Hi Friends,

I often receive “SOS” emails from beginner shepherds. They go something like: “My sheep are dying, what do I do?”

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🪱Usually it’s a parasite (worm) problem – especially when the emails come through in June or July.

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So in honor of June, I am going to share my 3-step RESCUE TREATMENT. This is a process I use to revive a sheep that is down with parasites – specifically the Barber’s Pole worm.

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BUT FIRST: diagnose.

There are 3 ways to (visually) know you are dealing with a Barber’s Pole worm infection:

1. Sluggish movement, droopy ears, loss of appetite (not grazing).
2. Pale eyelids
3. Bottle jaw

Pale eyelids indicate anemia. Anemia is a primary symptom of the Barber’s Pole Worm. You need to act quick if your sheep have pale pink or white eyelids.

Bottle jaw (a swollen chin) is another symptom of the Barber’s Pole Worm. Bottle jaw indicates a severe infection. Bottle jaw is typically “final stages” (aka, the last stop before death) of infection. If your sheep develops bottle jaw you need to act quickly if you want to save it!

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MY 3-STEP RESCUE TREATMENT:

The following steps are in the context of the Barber’s Pole worm (which is prevalent in pastured flocks from May-July).

Disclaimer: this is what I do, not what I recommend you do… consult your vet as an authority on this topic.😉

1. Get rid of the infection.

First up, I get rid of the infection – which means deworming.

Prohibit (Levamisol) and Cydectin are widely effective dewormers for sheep and available at most farm stores.

If you do not want to use chemical dewormers, check out my video on experimenting with LYE AS A DEWORMER.

Just be aware that Lye can kill your sheep (necessary disclaimer 😅).

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2. Supplement with Iron

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Severe anemia warrants an iron supplement.

I keep 3 options handy for my flock. Keep in mind, I pick one… I do not use all 3 together.

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1. Goat and Sheep Nutridrench.
2. **Redglo (similar to Redcell. I give 6 CC orally for an adult ewe)
3. **ANEM-X 100 (I inject 2 mil intramuscular for an adult ewe)

**Redglo and ANEM-X are not FDA approved for sheep; however I use them “off-label” for my flock. These off-label options are very potent, so I use them when a sheep is severely anemic (“at death’s door”). Vitamin B-12 is also helpful to provide in tandem with the iron. It speeds up the process of rebuilding the red blood cell count.

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Here is a short video on how I administer the rescue treatment.

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3. Long-term Solution

Copper deficiency causes anemia in sheep – making them more susceptible to parasite infections.

Black sheep (or black-headed sheep) need more copper than the average woolly-white sheep.

In 2023 I became suspicious of a copper deficiency in my flock. I began giving each ewe a copper bolus once per year.

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After launching this protocol, my flock’s natural immunity to the Barber’s Pole worm skyrocketed!

​Here is a short video on the topic of sheep and copper.​

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Stay the course, June and July can be rough… but I hope this helps you through!

-the Shepherdess

P.S. This is advice from my 252 page book: “the Basics of Raising Sheep on Pasture”. Buy it with free shipping at Shepherdess.com!

Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. Psalm 85:13