[bakerosc]

Hello all-just seeking some advice on worming of my 6 month old Shetland sheep.  They are both female and planning to slaughter them at around October time...So will be around 8-9 months...   Just wondering when the best time to worm them would be or maybe I don't need to do it at all seen there been slaughtered in a few months time.  They were last wormed in late May by the person I bought them off.

[Fleecewife]

They'll still be minute in October.  Shetlands are mostly best kept til early summer the year following birth.

It is no longer recommended to worm sheep just because they have reached a certain age.  If you think they are wormy, for example because they are scouring or looking 'stark', then take a FEC (Faecal Egg Count) sample to your vet.
If your ground is clean - ie not had sheep on for a while, then it is unlikely they are wormy.  If your ground is wet, then they may be at risk of fluke - ask your vet about that.

[fiestyredhead331]

wow thats only about half the time I put mine to the abattoir 

[landroverroy]

6 months old?
So were they born last December??
In that case they'll be 10 months old in October and if kept on good grass, especially that which hasn't had sheep on recently, then they should be amply big enough to kill. If indeed they are on pasture that's been clear of sheep, and they were wormed just before you  got them , then they shouldn't need worming again before slaughter.
If the ground has had sheep on recently, and hasn't been grazed by any other class of livestock since then I wouldn't bother doing a FEC, but would worm them anyway as a safeguard in about July/August. With only 2 sheep that are going for slaughter anyway you don't want to wait till they have lost their bloom or condition. If you suspect there may be worms on the land due to previous stock, I would worm them just to make sure they keep growing at optimum rate.
 

[princesslayer]

I've just fec'd my late march born lambs, just to see. Bought their mums last May and put them onto fields not grazed before by sheep. Lambs weren't scouring or looking ill, but they had very high strongyles and had to be drenched. No idea why, also a pony grazed their field right down over winter.

Either field has had sheep on before unbeknownst to me, or tup brought in a load in autumn last year. Go figure!

[fsmnutter]

If the ground has had sheep on recently, and hasn't been grazed by any other class of livestock since then I wouldn't bother doing a FEC, but would worm them anyway as a safeguard in about July/August. With only 2 sheep that are going for slaughter anyway you don't want to wait till they have lost their bloom or condition. If you suspect there may be worms on the land due to previous stock, I would worm them just to make sure they keep growing at optimum rate.

This is exactly the sort of thinking we are all trying to quosh as it's exactly why we have problems with resistance. "Just worm anyway" is NOT a good plan. Read the SCOPS website, get a faecal egg count done through your vet and discuss it with them.

[landroverroy]

 I know where you're coming from and I understand the logic, and I don't just worm my sheep regardless of the need for it.
 BUT if I just had 2, that were going for slaughter,  and those were the only sheep I had at the moment, and I wasn't getting any more in the foreseeable future, then I personally wouldn't get a FEC done just for those 2, but would worm them anyway if there had recently been sheep on the land. Under those circumstances there would be no stock following on to perpetuate any resistant worms.
That is just my opinion and what I would do in those circumstances. I do agree that if those are not the cirumstances then my opinion would be different.