Fluke

Alan413

Well-Known Member
Bit of a shame. Finding deer in the woods dead. All yearlings. Don't seem to have anything wrong with them until I cut their liver open. What a mess. The liver was like mush. I count over 100 fluke full grown in half the liver god knows how many immature fluke.
It has a been a hellish year for fluke. (Well maybe for farmers)
One farmer phoned up the company that deals with the dead. And told them to bring a empty lorry to pick up 60 ewes.
I was speaking to a lorry driver for that company. He was telling me he has been non stop since Xmas. He has been picking up 15 dead cows with fluke every day.
 
Yes, it's hellish.
It used to be a seasonal problem, but now we're finding it in sheep all year round. And in fairly young lambs, too - basically as soon as they start grazing they're at risk now.
The accute fluke kills sheep pretty quick, and deer too by the sound of it.
Our sheep tend to get chronic fluke, which is slower, so we spot the signs and go in with the dosing gun. Touch wood, not lost any ewes from fluke lately, but a batch of store lambs I was planning to fatten and sell just before Christmas lost 5 kg bodyweight each in a month!
 
Yes, it's hellish.
It used to be a seasonal problem, but now we're finding it in sheep all year round. And in fairly young lambs, too - basically as soon as they start grazing they're at risk now.
The accute fluke kills sheep pretty quick, and deer too by the sound of it.
Our sheep tend to get chronic fluke, which is slower, so we spot the signs and go in with the dosing gun. Touch wood, not lost any ewes from fluke lately, but a batch of store lambs I was planning to fatten and sell just before Christmas lost 5 kg bodyweight each in a month!
We just scan our ewes the day. As they are I. We are just going to dose them again. Better spending a bit of a dose. Rather than a dead ewe
 
About 50% of the sika we shoot have fluke but even one's with heavy infestations do not seem to be affected. They are still full of fat and in excellent condition. Fluke in sika do not seem to affect antlers in any way either as it does with roe.
 
Quote Alan413 "We just scan our ewes the day. As they are I. We are just going to dose them again. Better spending a bit of a dose. Rather than a dead ewe"

yeah, we dosed ours for fluke when we scanned them a couple of weeks ago. And when we pulled the rams out. And just before we put the rams in. And back in July. And they'll need doing again by lambing time. It's a bugger. And it's spreading to parts of the country where it's never been seen before.
 
We never used to have a fluke problem. The last few years it has crawled in. I don't have many deer as it is. Don't think I will be shooting any here this year. Might have to find a new area.
 
3 or4 where I live and where I beat. The keeper is having a lot die on him.
Just going around the stock this morn. Find a healthy doe and twins grazing away. Nice to see
 
I was just going to post a thread to ask if anyone else is having a flook problen with their roe population when I came accross this one. We have had to finish three off on shoot days and have found the remains of a few more, the local farmers are struggling to keep their sheep alive
 
Just joined the SD but interested in your post ,i shot a fallow buck fawn the other morning that clearly had a probem ,skin &bone bearly able to walk,it was full of fluke,the worst case i've seen .A lot of the fallow i shoot on this property have had fluke at some time ,but the last two years this has rocketed given its a very damp area any way the last couple of wet winters has only made the problem worse, i wonder if anyone has had a problem with rumen fluke as well , something a friend of mine has found is on the increase
 
Is there a possibility to "winterfeed" the deer ? My father has a few sheep and we give them wormingtablets wich also work against liver fluke. There might be a possibility to add some kind of worming product to the feed ( barley, wheat, ...... ) ans maybe so treating a part of the population.
 
I don't know if deer are different to sheep in there organs. Wormer might not have an effect. Might be a different strain of fluke or worms. We change our sheep dose every year so the worms don't get used to it.
 
It's just an idea. I know that the same product is used for sheep,goats and cattle. In France there is a panacur powder on the market which would be easy to put on food. Panacur , if I am not wrong, does not work against liverfluke. Maybe there is another powder wich can be put on food and works against fluke. Sheep- or cattleowners might know more about.
 
Is there a possibility to "winterfeed" the deer ? My father has a few sheep and we give them wormingtablets wich also work against liver fluke. There might be a possibility to add some kind of worming product to the feed ( barley, wheat, ...... ) ans maybe so treating a part of the population.

Aren't we in danger here of treating wild animals which could subsequently be shot for human consumption unknowingly before any withdrawal period. IMO this is reserved for park deer only.
Nice thought though.
 
Aren't we in danger here of treating wild animals which could subsequently be shot for human consumption unknowingly before any withdrawal period. IMO this is reserved for park deer only.
Nice thought though.
Very true. How are stalkers to know what deer have been dose or how long until that deer can be harvested. Can't really go around spraying deer will a blue mark to show they have been doses.
 
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