during that time? I've seen a world champion coon hound that was studding so much he actually almost died to exhausting. I blame the owner for doing it that much, but each time he makes as much as $1000 each time.... If the dog has great genetics and successful at that level of competitions, people will gladly pay that much to have dogs that will have his genetics and characteristics.... Same hound was the stud of at least 3 other world champions.

[@YouCanFarm]

No they don't get too crazy. They may try to interfere with another ram trying to breed, but usually there are multiple ewes in heat at a time so they are both pretty occupied. We made sure our two rams were friends first before we put them in with any ladies, so that probably helped.

[@sergiofrausto6027]

👍🤝

[@YouCanFarm]

Thanks for watching!

[@jamesdack61]

i give lamb grower with the medicine in it to all my sheep

[@YouCanFarm]

Most medicated feeds only have a coccidia preventative in them, and offer no protection from other parasites.