Coccidia

[workindogs]

Didn't used to have it......but apparently now I do after buying new sheep.

 

Interesting enough, only my suffolk x and st croix hair sheep seem to suffer from it....the hair/suffolk are the worst. My fine wool x haven't shown any signs.

 

I've heard that there are "problems" with Corrid....does anyone know more about this? I've been treating the drinking water. What treatments/products do people use? Also, with wet spring weather and standing water around, how do people treat? With so much water around, my sheep aren't visiting the stock tank much.

 

Thanks

[juliepoudrier]

Albon works. I know Pipestone vet has it in liquid form (my neighbors vet gave her tablets to treat her sheep, which was no fun as I had to crush everything and then suspend it in liquid, and then drench the sheep--starting out with the liquid form would have been *way easier*). As I understand it, the problem with the treatments in the drinking water is they have to drink it, which means there can't be any other water source available. That, and you can't be sure who's getting how much (i.e., some may not drink enough to get effective treatment).

 

J.

[workindogs]

Individually drenching each sheep for multiple days is not ideal. I've been drenching any affected ewe that is affected and comes to a jug in the barn. However, I mostly pasture lamb so most stay out in the pasture.

[juliepoudrier]

I didn't have any choice but to drench sheep. I didn't do the entire flock--just the affected sheep, but it did mean bringing them up each day and treating them. It did fix the problem though. We suspect a ewe we bought in who kept having diarrhea. It would clear up after regular worming, but then come right back. Then we had the outbreak in part of the flock. After treating with Albon, even the problem ewe hasn't had any more problems, and that was last summer. It was a PIA to treat individual sheep, but as it was summer and flystrike was a concern, I didn't have a choice.

 

We did follow up with Corid in the drinking water two weeks later, but we didn't have alternate water sources for them, so if they were drinking water they were getting treated.

 

If you don't want to drench sheep and you have huge numbers on pasture, then I don't know of any other solution but the drinking water (maybe someone else does), but just realize you may not clear it up if they don't have to drink what's in the tank.

 

Maybe ask this question on Bill Fosher's forum and see if anyone has a better solution?

 

J.

[Bill Fosher]

The problem with Corrid is that it can inhibit the sheep's ability to synthesize thiamine, which can lead to cerebro-cortical necrosis -- a massive thiamine deficiency that produces neurological symptoms, blindness, and if left untreated, death. CCN is also known as polioencephalomalopathy -- polio or PEM for short.

 

Usually adult ewes are fairly immune to the effects of coccidia, but they populate the area and their lambs can be sickened or even killed by it. The usual strategy involves limiting breeding conditions for coccidia through good sanitation. Muddy lots and barnyards or barns with mucky conditions provide ideal conditions for coccidia. If that doesn't do the trick on its own (and if the ground is contaminated it probably won't) it's common practice to provide medicated creep feed to the lambs using Bovatec or Deccox. Bovatec is toxic to dogs, so be careful of using it in settings where guard dogs or other farm dogs might have the opportunity to get at the creep feed.

 

Usually lambing on clean pasture and keeping sheep out of muddy yards will keep clinical coccidiosis down to a dull roar.

[juliepoudrier]

Hey Bill,

Does it make sense to use medicated feed for the ewes pre-lambing (for maybe a month before through a month after (so the lambs are getting it as creep too)? That's what I've been doing, but I was curious as to whether you thought it would help.

 

The coccidia outbreak we had was mainly in older (weaned) lambs who had been moved out for weaning and then brought back in with the rest of the flock. I expect the one ewe was apparently a "carrier." Treating all the symptomatic sheep cleared it right up.

 

J.

[Bill Fosher]

I've known some who treated the ewe flock starting a few weeks before lambing, either via feed or via water. I don't know how well it works or if it's economic.

[coon]

I've known some who treated the ewe flock starting a few weeks before lambing, either via feed or via water. I don't know how well it works or if it's economic.

 

 

albon, and i am sure it goes without saying that watch your dogs now. the old and young especilly are prone to picking up coccidia from effected soil