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Weekly Blog

Should I Fast/Stand off Animals Around Dosing?

June 24, 2019
Should I Fast/Stand off Animals Around Dosing?

Before dosing sheep with an oral white or clear wormer, best practice is to have a 24-hour fasting period. This optimises absorption in the stomach. However, if it cannot be done for a full 24-hour period it is probably not worth doing at all.

The dose should still work well without doing the above, but we are tilting the odds of attaining a successful eradication of parasites further in our favour by doing so.

Never withhold water from animals of any species. The above should not be practiced with pregnant sheep.

In terms of fasting or standing off after dosing, we do this with quarantined animals. Give new arrivals their quarantine dose and stand them off pastures for 48 hours. This lets any eggs clear the system. During this period we should still offer full access to feed and water.

Before dosing sheep with an oral white or clear wormer, best practice is to have a 24-hour fasting period. This optimises absorption in the stomach. However, if it cannot be done for a full 24-hour period it is probably not worth doing at all.

The dose should still work well without doing the above, but we are tilting the odds of attaining a successful eradication of parasites further in our favour by doing so.

Never withhold water from animals of any species. The above should not be practiced with pregnant sheep.

In terms of fasting or standing off after dosing, we do this with quarantined animals. Give new arrivals their quarantine dose and stand them off pastures for 48 hours. This lets any eggs clear the system. During this period we should still offer full access to feed and water.