1. A
Controlled Experiment To Measure The Effectiveness On Lambs Of Wormers That
Conform To The New Organic Standards.
FNE03-482
Project
Leader: Jean Noon
78 Sunset Road
Springvale, Maine 04083
207-324-3733
2.
GOALS
The newly implemented organic standards require producers to use
natural materials to treat parasites in sheep and lambs. In keeping with these standards I found
during 2002 that the health, growth rate and feed conversion of my lambs had
diminished alarmingly.
During 2002 I tried using two commercial products that are
organically approved. Results were
not satisfactory. Feeding rates of
these materials have not been adequately established for lambs. Administration was recommended mixed in
the feed and I found the lambs would not eat the mixtures all at once and I was
concerned that some lambs would eat too much and some too little. I was not convinced that they were
effective.
I have searched the internet for the results of controlled
experiments that would support the effectiveness of these materials and have
found none that were convincing. I
did find several references indicating that garlic might be effective. I have found out that garlic is known
to contain 28 active antibacterial compounds.
For this SARE Grant I designed and implemented a controlled
experiment to measure the effectiveness of various natural wormers and worming
rates on parasites in lambs and at the same time attempted to identify the
naturally resistant lambs for retention as breeding stock.
3. FARM PROFILE
The
Noon Family Sheep Farm is a Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)
certified organic sheep farm. We
winter 50-60 ewes and lambs and have been raising sheep since 1970. Our
original sheep were Columbias purchased indirectly from the UVM flock
dispersal. Since that time the
flock has evolved into a commercial mix of Columbia-Rambouillet-Leicester-Suffolk,
etc. bloodlines including colored and white wooled brood ewes. We direct market value added lamb at
select fairs and festivals through our lamb barbecue food booth. We also sell hay, wool, yarn,
sheepskins, and lamb at the farm.
Most of the year this is a part-time operation, the exception being at
the fairs, during lambing, and during haying season.
We
own ~75 acres that we purchased in 1974 and lease an additional 15 acres of hay
land. We have about 8.5 acres of
pasture, and about 15 acres of our own hay land that we rotate the sheep onto
after haying. Our fencing is
mostly electric, permanent and portable. The sheep harvest most of the second
and third crop of hay directly.
The balance of our farm is in managed forest and wetland. The 15 acres of hay leased from a
neighbor is mostly sold in the field to support machinery, labor, and operating
costs.
This
project used our own farm and flock as a laboratory.
We
have a sheep handling facility that is permanent and includes squeeze pens and
chutes that make the physical handling of the sheep quite efficient.
Handling pens and
chute
4. PARTICIPANTS
Dr.
Tom Settlemire
Bowdoin
College
Brunswick,
Maine
ctsettle@suscom-maine.com Katahdin Hair Sheep
Project (SARE)
Dr.
Settlemire was an invaluable asset to my work. I visited his project and he demonstrated the sampling and
testing methods that I used. He
read and made suggestions on my grant application and he reviewed this
report. He also provided me with
some equipment such as graduated cylinders and some cylinder stands he had
fabricated. He also came to my
farm to consult on my set up and helped me organize the experiment. I attended the Katahdin Sheep Symposium
and the FAMACHA training that he provided in October. He also suggested I contact one of his student interns,
Elizabeth McCain.
Elizabeth
McCain emccain@bowdoin.edu
Elizabeth
came to the farm several times to help me with sampling and fecal count
measuring. She was terrific and
very fast at counting eggs! A
great hard worker and is now in grad school becoming a veterinarian with a deep
interest in parasitology.
Mike
Bukowski-Thall DVM
Down
Maine Veterinary Clinic
Sanford,
Maine
207-324-
Dr.
Bukowski-Thall was on call in case there were health problems that needed his
attention. His clinic also ordered
the FECASOL for me which is the egg flotation medium used in the testing.
Diane
Schivera M.A.T.
Assistant
Director of Technical Services
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Service, MOFGA
294 Crosby Brook Rd.
PO Box 170 Unity, ME 04988
207-568-4142
FAX: 568-4141
www.mofga.org
Diane
encouraged me and came to the farm on a visit. Her interest helped me persevere through the testing
sessions. She read my application
and this report.
5. PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND METHODS
All
lambs are numbered with ear tags at birth and records are kept of their date of
birth, parentage, and type of birth. Lambing occurred during February and
March. The number of lambs
included in the test was determined by the 2003 lamb crop (51).
Lambs
were grouped in four groups. Groups were arbitrarily assigned by counting down
the birth order (1,2,3,4; 1,2,3,4; …etc) without regard to birth type or
sex. Groups were all mixed
together and raised in one flock separate from the adult ewes after weaning in
late April. . After reexamining my management
practices for 2002, I had introduced the lambs to the pasture with the ewes
prior to weaning to try to get lambs eating grass sooner. I changed my grazing strategies in
2003. The lambs were introduced to
pasture after weaning. Lamb
pasture had not been grazed by ewes since mid November. I rotated the lamb pastures about a
week after treatment. I had only 4
paddocks to use and think that more would be a lot better. Another technique that I use is to
start the lambs in a small area of grass and move the fence out for them every
day or even twice a day. This way
they graze better and do not contaminate the grass they are eating as much.
Lambs are
grazing a strip of new grass up to portable electric fence.
Group membership was determined by ear tag at sample times for
treatment in the sorting chute.
Individual fecal samples and weights were collected and parasite loads
measured and recorded by ear tag number starting in May and then every 2-3
weeks for the remainder of the summer.
Treatments were administered June 6, July 1, August 1, August 17,
September 3 and September 9th. During August I separated the ewe replacement
lambs into a their own group to conserve grain and keep them from becoming over
weight.
Fecal samples were taken by placing the lamb into a crate (on the
scale) in the sorting chute. Then
using a glove, a sample was removed from the lamb’s rectum. 2ml of fecal material is added to 28ml
FECASOL (sodium Nitrate egg floatation solution). If there was no sample to be had the lamb was released and
tried again later. Ear tag and
sample numbers were recorded. The
lamb was then treated according to its group assignment.
In
order to have an accurate reading of parasite loading the eggs per gram system
called the “Modified McMaster Egg Counting Technique” developed by
ADVANCED EQUINE PRODUCTS was used.
This system involves the use of specialized green line slides that
incorporate a fixed cover slide and a pair of grids that determine the volume
of the sample that is viewed and a means to count eggs within that volume. Eggs per gram are then calculated using
a formula. The two grid numbers are added together and multiplied by 50 to
determine the eggs per gram in the sample. (See source list)
Coccidia (Eimeria) was one of the parasites that I counted during my testing. These are tiny parasites that live in
the cells of the sheep’s intestines. They are thought to be less of a threat to the health of the
sheep as the sheep usually develop resistance to them over time. They can however be problematic in
lambs. When you study my graph you
will see that the garlic treatment did reduce the coccidia counts significantly
prior to the drop in numbers in late June due to the natural rise in resistance
immunity after exposure.
Group 1 – CONTROL; Group 2 – CRYSTAL CREEK; Group 3 – GARLIC; Group 4 – FARMSTEAD
The
other parasite I counted was Haemonchus Contortus (H.Contortus) or the
barber pole worm, which is a blood sucking intestinal parasite that is
dangerous to lambs and has developed immunity to several commercial
anthelmintics.
Sept.3
two critically infected lambs in Group 2 were treated with garlic and all lambs
were treated with garlic on Sept. 9
Lamb
Flock Management:
All
lambs were provided with free choice access to grain, pasture, hay, loose trace
mineralized salt mixed 2:1 with Diatomaceous Earth, ground limestone, and water. Some experts are
skeptical of the effectiveness of the DE.
Ground limestone prevents the occurrence of Urinary Calculi in ram lambs on a high
grain diet.
Group
One – Control – Lambs that were not
treated (unless they exhibited clinical symptoms and I determined treatment was
needed for their survival and then they were to be eliminated from the
experiment).
Group
Two – Crystal
Creek
organic wormer (Para- Tack Intestinal Cleanser, at a rate of 2
tsp. mixed with water to make a 1 oz. dose)
Group
Three
– Garlic Juice at a rate of 1 tsp. Concentrated juice diluted with water to make
a 1 oz. dose.
Group
Four –
Farmstead Health Supply (1/2 tsp. Sustain, and 1 tsp. Restore mixed with
water to make a 2 oz. dose) This mixture was too thick to administer as 1 oz.
To
be perfectly fair to the two companies, I did not follow either one’s
recommendations, which were a bit vague, and this may have compromised their
effectiveness.
My standard dosing syringe with backpack did not work with the dry
mixtures from Crystal Creek and Farmstead. They clogged it up.
Instead I used a single dose syringe with a 6” extension and
washed and rinsed it thoroughly between lambs. Crystal Creek and Farmstead both recommend mixing their
products with the feed. From
experience I felt that I could not depend upon each lamb receiving an equal
portion that way unless I had individual stalls (or a LOT of time) so I mixed
these products with water. I also
wanted to run all the lambs together.
Treatments were measured and mixed fresh in batches at each treatment date. Because the compounds do not suspend
well the batch needed to be mixed each time a dose was drawn. I discovered that the garlic solution
could be administered with the standard backpack multiple dose syringe.(I used
the single dose syringe until my last treatment on Sept. 8)
Lambs were all rotationally grazed together and moved onto clean
pasture a few days after individual treatment. I did not set aside quite enough “clean” space
for the entire grazing season. I
think this resulted in the dramatic rise of parasite load that occurred during
August. I would like to study the
timing of the parasite rise further as it is crucial to the management
schedule. The parasite rise may
also be dependent on the weather.
Fecal egg counts were taken again two to three weeks after treatment. Weight gains and animal health was documented at each treatment and testing interval. All the data I collected was put into a “Works” spreadsheet and sorted to generate charts
It appears from my data that garlic juice reduces the numbers of
eggs of Haemonchus Contortus and Coccidia in fecal samples. The results were
unexpected. I have to admit I was
skeptical about the effectiveness of any of the treatments. My first surprise from the samples was
the lambs did not show any infection of Haemonchus Contortus (H. Contortus) at
the May baseline testing session.
There was only evidence of Coccidia.
During June there was a rise in both Parasites. The H.Contortus was mostly well below
2000 eggs per gram (not considered dangerous). The Coccidia was reading around 11,000 eggs per
gram. The garlic treatment group
dropped to less than 4,000 eggs per gram Coccidia.
By July the coccidia had dropped in all groups including the
control (no treatment). This
indicated a rise in the natural resistance or immunity toward the coccidia in
all the lambs. I did continue to
count the coccidia in samples but it stayed below 2,000 for the remainder of
the test period.
The 2003 lambs grew very well and the first ones were marketed
during early June. This caused the
test group numbers to decline.
Most of the male lambs were marketed by the end of July and all were
gone by Sept. 9. This made the
weight record averages for the test groups inaccurate and may have influenced
the results. Also we had a lot of
rain over the summer and during a couple of sampling session the lambs were wet
and I did not take their weights. In August I started to pull ewe lambs out into a separate
group. I did not want to waste
grain and get them too fat. Their
weights leveled off and some declined.
On Sept.3 I was becoming concerned for the health of the ewe lambs
that were left because of the rise in parasite numbers. Four developed evidence of bottle
jaw. As they were from different
groups I would surmise that they had particularly low natural resistance to H.
Contortus. Because of the evidence
of the effectiveness of the garlic juice I treated those individuals with
garlic juice on Sept 3. I treated all of the ewe lambs with the garlic on Sept.
9 and they were all tested on Sept. 12.
All lambs showed a decline of egg loads after the final garlic treatment. All the ram lambs had been sold.
One of the most important results of this experiment is my own
heightened awareness and understanding of parasite life cycles and the
importance of very careful management of pasture in successful growth of
organic lambs.
7. CONDITIONS
The
most significant parasitic threat to lambs is Haemonchus Contortus. Here in the Northeast where there is quite a long period of
winter and frequent frost between the end of September and the beginning of
May, natural conditions determine the extent of survival of the parasites on
the pasture. Pasture and contact
with the soil is a critical portion of this parasite’s five-stage life
cycle. Understanding this
parasite’s life cycle is essential to mounting an effective preventative
management strategy. Unfortunately
there are gaps in our knowledge.
Simplified
Life Cycle of Haemonchus Contortus (Strongylid Nemotode)
Eggs are shed in the feces of the ewes in the morula stage of development by
parasites that are in the fifth or adult stage and attached to the
sheep’s abomasum. This
occurs when external conditions are favorable.
Individual sheep have widely varied infections that are due to
inherited and acquired resistance to parasites and other factors including age,
exposure, nutrition, stress, arrested development (hypobiosis), and PPR
(peri-parturant relaxation of hypobiosis at lambing). I am unclear about whether PPR occurs when the ewes lamb in
Feb. & March when barn temperatures are below freezing. It is apparent that these eggs are the
ones that must survive to infect the lambs. My data suggests that lambs were not infected from the
winter bedding pack and only developed infections after being on pasture for
over three weeks. The greatest
rise in infection did not occur until almost 12 weeks on pasture. This infection is apparently the result
of larvae that hatch from eggs that survive on the pasture over winter.
First stage Larvae develop from eggs and hatch in a day or two to
feed on microorganisms in the feces.
After a molt, second stage larvae also feed on microorganisms but they
must have contact with soil and favorable conditions. (warm and wet) The
average length of this stage is about 20 days. Some eggs appear to be able to survive in hypobiosis on the
pasture for over a year. This
means that one winter is not enough to completely clean a pasture.
Winter lambing on a bedding pack does not provide favorable
conditions for larvae development.
This also explains why my lambs did not exhibit any infection in May.
The second stage molt is started but not completed in the external
environment so the infective third stage larva remains encased in the cuticle
of the second stage until it is ingested by a sheep. At this stage the larvae are most vulnerable to environmental
extremes and most dangerous to lambs grazing. These larvae climb up on the grasses in warm wet conditions
of dew or rain. They die from
exposure to dry and hot or cold conditions.
The sheath is cast off in the abomasums of the sheep and the now parasitic
third stage larva attach to the sheep’s abomasums and suck blood. Next they under go a molt to the fourth
stage. This stage has not been
reproduced as yet in the laboratory.
The fourth stage sooner or later molts to the fifth or adult
reproductive stage depending on whether or not it enters a period of arrested
development. (Hypobiosis) Ewes carry fourth stage parasites in their abomasums
that survive in hypobiosis through the winter to shed eggs again in the spring
on pasture. If lambs are not
grazed with ewes or on the same ground they will not be exposed to as high a
rate of infective larvae.
During hypobiosis the sheep remains infected but the parasites are
inactive and not reproducing. It
appears that hypobiotic parasites are able to withstand the use of
anthelmetics. It is unknown what
exactly triggers the hypobiosis or how long the parasites can survive in this
state.
H. Contortus female may pass as many as 10,000 eggs per day under
favorable conditions making it possible for one sheep to pass as many as
30,000,000 eggs per day.
Understanding this parasite’s life cycle and the influence
that the weather conditions have on it are important for parasite control and
management. If the average period
that first stage larvae need to molt into their second stage is 20 days, then
it would be wise to rotate pasture every two weeks and not revisit a pasture
for at least 30 days.
My
Management Calendar
September
1st Ewes are turned into second crop for flushing.
Rams
are introduced to the flock September 15 and removed on November 1st.
Ewes
are brought in off pasture and fed hay November 15 (or when the ground freezes
and they begin to need hay and water).
December
20th Ewes start to get supplemental organic grain gradually
increasing from 1/10th of a pound to ½ pound over a week. Thin ewes are sorted out into a
separate group and given more grain.
Sheep
are shorn in January. Six or seven lambing pens (4x4’) are set up.
Lambs
start to be born February 5th . Ewes lamb in the flock group and are moved into a lambing
pen for 2 to 3 days. Then moved
into a pen with up to 5 other ewes with lambs for a few days before joining the
larger group of lambed ewes. Lambs
are given free choice grain in a creep feeder.
All
lambs are born by April 1st .
Ewes with February lambs are taken off grain and only fed hay.
April
25th to 30th
Feb. and early March lambs are weaned.
Ewes are removed and dried off.
May
10th Ewes are moved out to pasture. Weaned Lambs are moved into dry lot with free choice grain,
hay, and access to winter cleaned pasture. Lamb’s pasture access is moved every 10 days.
Recent
Developments
Through my work on this project, I had the opportunity to work
with one of Dr. Tom Settlemire’s interns, Elizabeth McCain. She had been working with Dr.
Settlemire on the Katahdin Sheep Project and had been certified and enthused by
the FAMACHA© System. This is a
system that uses a visual observation of the redness of the interior of the
eyelid using a specially developed eye color chart to determine the degree of
infection due to Haemonchus Contortus.
H. Contortus being a blood sucking parasite causes anemia that is
observable in the color of the inner eyelid tissue. This system was developed in Africa where parasites have
developed severe resistance to anthelmetics.
I had the opportunity to attend a training session for the use of
the FAMACHA system this fall and am excited by how simple it is for determining
infections as opposed to the fecal samples.
8. ECONOMICS
Taking and testing individual fecal samples is time consuming. I got to the point where I could do 12 lambs in about an hour and a half by myself. That includes penning, weighing, preparing the lab equipment, collecting samples and recording sample and ear tag numbers. The lab work for 12 samples of preparing the slides, examining with a microscope, calculating, and entering results took about another hour and a half. That works out to about 15 minutes per lamb per sampling session. Starting with 51 lambs was a bit daunting.
My Vet. Clinic charges $12.00/ sample for lab work and did not
identify the parasites or count them.
Being able to monitor parasite loads economically and conveniently is an
important portion of best management in raising organic lambs.
It is exciting to have the FAMACHA System available as it is much
more efficient and cost effective.
The Katahdin Sheep Project has determined that genetic resistance to H.
Contortus can be monitored using this technique.
Learning which sheep are naturally resistant to parasites and
breeding for that trait should reduce the need for treatments.
The use of Garlic Juice is less much expensive than conventional
Ivermectin or the other organic treatments I used in the experiment. (see sources) The dosage that I have been using is
one teaspoon per sheep.
9. ASSESSMENT
I would like to pursue this research further and use the FAMACHA system to monitor parasite infection and then take and count fecal samples of lambs that exhibited infections and treat them with Garlic Juice at different dosages. I would also be interested in seeing if the data supports the idea of natural genetic resistance. (I have submitted a SARE grant proposal for 2004) There continues to be the possibility that strains of H.Contortus could become immune to the garlic treatment. Selection for natural resistance and careful treatment and culling of susceptible lambs is a long term strategy that I recommend.
10. ADOPTION
I
will use garlic juice in treating my flock for parasites. I dosed all my sheep when I brought
them into the barn for the winter.
I will treat them at lambing to reduce the possibility of PPR
(peri-parturant relaxation of hypobiosis of H. Contortus at lambing).
11. OUTREACH
I
made a short presentation at the Katahdin Hair Sheep International Gathering.
I
intend to submit articles to the MOFGA newspaper, The Maine Sheep
Breeders Assn Newsletter, and the SHEPHERD Magazine . I am also sending copies to the Maine
and New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service. I will gladly discuss my results with anyone interested and
demonstrate the sampling and Lab. procedures. I plan to schedule a field day next summer at this farm and
would like to collaborate with Dr. Settlemire to hold a FAMACHA Training
Session.
Project Leader: Jean Noon
78 Sunset Road
Springvale, Maine 04083
207-324-3733
A Controlled Experiment To
Measure The Effectiveness On Lambs Of Wormers That Conform To The New Organic
Standards. FNE03-482
SOURCES
Garlic Research Labs Inc.
624 Ruberta Avenue
Glendale, CA. 91201
1-800-424-7990 FAX 1-818-247-9828
www.GarlicBarrier.com
Farmstead Health Supply
P.O.BOX 985
Hillsborough, N.C. 27278
Crystal Creek Services
Leiterman & Associates Inc.
N9466 Lakeside Road
Trego, WI 54888
1-888-376-6777 Fax 715-466-5842
Modified McMaster Egg Counting
Technique(green Line slides)
Olympic Equine Products (Advanced Equine Products)
5004 228th Ave S.E.
Issaquah, WA 98207
425-391-1169
www.Microscope-store.com For counting the eggs on the green line
slides I found it necessary to purchase a binocular microscope with a moveable
platform. I was able to find one
at this site for $329.95 that works really well. (Purchased with my own funds)
The Microscope Store
316 Windy Pines Lane
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
Toll Free: 1-877-409-3556 Telephone: 540-489-4785
FAX: 540-489-4785