Sheep, like other animals, require quality care, because they are susceptible to various types of diseases, infections, as well as attack by insects that harm them, and sometimes cause unpleasant outcomes.

The spring period is especially dangerous for sheep, since it is during the warm season that ixodid ticks appear throughout the country, which become a real problem for the owners. As a result of the attack of parasites, the amount of milk and wool is reduced. Animals lose weight, overall health is getting worse. Therefore, it is very important to know what effective methods to use for the treatment and treatment of sheep for ticks.

Ixodid ticks, species

Ixodic ticks are popularly called encephalitis, because they carry encephalitis. Parasites are carriers of other dangerous diseases, living on the skin of an animal. They make their way to the victim through plants. The most popular species are taiga, dog, steppe, chicken mite.

Several types of insects can parasitize on the skin of sheep. The ixodid tick is most often found among young lambs of the sheep breed. Parasites feed on the subcutaneous layer. They gnaw passages under the skin, and then lay eggs there. You can find them on your ears, eyes, nose, or lips.

Psoroptosis

A skin tick is considered the most common permanent pest of sheep. It parasitizes on the epidermal layer of the skin and lives on it. The body of such a tick has an oval shape. It has an arthropod with a piercing mouth and long limbs with suction cups.

Psoroptes ovis: a - female on the ventral side (according to M.V. Shustrova); b - male on the ventral side (according to M. Shustrova)

Parasites penetrate the skin layer, after which the subcutaneous fluid and blood are drained from the lymph. The vital activity of this tick is slightly different from ixodidae. They do not gnaw passages under the skin, but live on it. They are localized mainly in the region of the sacrum and sides.

Chorioptosis

The body of such ticks is oblong-oval. This species feeds on keratinized particles of the skin, and also damages the hairs of the hair. Pests bring discomfort to animals, causing them to itch severely. Chorioptoses do not pose a health hazard. However, as a result of the movement of parasites over the skin of the whole body, nerve endings are irritated, and the animal begins to itch very strongly.

Such a tick is located mainly in the limb region. You can detect it by looking into the thick folds of the epidermis. Parasites are very exhausting animals that, due to acute scabies, beat limbs to blood. As a result of this, the sheep begins to limp, the weight decreases significantly, it becomes inactive and devoid of strength.

How does tick infection occur

The most common of all ticks is psoroptosis. Infection occurs mainly as a result of direct contact of an infected animal with healthy ones.

Did you know? Tick ​​saliva contains painkillers that instantly exert an effect on nerve endings. Therefore, the bite process itself for the victim goes unnoticed.

Tick ​​infection

First of all, the result of the disease is a violation of the rules for caring for sheep and improper conditions for keeping the flock. This refers to a violation of sanitary standards, poor nutrition, the transfer of various infectious diseases.

Young lambs usually become infected from adult sheep and sheep. It is important to determine the infection in time and take appropriate measures to combat them. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of the disease.

Symptomatology

The main signs and symptoms of insect infection:

• severe itching. It is noticeable how the sheep begin to gnaw at their own skin, rub against hard objects;
• on the neck, tail region and sides, pronounced redness and scratches on the skin appear;
• the skin on the combed areas looks rough, the hair in this part falls out to shreds, and the places become bare;
• abrasions and cracks appear;
• fallen pieces of hair hang around the affected area.

Course of the disease

There are three forms of the disease:

• latent;
• chronic
• spicy.

Lambs and an adult herd react very poorly to parasites. All the time itching about various objects, and because of this, wounds and skin irritations appear, which begin to rot. Most of all, the symptoms worsen due to long hauls and in wet weather, when humidity is increased. The acute form is considered the most dangerous for animals.

Did you know? Ticks are leaders in the list of all arthropods in the variety of transmitted infections. More than 100 viruses and dozens of species of bacteria have been found in nature.

Sheep are very suffering from infection, have poor appetite, their body is completely depleted, as a result of which a fatal outcome can occur. In the event that no infection was detected, the whole body of the sheep will be affected by the tick after a few months. The chronic course of the disease can usually occur in young lambs. They lose weight, their coat crumbles.

Unlike the acute form, with chronic infection, itching appears less, but is present. The infection period most often falls in the summer. Before the onset of frost, the hair begins to grow, and the disease flows into an acute form.

The latent form of the disease is characterized by mild symptoms. This form is found exclusively in adult sheep at high temperatures in the street, when parasites hide from the heat in thick folds of skin. With this form, a slight itching appears.

Tick ​​Control Methods

After diagnosing and determining the infection in sheep, immediate action is needed. There are several ways to combat parasites.

Contact methods

Contact methods for combating ticks are direct contact of a poisonous drug with a pest. Thus, the products are used exclusively for external use. Animals are treated with sprays, powders or bathed in a solution of the drug. The method of treatment depends on weather conditions and season.

In summer (bathing animals)

Best drugs affect parasites in the warm season. Do it right after shearing the sheep on bare skin. Effective drugs are those based on diazinon.

The most famous drugs:

• Hexachloran;
• Foxim;
• Butox;
• Cypermethrin;
• Entomazon.

The drug must be dissolved in water and bathed for 30-60 seconds. The procedure must be performed twice with an interval of two weeks. The dosage of the drug is 300-500 g per adult sheep. In order to process infected sheep, you need to pick up a large trench.

Before bathing, you need to dilute the drug in containers, after which it is good to process each animal in solution. During the treatment period, it is necessary to strictly observe the doses, concentrations and methods of processing animals, as well as the rules of personal hygiene.

In winter (sprays, powders)

In the cold season, drugs are used in the form of various sprays or powders. Sprays such as Triazole, Mukhotsid and Insectal powders are considered very common. The animal is treated all over the body. The drug should be applied to a healthy, dry surface in places that will not be accessible for licking.

For every 10 cm of the skin or hair of the animal, you need to spray the drug for 5-7 seconds. However, this method does not give 100% of the result. Most often, pests or their larvae remain and continue to multiply. This procedure is carried out 2-3 times with an interval of 10-12 days.

Injections

When the simple treatment with sprays or powders in the winter is not effective enough, they usually proceed to the next method - injections. Vaccinations have a strong effect on the animal. Therefore, they must be used with caution and in exceptionally neglected cases. It is also important to select only high-quality drugs.

Ivermek and Iverlong

The main element of suitable injectable formulations is invermectin. And the most popular drugs are Ivermek and Iverlong. Iverlong is used to process once. It is necessary to pry into the region of the scapula under the skin with the expectation of 0.2 ml per 10 kg of body weight.

Vaccinations contribute to the destruction of parasites and their larvae. In the future, the tool can be replaced by another drug-analogue of Ivermek. The medicine is much cheaper, which will help reduce financial costs. Dosage of 1 ml per 50 kg of animal weight or 200 μg of the drug per 1 kg of weight.

The disadvantage of this treatment is that the decay products of the toxic elements of the drug are removed from the body of a sheep for a sufficiently long period. It may take more than three months after the end of the drug. Therefore, it is not advisable to consume sheep’s milk or meat during the treatment period.

Important! Before using a chemical preparation to protect the herd from ticks, you need to carefully study the instructions. It usually gives examples of effects on the animal.

The fight against ticks in lambs

Little lambs can be infested with pests no less than adult sheep and sheep. Therefore, starting from 2 months of age, it is possible to treat animals from parasites. However, each method has its own distinctive features. It is important to familiarize yourself with them before directly treating the babies.

Features of contact processing of lambs

The contact processing method is used for both adult animals and cubs. However, in the summer period all animals should not be bathed in the same container, since the doses of preparations containing diazinon for the same amount of water are different.

The reason is that the calf’s body weight is much less than that of an adult sheep. Based on the weight of the lamb, you need to choose the optimal amount of the drug, which is indicated in the instructions and carry out the processing. The process of killing pests on the body of lambs and adult sheep is no different.

Such treatment is carried out twice with an interval of 10-14 days. Dosage 100-200 g of the drug per lamb.

In winter, when using sprays and powders, it is also important to follow the instructions and use the right amount of medicinal substance for one animal.

Injections

For lambs, injections are also acceptable. However, as is the case with contact control methods, it is important to adhere to the correct dosage. Kids need to peck under the skin. The dosage of the drug should be about 10–20 cm³. Injection is carried out once.

Folk tick control

Farmers often prefer methods that are less hazardous to animal health. So, instead of harmful chemicals, they use simple folk remedies. They are used for both young and adult sheep. Such methods are considered completely harmless to animals and often prove to be quite effective.

Important! When a tick is found in an animal, it is not deliberately detached immediately from the skin, oil is dripped onto the tick and left for several minutes. An hour later, not a single parasite will remain on the body of the sheep.

Some examples of folk methods for combating ticks:

1. To get rid of parasites, use lavender, geranium or various aromatic oils. To do this, treat the entire body of the animal by dripping oil on the skin or rubbing it with a plant. Ticks do not withstand a harsh aroma and die.
2. You can also use regular vegetable oil. To do this, generously spread a sheep over them, paying special attention to the groin area and ears.
3. Machine oil can also be used as a treatment. However, they do not need to smear the entire body, they must be applied with wide stripes over the body and groin.
4. A mixture of tar and vegetable oil also gives a good effect. Apply the product also in stripes.
5. A very simple, but no less effective method is to apply oil, detergent and cream. To do this, you can use a shower gel or shampoo. This method has the advantage of being very easy to rinse off.

Disease and Infections Prevention

In order to prevent tick infestation, it is important to adhere to safety measures and conduct regular and timely preventive measures. The rules for keeping and caring for animals are not at all complicated, but they will help prevent the disease and preserve the productivity and livelihoods of the flocks.

Rules for the prevention of infection:

• carry out a thorough inspection of animals regularly. If parasites are found, isolate the sheep from the flocks;
• consult with a veterinarian, undergo inspection by a specialist;
• Before sending the livestock to a range, animals are rubbed with mint or wormwood daily as a preventive measure;
• during the absence of sheep, it is necessary to carry out high-quality processing of their monastery: from the premises it is necessary to remove all manure from the stall, as well as to disinfect the places of keeping the flock;
• when new goals appear, keep them away from the flocks for a while, until a full examination;
• in case of infection of part of the herd, healthy sheep should also be treated;
• the coat of an infected animal must be burned;
• if cases of the disease in the flock were once observed, it is recommended to change the place of pasture.

In mountains, hilly terrain, or on pastures where flocks of sheep often live, it is very difficult to avoid the appearance of parasites. Ticks are especially active in the spring, so it is during this period that it is important to protect the sheep, remember preventive measures, and also know the methods of treating animals. Infection of sheep from ticks is treatable, but only with timely detection.

Adhering to the rules of keeping flocks and carrying out preventive measures, you can avoid infection and save products.