MANAGING WORMS. Can you improve the overall health of the flock?

The Old Ram-Australia

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You may wonder why it’s a management issue, to my mind it’s just a symptom of other issues effecting flock health. Before sheep were domesticated they ranged over vast distances much like the wild herds in Africa. They consumed an array of plants which contributed to their nutritional, medicinal and mineral/trace element needs. This diversity was the cornerstone of the health of the flock .Nature works on a system of “survival of the fittest” and when a farmer takes control of the health of the flock he/she assumes this responsibility. The strength of a species is determined by the ability of the strongest to adapt to changing feed availability, lack of water for periods, to cover vast distances and successfully reproduce .Predators play an important role in the system as they weed out the old and the weak but predators in the main live in territory’s and as the flock travels in its search for food and water it encounters new threats and so the survival of the fittest is maintained.

So what has changed with domestication? Modern agriculture since the 50/60s has determined that stock can “survive” on a mono/duo culture along with chemicals and pharmersuiticals to assist with stock health, but does this type of production actually contribute to the strength of the species? If you accept that not every baby born is destined to contribute to the strength of the species and the farmer interferes with the natural process does he/she not contribute to reduction in the strength of the species overall? One needs to ask the question “just because I can interfere, should I”?Before we head down the path of reliance on chemical drenches which is like entering a tunnel which has no end and the end result will be worm resistance to every drench available. The newest chemical class was showing worm resistance within 12 months in some districts due to overuse/misuse by producers. There are a range of strategy’s the farmer can adopt to overcome this challenge and they can not only “reduce costs” but increase the overall health of the flock. Rotational grazing to reduce re-infection, pasture diversity increases self –medication and careful selection of replacements to boost natural immunity in the next generation.

Worms are in fact just another facet of stock health and in the case of a healthy animal its own immune system keeps the number of worms in balance so as not interfere with the animal’s ability to feed and reproduce successfully. Sheep can infact differentiate between plants which effect growth, mineral balance and medicinal balance. Much of the worlds soils have been “depleted” of the necessary elements to sustain good health and for those who depend on purchasing grains, hay and the like may be unknowingly contributing to an adverse effect on animal health. Plants draw from the soil “natural” minerals, especially Perennial species whose roots go deep into the profile; it’s just not the same feeding chemical s which mimics natural minerals.

So the next time your farm adviser suggests that you “tear up” a paddock which he/she claims is not producing and instead plant the latest seed variety as a mono –culture ,with its artificial fertilizer and chemical spray for what they regard as weeds you may wish to “reflect” on this post before you decide to go ahead......T.O.R.
 

bonbean01

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Thank you for this post...very interesting to me and will reread it and think upon it before responding...we are still trying to educate ourselves in improving pasture and the benefits of also having night time paddocks for safety from predators. Always appreciate your thoughtful posts!
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day,the follow on to this thread is actually managing pastures to improve stock health .T.O.R.
 

animalmom

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T.O.R. have you heard anything about a saliva test, called CARLA, being used in New Zealand to test for immunity against internal parasites? This was developed at AgResearch Ltd.'s Hopkirk Research Instutue in Palmerston North by Richard Shaw.

According to an article in Dairy Goat Journal, May/June 2015 issue the test uses a dental swab to collect sheep saliva and "tests it to detect an antibody response to parasite infection in the animal's gut."

"CARLA is a carbohydrate molecule found on the surface of third-stage internal parasite larvae in livestock. The presence of antibodies interferes with the parasite's ability to take hold in the animal's gut, which leads to resistance to infection, a desirable trait to breed."

The idea is that if you breed the animals with the naturally higher resistance that eventually this would give longer term sustainable way to limit parasite infection in herds.

The article went on to say the researchers were looking at applying the test to goats too.

If this works and combine it with pasture rotation management... could be great things to come.

What are your thoughts?
 

Baymule

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What is the rotation time between pastures? Or maybe I should ask how long can sheep be on a pasture before reinfecting themselves?
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day and thank you all for your comments.I think we should reserve the topic of pastures until we have a thread devoted to the subject.

No,I am not aware of the test referred to,but my first reaction is its another layer of cost.Lets say you run a 1000 breeders(a small flock by Aussie standards) each animal has to be tested and able to be identified and I think would require electronic tags or micro chipping.This may be OK in a stud situation ,but unrealistic in a commercial sense (IMO) and would have to be shown to have a high heritable factor on the female prodigy.In our own flock we have achieved a high level of natural immunity by adopting a policy of non-interference and culling breeders which fail to perform above the average.Also its about adopting a less than traditional approach to livestock raising and management. Its also a time thing we have been breeding our flock for almost 20 years now and many of our systems were first developed in the previous 20 years on our goat flock.

What is the groups view on the concept of "Survival of the Fittest",and the farmers responsibility in mimicking nature?

The group with have to exhibit a little patience with the follow up as topics like this consume vast amounts of"thinking time" before one can commit ones thoughts to text...T.O.R.
 

bonbean01

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Survival of the fittest would be the natural way ... however not something I can honestly commit to. I have at present time a total of 10 sheep...very small number and my situation is going to be very different from someone with 1000 sheep!

We have only 6 acres of land total and 1 acre of that is a catfish/bass pond. But...we have now fenced in two pastures and I'm finding conflicting information on how long to have our small little number on one pasture before putting them on the other.

So much to learn from those who know what they are doing and following this thread! Wish I could contribute thoughtful posts and experience....however...will be grateful for all knowledge you all have to share!
 

Southern by choice

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What is the groups view on the concept of "Survival of the Fittest",and the farmers responsibility in mimicking nature?

Survival of the fittest IMO is appropriate for a specific environment.
Considering this is "Backyard" Herds, the forum supports mostly those that have just that a backyard or small land. The management style would have to be quite different.

Mimicking nature... I don't believe you can mimic nature without "land". Land is pricey. Management for 1000 head will be different than 10 head. In such a case perhaps what @animalmom refers to would be best used for the small flock.

Worms are in fact just another facet of stock health and in the case of a healthy animal its own immune system keeps the number of worms in balance so as not interfere with the animal’s ability to feed and reproduce successfully. Sheep can infact differentiate between plants which effect growth, mineral balance and medicinal balance. Much of the worlds soils have been “depleted” of the necessary elements to sustain good health and for those who depend on purchasing grains, hay and the like may be unknowingly contributing to an adverse effect on animal health. Plants draw from the soil “natural” minerals, especially Perennial species whose roots go deep into the profile; it’s just not the same feeding chemical s which mimics natural minerals.

I very much agree with you! We have seen this first hand with our Kiko's (sorry... goats not sheep ;)) They will eat the leaves, bark, plants that they "need". We have seen where a particulat goat may go up to just under 1000 EPG count but manages through forage and its ability to eat what it needs and reduce the count to 125 EPG without any interference from us.

The two sheep we have have only had 1 parasite egg between the two, ever. Granted they are alone on anywhere between 3-5 acres, also a primitive breed. They live solely off the land... year round. Of course they can not produce anything because it is only one ewe and one wether. If we were raising for meat it certainly would not be cost effective.

People we know have 250 head sheep, meat sheep. They raise for the market. Although they have also tried the "survival" of the fittest/strongest, the weather and season has been very brutal the past few years. They raise to get them to market weight. Having about 60 acres medicated feed for the lambs has been a must. This year after doing the survival method they have moved to using a long term dewormer because of so much financial loss.

You bring up a great topic. I will enjoy reading the input from others as well.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

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G'day and thank you all for your interest.We do not take the SOTF to extremes,we worm our flock but its done strategically to assist in times of most threat.The main thing we use is rotational grazing and a pasture made up of every species possible along with a "home-mixed mineral mix" which is "free-choice' year round.What we don't do is "hand -raise" any stock and we select replacement ewes and rams from the top 20% of the drop.I have in the last 6 months reduced out flock from 250 breeders to 100 the reason being that I am almost 73 now and shearing the "big" flock was becoming a sizable challenge.

The stock are worked day to day using my 3 dogs,Australian Kelpies along with a series of developed spreadsheets to track where the flocks have been and where to next.We normally Spring lamb,but this year with the approaching El Nino we have moved it forward to the winter,it still will be all done in the paddocks as is usual as we have some "very "sheltered paddocks at our disposal for this event.

I do think that small flock owners can take management options from "large commercial" operations and adapt them to their circumstances.I do think the group will find our approach to grazing management interesting and we have also undertaken a repair of our creek in a less than traditional manner ,but with an outstanding success....T.O.R.
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