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Whilst the risk of liver fluke is relatively low this year, the rainfall since July means cases may now start to be seen. Acute fluke can look very much like haemonchus (the bloodsucking gutworm), so ask us for advice regarding testing and treatment. Blood testing for fluke is very sensitive and provides the earliest warning of infection, and samples can be pooled making this a cost-effective method.
There are a lot of infective gut roundworm larvae on pasture, so the risk of parasitic gastroenteritis is high in lambs and calves. Use a combination of weighing (for daily live weight gain), body condition scoring and worm egg counts to guide treatments, and remember it is not always necessary to treat every individual in a group. Targeted selective treatments avoid unnecessary medicine use and also slow the development of resistance to wormers. Consider leaving animals which are performing well un-treated.
Blowfly risk is high.