November 26, 2024 • 24 mins
The Country's Rowena Duncum brings you a special three-part podcast series, where PGG Wrightson's experienced animal production team share practical tips and advice for dairy, sheep and beef farmers across New Zealand.
In episode 2, Ro is joined by animal health technical expert Andrew Dowling to discuss the ins and outs of flystrike - from how to make your stock less attractive to flies and reduce the risk, through to supporting affected stock.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Keep your stock Thriving with PGG Rights and powered by
the Country.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello and welcome into the special edition Animal Health podcast
in association with PGG Rights and my name's Rowena Duncan.
It is my pleasure to join you once again for
part two of a three part podcast series where we
look at some practical tips and advice for dairy, sheep
and beef farmers right across New Zealand. Two weeks ago
I looked at health and growth of young stock with
(00:29):
Laura Patty. Today we are focusing on everything you wanted
to know but we're afraid to ask about fly strike
and sheep. Joining me is Andrew Dowling, technical expert for
animal health and nutrition and part of PGG rights In's
animal production technical team. Hello Andrew, and welcome Helloa. Now Andrew,
you are from the most beautiful part of New Zealand
(00:51):
and I can say that hands down Central Otago. Tell
me about your background and how you got here.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, farm boy out of Rainsley down here in Central Otago.
So one of six. So we never went skiing because
we're always sharing most work on the farm. And then
I went up and did a veterinary degree at MASSI
because I wanted to stick with farming. Worked in Waira,
Northern Hawk's Bay for about eight years, a couple of
years in the UK, came back to tay Happy and
(01:19):
then I've been working with PGG Wrights for the last
fifteen years. And now I've managed to finally make my
way back down to central Otago. So down here in Alexandra,
it is beautiful. Those big blue skies are just amazing.
I love it. The browns down here, the North Islands
obscene their green. I love the softer colors. So it's
(01:41):
really good to be back here.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh fantastic. And I was fortunate enough to spend quite
a bit of time in the Manniotto when I was
based in Deneda, and there a lot of time in
rand Fairley and the hells around rand Fairley. It is
just magical. You're so lucky to have ended up back
down there.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yes, it feels that way. And the outdoor pursuits are
great down here too, so it is nice. And coming
back after thirty years, somethings will changed a lot, and
some things have barely moved it all.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, And how good is the Wine and Food
festival in Clyde every Easter.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It's pretty good. Yeah, and that's been a change of
the cherries, the wine, all the other little industries have
started up down here. It's just premium product and it's
pretty hard to not enjoy things. Sitting in the sun
and the cheer the old sun hat on during the
night's beer and some cherries. It's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Loving the dream. Now, before we record on this podcast,
you and I were chatting. I've farmed in Wales. You've
spent a bit of time in Wales as well. Just
tell me a bit about that.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, So I was over there at the time of
the foot and mouth outbreak. It was at two thousand.
Tough time, Yeah, really tough time, and I had to
be over there working at that time and it was
a good chance to see how things work in emergency
situ and the resilience of farmers is just amazing. It
(03:03):
was absolutely incredible. It was tough. Politicians tried to make
it a political disease by that he doesn't care. It's
going to run its own course. So yeah, that's a
tough eight nine months, but it was the only way
you'd actually get around Wales that summer. We're working with
the farmers was brilliant. If that disease you ever got here,
(03:24):
we'd be devastated. So we need to do everything we
can to keep it out. And there are other diseases
that are similar. Oh wonderful people, Jeeve and another beautiful
part of the world flush up round Breck and Abergavenny
and that that was just lovely.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, we were farming at the foot of the Procellly
Hills and are just stunning. You just pinched yourself every
day that you were so lucky, except in winter, to
work in such a beautiful part of the country. And
I actually did some milkings up in Cumbria, just below
the Scottish border for a family up there who had
lost their entire herd and foot and mouth. And this
(03:59):
would you know, mid two thousand and nine, and they
were still still haunted by the impact of that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, and we have some tough times in farming here.
What's where the conditions and prices And I look at
the other rurals of thought. Trust some of the things
farmers do now to get together and talk and just
chat and share tough times. It's great to seek us
over there. People were too scared to go to the
pub in case they transferred the disease with them, whereas
(04:27):
in reality that was never going to happen. So people
became very isolated and that's hard on them. And yeah,
I think we've learned. We do need to talk about things.
You know, problem shared is a problem harved, and it's
not all your fault why things are going on. It's
just great to be able to get out there and
have a chat to someone and have a just get
(04:47):
off the farm to see something a little bit different.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Absolutely, And yeah, where you are in central Otago, if
you get the chance to visit that area, that is
a great break off. Look, Andrew, you are joining me
today to talk about fly strike. This is a particular
area of interest for you and unfortunately something that impacts
a lot of Kiwi farmers right around the country as well.
(05:10):
And as a former dairy farmer, I don't know very
much about it. So I'm going to start with the obvious. Andrew,
what makes sheep attractive to blowflies? What does that Lynx effect?
Per se?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yes, I know that that links effect. And remember the
ads of well being swinged upon. If you've had teenage boys,
you know the smell of links. Good Lord, knocks you out.
So their fi needs the sheep as a source of
food to complete its life cycle. So the blowfly there
is looking for the animal. The female has a feed
(05:44):
so she can lay her eggs on it, so she
needs to find that sheep, and so things that make
sheep really attractive or almost really sexy to flies is
that wet, warm smell. So when the wool is constantly
been wetted with rain and down with the skin, you
might get a bit of dermatid. It's a bit of scurfiness.
(06:06):
That's just heaven for a fly. They can smell that
miles away they burrow down in there. Other thing they
like is shit, So DAGs, yeah, although we get plenty
of that in the spring with our high protein grasses
and not much fiber in them and some of the
end of fights in their old grasses too. So if
(06:26):
those DAGs are hanging off the wall there, that's a
real attraction for the fly as well, and there's plenty
of food in there for them there, So they're the
main ones being having a wet fleece and warm conditions
or DAGs just really attract that fly and jus hunts
out that sheep and fine her or him to lay
(06:49):
the eggs in.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, so are the blowflies that I can see around
my house or maybe like the clusterflies that we would
sometimes get in the cow shed. Are they the ones
that cause fly strike or is there like a particular
type of fly.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Particular type of fly do it? So? I know we
don't like flies, but without them, we'd have a whole
lot of rubbish around our homes in our environment. Because
the little maggots of them do help eat a whole
lot of the rubbish and decomposing material around our houses
and our gardens, so they do some good. Whereas the
(07:25):
ones that attract the fly are the flies that attack
our sheep. We've got two types. We call them me
the primary or secondary strike flies. There's four main species
in New Zealand. The primary strike flies for three of them,
they really are out there just seeking the sheep because
they don't need a wound. They can find those sheep.
(07:46):
They will lay their eggs and the little maggots will
start eating into the skin straight away. Whereas a secondary
strike fly once the wounds there, they then come in.
They're attracted by that. They'll lay their eggs and their
maggots will eat the other maggots because to them it's
just food, and they'll do also a lot more damage
around that wound area and make it a lot bigger.
(08:07):
So it's okay if you see a fly buzzing around
your kitchen, No it's not. It's most likely not one
of the flies that causes fly strike, but the ones
that are out on our farms and hanging around our stock.
Here Sitney more worried about those.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, Andrew, I am now today years old. When I
found out that maggots can be carnivorous, that's a bit
of an eye opener. And also you've managed to convince
me that the flies around home maybe aren't that bad
after all.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
So agnoying, I'll give you that.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
We can agree on that. Oh yes, absolutely, So when
does fly strike risk increase? Like, what should I look
out for to be aware of an increased risk?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So in part of the life cycle, if we look
at that the female fly mates, lady eggs, the eggs
hatch and they go through what you called stars, which
is I suppose it. But like a crayfish, weird crayfish
gets as big as it can, has to shed its
skin to grow to the next size and then forms
it forms a nice tough sholling head to protect itself.
(09:13):
So they go through three of those sort of stages
and then they fall into the ground and form a
pew pay. And I suppose it's a bit like the
caterpillar chrysalis so in that it's got to turn from
a maggot into a fly. So you get that metamorphosis lovely, lovely,
big word there, but changes When it's above twelve degrees celsius,
(09:33):
they will do that and then the little they fly
hatches up out of the ground. When the sew temperatures
below twelve degrees, those pupey can over winter. Over the winter.
Those pewpai are down here in the saw. They're like
a little black Cocoone can often can find them when
you're digging in the soil in the spring. When saw
temper just rise above twelve degrees, they will hatch and
(09:56):
the flies come out. So when things start warming up
in the spring, you'll get your first wave of flies
will literally come out of the ground. They'll come out
and they'll go and find our stock. So it's all
temperature above twelve degrees. Start worrying about fly and you'll
start noticing them then, and as it gets warmer and wetter,
that's when the risk really increases. Flies don't like the wind,
(10:20):
so they really like sheltered gullies, stock underneath bushes. Just
those calm, humid areas are just heaven for them, whereas
on the side of a windy face on the hill,
flies don't really like it. They won't fly, okay, so
that are sit there and waiting. So the windyer paddocks
(10:45):
have a lower fly strike risks than say, your sheltered paddocks.
The warm humid areas have are more of a rest
than the drier parts of the farm. So it's thinking
about those things to indicate how great the fly strike
risk is.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So today, years old, Andrew, when I learned that craigfish
actually shed their skin and then grow into a new one,
which is quite remarkable as well. Hey, with the likes
of South End where it has just been raining so
much earlier this year, will that drown the pewpey if
they're in the soil, or do they survive that as well?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
You're right, it will drab it a lot of them, yes,
so some will definitely survive. But in those very water
paddics with that wet as a large number of those
peupe will have rotted.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, at least there's an upside, an upside to the
non stop roting.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
There's a silver lining to most clouds, but sometimes in
conversations you don't try and talk about the mb silver
lining is pretty said it is.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It is, indeed hate some of.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Those pads used to fly strike. Rist is certainly going
to be a lot less than it would have been
last year.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, yeah, So what damage does fly strike cause to shape?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Well, I don't know about you, but I even see
a flight land on me, I get the hebes. So
you imagine having like at a little little maggot caterpillar
there secreting juices that's dissolving your skin and start eating
away and starts munching away at it. So that in
itself kind of freaks me out a bit. And as
(12:20):
they dissolve all the skin and eating it, and it
cause exposure of a wound, you lose a lot of
moisture through that wound, so dehydration is a problem. But
also it gets quite infected, so you get a lot
of toxins in the system. So sept the semia having
toxins running through your blood system from that wound makes
(12:41):
the animal feel very ill. So even fly strikes the
size of a fifty cent piece can greatly I can
make animals lose weight and take even a couple of
months to put that weight back on. So for that
you don't need a very big wound to have quite
a big impact on that animal. And of course you
(13:02):
don't just get one wave of fly strike. If you've
got the wound there, then other flies go for it.
It smells pretty good party over here. Come around Andrew's place.
We've lay a few more eggs here, and it just
goes on and on and on. So we need to
get onto these fly struck animals and treat them early
to reduce it. Because animal welfare wise, it's a big risk.
(13:24):
It's a pretty horrific infestation or infection for an animal.
So we do want to have a good preventative plan
in there to make sure that we're not getting lambs
fly struck. And it's not okay just to wait till
animals are struck and then treat the struck ones. We
need to have a preventative program in place.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, absolutely, So how do we reverse that link's effect?
Andrew how do we make the sheep less attractive to
fly strike?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yep, So a number of things we can do. So
we're trying to make them less attractive to fly strike
at the time where you think there might be a
lot of flies around. Also at times in the production cycle,
if you've got fli struck, then it would have a
massive impact. So let's say pre tapping for use. If
they get fly struck in that two months before tapping,
the chances are not getting pregnant are much higher. So
(14:13):
we want to protect them then. So a really good
thing is have a haircut, so shearing it gives us
about a month's protection against fly. So you've removed the wall,
so the skin dries out. They also don't like the
ultra violet light, so that gives us some good protection.
That's it dagging crutching, removing the wool from the parts
(14:38):
of the body that are going to get stained with
urine or DAGs on them. That helps a lot too,
So that helps those areas dry out not as attractive
for the fly. We do that, we'll use a lot
of alas chemical control for the times when we can't
the sort of things we can't control, so you're going
(14:59):
to have some sheltered air the padict which are they're
going to be more fly risk in there, So you
put products on them that if a fly comes in
and later eggs, then those eggs can't develop from one
stage to the next. So the little larvae will hatch,
but they do very little damage the first ones, but
they can't shed their skin to become the second stage
or the third stage. And that that's a big part
(15:20):
of our preventative program is using those products early in
the season to keep the fly numbers down to a
level that we can manage if we have to treat
individual animals. But yeah, which we're trying to get those
chemicals on to use them as effectively as possible.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So speaking of those chemicals, like farmers use dips of
her that term bandied around a way, but to prevent
blowfly infixtation and the sheep and also to treat blowflies,
how do they get the most out of it? Like
what are the expected periods of protection around some of
those dips.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yeah, so the more chemical you can get on the animal,
the greater the protection period's going to be. So we're
trying to do things to make sure we get the
chemical at the area where the fly straight risk is
because these chemicals don't really move through the fleece very much,
so trying to put them on those areas. Dipping is
(16:15):
a big part of it. As you said, we had
compulsory dipping for lice in New Zealand for over one
hundred years and we still got light so that didn't
work very bloom and well. So most people's memories are
dipping are horrible. It's just sweating hot work families. Chemicals
are pretty flame and nasty, and protection back then was
(16:38):
washing your hands once a week, whether they needed it
or not. We didn't. We didn't have PPE but then
or we had it, we didn't realize how important it
was to wear it. So yeah, we don't saturate dip
animals for flight protection anymore. It was used a lot
of chemical, it needed a lot of water and it
(16:58):
wasn't particularly effective and we ended up just putting a
whole lot of dirty water all over our sheep, which
gave the old links affect a nice little boost and help.
So what there are The two main ways to get
product on now are spayon's and I suppose concentrate dip products.
(17:18):
So the Speyon products. The applicator use is really important
and it creates a fan of spray coming out. Where
they are great is you can treat every animal and
do it well and you get more chemical on per
I suppose Miller product applied. So for consistency of prevention
(17:38):
or protection, the Spyon products are superior. Yes, you do
have to do every animal as accurately as possible, but
that's true with everything we do with those spayon products.
I'll find that it's good if you've got people who
haven't used it, just to get a gun set up
with some water to start with and have a play
with it and to get the hang of it. Because
(17:59):
there is a bit of a knack to putting the
product on because as I say, it only protects where
you put it. Yep, So we do that. Just make
sure you empy the drum out and put the product
in properly before you start again. Putting water on doesn't help.
Don't think you're cunning, and you're the first person to
have thought that if you dilute the product, you can
do it for half the price and still get the
same impact. If it was that simple, we were all
(18:20):
done it years ago and it doesn't. It just destroys
the whole product, so you might as well not even started.
So that's important. Let's get those products, mix them well,
shake them well, put it on with a spay on
with a proper applicator. The other ones are a lot
that concentrates. We mix it up with clean water, try
and use it on the day that you mixed it up,
(18:41):
and you put them through often what are automatic jetting races,
so it's where the animals run through. The great thing
of those systems is you can do a lot of
lambs really fast. The problem with those systems. The problem
is a lot of lambs are going really fast. It's
hard to get enough chemical on them to give you
any really effective protection. So realistically, through those run through systems,
(19:05):
you're getting three to six maybe eight weeks, or really
three to six weeks worth of protection because it's just
going so quick you can't get any more chemical on them.
On those labels, there's a there often be two dose rates,
one for long term protection, one for midterm protection. Always
use long term protection dose rate, which is commonly a
(19:26):
leader to five concentrate to five hundred liters of clean water.
Use that because we're just trying to get enough chemical
on there to do the job. When you're using those systems,
try and use all the chemical you're mixed up on
that day. Definitely avoid storing it over the weekend because
it's quite likely to fall out a suspension, and the
(19:48):
ones you do on Monday morning might be just getting
water sprayed on their backs, which is not particularly protective.
So we wanted to do the job well. So those
are two ways out of the spay on products. If
using a cermazine based one, you get about six weeks
worth of protection the dicycle and the ones, depending which
product you use, can be anywhere from nine up to
(20:08):
twenty six weeks worth of protection. So people will choose
the product they use based on when they're going to
be sharing next or for how long they need that
protection for. And so it's a good year go and
have those discussions about what product best suits your system
to give you the protection that you need.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, absolutely, a lot to consider. There are they kind
of the most common things that could go wrong, you know,
leaving that product over the weekend or you know, forgetting
that you've been practicing with water.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, that's it, and just not getting enough chemical on them. Yeah,
does it. And with their cermazine based products, they are
water soluble, so heavy rainfall will wash it out of
the fleece as well. So yeah, you're down there in
central Targe and you get eight miler rain in December,
three weeks after dipping, then that would have washed a
lot of that chemical out of the wall. So you
(20:58):
want to be aware of that. Keep an eye on
your sheep, and so you may have to retreat them
earlier than you normally would have.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah. Interesting, Yeah, that's something definitely to be aware of. Look, Andrew,
what would I do if I find sheep or lambs
or ewes that have been fly stroke?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah, they are a very sick animal. So any animal
you see that fly struck, we want to treat them individually,
So get them in. If you use the preventative chemical,
then those maggots and there may be resistant to the
chemical that we've used, so you want to make sure
you kill those maggots. So ideally we want to clip
(21:36):
the wool from around the area, click the maggots, sell
them in a bag and kill them, or put a
chemical on them to kill them. But we don't want
them to breed. Don't just bury that sheep will get
rid of that. Now bury that wool. We want to
do that, and then we go to treat them like
a sick animal. They're going to be dehydrated, they may
need some antibodic therapy. They may need some cream on
the wall or at least kept out of the sunlight
(21:58):
so that the area doesn't get sunburnt and more disk
and more damage. So you do look after them. If
you are using your chemical and you getting fly struck animals,
there is resistance to the chemicals in Australia, to a
number of the chemicals, but in New Zealand we know
that the d flebenzeron and the triflumoron products that some
(22:19):
of our flies are resistant to those chemicals. So if
you are getting fly struck animals, you know, not long
after the treatment, then certainly do do come in and
have a chat to make sure we're using the right
products or to investigate whether there is some resistance to
that product developing, because yeah, that's quite important. But those
animals are sick, so we really do need to give
(22:39):
them some good individual care.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, fantastic. Well, I find that I have learned so
much about fly strike in the last week while Andrew,
thank you so much for that. Look, I just want
to one final comment before I let you carry on
with your day. The first time I meet you via zoone,
like we're chatted on the phone and stuff before. But
you you know, I love worms. I love parasites. Is
(23:03):
that kind of a line you might pull out in
the pub sometimes if you're meeting new people.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Oh yeah, it's great if you're a deedity one who's
got a saw tooth, but you say you're into parasites.
No one ever sees that I've got a parasite. I
want you to have a look at it.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
It is a unique specialty.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Yeah, parasites are so cool.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Do you want to just quickly expand on that something
about movies?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Yeah, that's it all in these movies, And like an alien,
we got this thing jumping out of the body. All
parasites has been doing that for millions of years. Yea,
so cool. I did some work on liver fluke in
that life cycle, the little thing that hats it out
of the egg from the liver fluke each infects a
little mud snail, and that poor little mud snail just
lucked out and got chosen by the parasite to be
(23:50):
an intermediate host for it, and it makes the snail
very ill, and the parasite multiplies up inside it and
leaves it. There's no benefit for the snail. It's just unlucky. Pa.
I don't really care about others very much. I've got
a very single focus and it's just to reproduce.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Yeah, well I used they nail their life's goal. Hey, Andrew, Look,
thank you so much for that. I know I could
do a whole nother chat with you around worms and parasites,
but look, I really do appreciate your knowledge and your
advice around fly strike. I know, as I mentioned at
the start, it is something that really does affect Kiwi farmers.
So the more knowledge we can get out there thanks
(24:28):
to you and your team at PGG Rights and the
better our farmers are going to do. So really appreciate
your time.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Thank you, Awena, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
There we go. Andrew Dowling me a technical expert for
animal health and nutrition as part of PGG Rights AND's
Animal production technical team. The final episode and this three
part animal health focused podcast series we'll be airing on
December eleven, or catch you back then, Keep your stocks
thriving with PGG rights and powered by the country
Keep your stock Thriving with PGG Rights and powered by
the Country.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello and welcome into the special edition Animal Health podcast
in association with PGG Rights and my name's Rowena Duncan.
It is my pleasure to join you once again for
part two of a three part podcast series where we
look at some practical tips and advice for dairy, sheep
and beef farmers right across New Zealand. Two weeks ago
I looked at health and growth of young stock with
(00:29):
Laura Patty. Today we are focusing on everything you wanted
to know but we're afraid to ask about fly strike
and sheep. Joining me is Andrew Dowling, technical expert for
animal health and nutrition and part of PGG rights In's
animal production technical team. Hello Andrew, and welcome Helloa. Now Andrew,
you are from the most beautiful part of New Zealand
(00:51):
and I can say that hands down Central Otago. Tell
me about your background and how you got here.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, farm boy out of Rainsley down here in Central Otago.
So one of six. So we never went skiing because
we're always sharing most work on the farm. And then
I went up and did a veterinary degree at MASSI
because I wanted to stick with farming. Worked in Waira,
Northern Hawk's Bay for about eight years, a couple of
years in the UK, came back to tay Happy and
(01:19):
then I've been working with PGG Wrights for the last
fifteen years. And now I've managed to finally make my
way back down to central Otago. So down here in Alexandra,
it is beautiful. Those big blue skies are just amazing.
I love it. The browns down here, the North Islands
obscene their green. I love the softer colors. So it's
(01:41):
really good to be back here.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh fantastic. And I was fortunate enough to spend quite
a bit of time in the Manniotto when I was
based in Deneda, and there a lot of time in
rand Fairley and the hells around rand Fairley. It is
just magical. You're so lucky to have ended up back
down there.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yes, it feels that way. And the outdoor pursuits are
great down here too, so it is nice. And coming
back after thirty years, somethings will changed a lot, and
some things have barely moved it all.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, And how good is the Wine and Food
festival in Clyde every Easter.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It's pretty good. Yeah, and that's been a change of
the cherries, the wine, all the other little industries have
started up down here. It's just premium product and it's
pretty hard to not enjoy things. Sitting in the sun
and the cheer the old sun hat on during the
night's beer and some cherries. It's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Loving the dream. Now, before we record on this podcast,
you and I were chatting. I've farmed in Wales. You've
spent a bit of time in Wales as well. Just
tell me a bit about that.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, So I was over there at the time of
the foot and mouth outbreak. It was at two thousand.
Tough time, Yeah, really tough time, and I had to
be over there working at that time and it was
a good chance to see how things work in emergency
situ and the resilience of farmers is just amazing. It
(03:03):
was absolutely incredible. It was tough. Politicians tried to make
it a political disease by that he doesn't care. It's
going to run its own course. So yeah, that's a
tough eight nine months, but it was the only way
you'd actually get around Wales that summer. We're working with
the farmers was brilliant. If that disease you ever got here,
(03:24):
we'd be devastated. So we need to do everything we
can to keep it out. And there are other diseases
that are similar. Oh wonderful people, Jeeve and another beautiful
part of the world flush up round Breck and Abergavenny
and that that was just lovely.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, we were farming at the foot of the Procellly
Hills and are just stunning. You just pinched yourself every
day that you were so lucky, except in winter, to
work in such a beautiful part of the country. And
I actually did some milkings up in Cumbria, just below
the Scottish border for a family up there who had
lost their entire herd and foot and mouth. And this
(03:59):
would you know, mid two thousand and nine, and they
were still still haunted by the impact of that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, and we have some tough times in farming here.
What's where the conditions and prices And I look at
the other rurals of thought. Trust some of the things
farmers do now to get together and talk and just
chat and share tough times. It's great to seek us
over there. People were too scared to go to the
pub in case they transferred the disease with them, whereas
(04:27):
in reality that was never going to happen. So people
became very isolated and that's hard on them. And yeah,
I think we've learned. We do need to talk about things.
You know, problem shared is a problem harved, and it's
not all your fault why things are going on. It's
just great to be able to get out there and
have a chat to someone and have a just get
(04:47):
off the farm to see something a little bit different.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Absolutely, And yeah, where you are in central Otago, if
you get the chance to visit that area, that is
a great break off. Look, Andrew, you are joining me
today to talk about fly strike. This is a particular
area of interest for you and unfortunately something that impacts
a lot of Kiwi farmers right around the country as well.
(05:10):
And as a former dairy farmer, I don't know very
much about it. So I'm going to start with the obvious. Andrew,
what makes sheep attractive to blowflies? What does that Lynx effect?
Per se?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yes, I know that that links effect. And remember the
ads of well being swinged upon. If you've had teenage boys,
you know the smell of links. Good Lord, knocks you out.
So their fi needs the sheep as a source of
food to complete its life cycle. So the blowfly there
is looking for the animal. The female has a feed
(05:44):
so she can lay her eggs on it, so she
needs to find that sheep, and so things that make
sheep really attractive or almost really sexy to flies is
that wet, warm smell. So when the wool is constantly
been wetted with rain and down with the skin, you
might get a bit of dermatid. It's a bit of scurfiness.
(06:06):
That's just heaven for a fly. They can smell that
miles away they burrow down in there. Other thing they
like is shit, So DAGs, yeah, although we get plenty
of that in the spring with our high protein grasses
and not much fiber in them and some of the
end of fights in their old grasses too. So if
(06:26):
those DAGs are hanging off the wall there, that's a
real attraction for the fly as well, and there's plenty
of food in there for them there, So they're the
main ones being having a wet fleece and warm conditions
or DAGs just really attract that fly and jus hunts
out that sheep and fine her or him to lay
(06:49):
the eggs in.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, so are the blowflies that I can see around
my house or maybe like the clusterflies that we would
sometimes get in the cow shed. Are they the ones
that cause fly strike or is there like a particular
type of fly.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Particular type of fly do it? So? I know we
don't like flies, but without them, we'd have a whole
lot of rubbish around our homes in our environment. Because
the little maggots of them do help eat a whole
lot of the rubbish and decomposing material around our houses
and our gardens, so they do some good. Whereas the
(07:25):
ones that attract the fly are the flies that attack
our sheep. We've got two types. We call them me
the primary or secondary strike flies. There's four main species
in New Zealand. The primary strike flies for three of them,
they really are out there just seeking the sheep because
they don't need a wound. They can find those sheep.
(07:46):
They will lay their eggs and the little maggots will
start eating into the skin straight away. Whereas a secondary
strike fly once the wounds there, they then come in.
They're attracted by that. They'll lay their eggs and their
maggots will eat the other maggots because to them it's
just food, and they'll do also a lot more damage
around that wound area and make it a lot bigger.
(08:07):
So it's okay if you see a fly buzzing around
your kitchen, No it's not. It's most likely not one
of the flies that causes fly strike, but the ones
that are out on our farms and hanging around our stock.
Here Sitney more worried about those.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, Andrew, I am now today years old. When I
found out that maggots can be carnivorous, that's a bit
of an eye opener. And also you've managed to convince
me that the flies around home maybe aren't that bad
after all.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
So agnoying, I'll give you that.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
We can agree on that. Oh yes, absolutely, So when
does fly strike risk increase? Like, what should I look
out for to be aware of an increased risk?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
So in part of the life cycle, if we look
at that the female fly mates, lady eggs, the eggs
hatch and they go through what you called stars, which
is I suppose it. But like a crayfish, weird crayfish
gets as big as it can, has to shed its
skin to grow to the next size and then forms
it forms a nice tough sholling head to protect itself.
(09:13):
So they go through three of those sort of stages
and then they fall into the ground and form a
pew pay. And I suppose it's a bit like the
caterpillar chrysalis so in that it's got to turn from
a maggot into a fly. So you get that metamorphosis lovely, lovely,
big word there, but changes When it's above twelve degrees celsius,
(09:33):
they will do that and then the little they fly
hatches up out of the ground. When the sew temperatures
below twelve degrees, those pupey can over winter. Over the winter.
Those pewpai are down here in the saw. They're like
a little black Cocoone can often can find them when
you're digging in the soil in the spring. When saw
temper just rise above twelve degrees, they will hatch and
(09:56):
the flies come out. So when things start warming up
in the spring, you'll get your first wave of flies
will literally come out of the ground. They'll come out
and they'll go and find our stock. So it's all
temperature above twelve degrees. Start worrying about fly and you'll
start noticing them then, and as it gets warmer and wetter,
that's when the risk really increases. Flies don't like the wind,
(10:20):
so they really like sheltered gullies, stock underneath bushes. Just
those calm, humid areas are just heaven for them, whereas
on the side of a windy face on the hill,
flies don't really like it. They won't fly, okay, so
that are sit there and waiting. So the windyer paddocks
(10:45):
have a lower fly strike risks than say, your sheltered paddocks.
The warm humid areas have are more of a rest
than the drier parts of the farm. So it's thinking
about those things to indicate how great the fly strike
risk is.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So today, years old, Andrew, when I learned that craigfish
actually shed their skin and then grow into a new one,
which is quite remarkable as well. Hey, with the likes
of South End where it has just been raining so
much earlier this year, will that drown the pewpey if
they're in the soil, or do they survive that as well?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
You're right, it will drab it a lot of them, yes,
so some will definitely survive. But in those very water
paddics with that wet as a large number of those
peupe will have rotted.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, at least there's an upside, an upside to the
non stop roting.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
There's a silver lining to most clouds, but sometimes in
conversations you don't try and talk about the mb silver
lining is pretty said it is.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It is, indeed hate some of.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Those pads used to fly strike. Rist is certainly going
to be a lot less than it would have been
last year.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, yeah, So what damage does fly strike cause to shape?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Well, I don't know about you, but I even see
a flight land on me, I get the hebes. So
you imagine having like at a little little maggot caterpillar
there secreting juices that's dissolving your skin and start eating
away and starts munching away at it. So that in
itself kind of freaks me out a bit. And as
(12:20):
they dissolve all the skin and eating it, and it
cause exposure of a wound, you lose a lot of
moisture through that wound, so dehydration is a problem. But
also it gets quite infected, so you get a lot
of toxins in the system. So sept the semia having
toxins running through your blood system from that wound makes
(12:41):
the animal feel very ill. So even fly strikes the
size of a fifty cent piece can greatly I can
make animals lose weight and take even a couple of
months to put that weight back on. So for that
you don't need a very big wound to have quite
a big impact on that animal. And of course you
(13:02):
don't just get one wave of fly strike. If you've
got the wound there, then other flies go for it.
It smells pretty good party over here. Come around Andrew's place.
We've lay a few more eggs here, and it just
goes on and on and on. So we need to
get onto these fly struck animals and treat them early
to reduce it. Because animal welfare wise, it's a big risk.
(13:24):
It's a pretty horrific infestation or infection for an animal.
So we do want to have a good preventative plan
in there to make sure that we're not getting lambs
fly struck. And it's not okay just to wait till
animals are struck and then treat the struck ones. We
need to have a preventative program in place.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, absolutely, So how do we reverse that link's effect?
Andrew how do we make the sheep less attractive to
fly strike?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yep, So a number of things we can do. So
we're trying to make them less attractive to fly strike
at the time where you think there might be a
lot of flies around. Also at times in the production cycle,
if you've got fli struck, then it would have a
massive impact. So let's say pre tapping for use. If
they get fly struck in that two months before tapping,
the chances are not getting pregnant are much higher. So
(14:13):
we want to protect them then. So a really good
thing is have a haircut, so shearing it gives us
about a month's protection against fly. So you've removed the wall,
so the skin dries out. They also don't like the
ultra violet light, so that gives us some good protection.
That's it dagging crutching, removing the wool from the parts
(14:38):
of the body that are going to get stained with
urine or DAGs on them. That helps a lot too,
So that helps those areas dry out not as attractive
for the fly. We do that, we'll use a lot
of alas chemical control for the times when we can't
the sort of things we can't control, so you're going
(14:59):
to have some sheltered air the padict which are they're
going to be more fly risk in there, So you
put products on them that if a fly comes in
and later eggs, then those eggs can't develop from one
stage to the next. So the little larvae will hatch,
but they do very little damage the first ones, but
they can't shed their skin to become the second stage
or the third stage. And that that's a big part
(15:20):
of our preventative program is using those products early in
the season to keep the fly numbers down to a
level that we can manage if we have to treat
individual animals. But yeah, which we're trying to get those
chemicals on to use them as effectively as possible.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So speaking of those chemicals, like farmers use dips of
her that term bandied around a way, but to prevent
blowfly infixtation and the sheep and also to treat blowflies,
how do they get the most out of it? Like
what are the expected periods of protection around some of
those dips.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yeah, so the more chemical you can get on the animal,
the greater the protection period's going to be. So we're
trying to do things to make sure we get the
chemical at the area where the fly straight risk is
because these chemicals don't really move through the fleece very much,
so trying to put them on those areas. Dipping is
(16:15):
a big part of it. As you said, we had
compulsory dipping for lice in New Zealand for over one
hundred years and we still got light so that didn't
work very bloom and well. So most people's memories are
dipping are horrible. It's just sweating hot work families. Chemicals
are pretty flame and nasty, and protection back then was
(16:38):
washing your hands once a week, whether they needed it
or not. We didn't. We didn't have PPE but then
or we had it, we didn't realize how important it
was to wear it. So yeah, we don't saturate dip
animals for flight protection anymore. It was used a lot
of chemical, it needed a lot of water and it
(16:58):
wasn't particularly effective and we ended up just putting a
whole lot of dirty water all over our sheep, which
gave the old links affect a nice little boost and help.
So what there are The two main ways to get
product on now are spayon's and I suppose concentrate dip products.
(17:18):
So the Speyon products. The applicator use is really important
and it creates a fan of spray coming out. Where
they are great is you can treat every animal and
do it well and you get more chemical on per
I suppose Miller product applied. So for consistency of prevention
(17:38):
or protection, the Spyon products are superior. Yes, you do
have to do every animal as accurately as possible, but
that's true with everything we do with those spayon products.
I'll find that it's good if you've got people who
haven't used it, just to get a gun set up
with some water to start with and have a play
with it and to get the hang of it. Because
(17:59):
there is a bit of a knack to putting the
product on because as I say, it only protects where
you put it. Yep, So we do that. Just make
sure you empy the drum out and put the product
in properly before you start again. Putting water on doesn't help.
Don't think you're cunning, and you're the first person to
have thought that if you dilute the product, you can
do it for half the price and still get the
same impact. If it was that simple, we were all
(18:20):
done it years ago and it doesn't. It just destroys
the whole product, so you might as well not even started.
So that's important. Let's get those products, mix them well,
shake them well, put it on with a spay on
with a proper applicator. The other ones are a lot
that concentrates. We mix it up with clean water, try
and use it on the day that you mixed it up,
(18:41):
and you put them through often what are automatic jetting races,
so it's where the animals run through. The great thing
of those systems is you can do a lot of
lambs really fast. The problem with those systems. The problem
is a lot of lambs are going really fast. It's
hard to get enough chemical on them to give you
any really effective protection. So realistically, through those run through systems,
(19:05):
you're getting three to six maybe eight weeks, or really
three to six weeks worth of protection because it's just
going so quick you can't get any more chemical on them.
On those labels, there's a there often be two dose rates,
one for long term protection, one for midterm protection. Always
use long term protection dose rate, which is commonly a
(19:26):
leader to five concentrate to five hundred liters of clean water.
Use that because we're just trying to get enough chemical
on there to do the job. When you're using those systems,
try and use all the chemical you're mixed up on
that day. Definitely avoid storing it over the weekend because
it's quite likely to fall out a suspension, and the
(19:48):
ones you do on Monday morning might be just getting
water sprayed on their backs, which is not particularly protective.
So we wanted to do the job well. So those
are two ways out of the spay on products. If
using a cermazine based one, you get about six weeks
worth of protection the dicycle and the ones, depending which
product you use, can be anywhere from nine up to
(20:08):
twenty six weeks worth of protection. So people will choose
the product they use based on when they're going to
be sharing next or for how long they need that
protection for. And so it's a good year go and
have those discussions about what product best suits your system
to give you the protection that you need.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, absolutely, a lot to consider. There are they kind
of the most common things that could go wrong, you know,
leaving that product over the weekend or you know, forgetting
that you've been practicing with water.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, that's it, and just not getting enough chemical on them. Yeah,
does it. And with their cermazine based products, they are
water soluble, so heavy rainfall will wash it out of
the fleece as well. So yeah, you're down there in
central Targe and you get eight miler rain in December,
three weeks after dipping, then that would have washed a
lot of that chemical out of the wall. So you
(20:58):
want to be aware of that. Keep an eye on
your sheep, and so you may have to retreat them
earlier than you normally would have.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah. Interesting, Yeah, that's something definitely to be aware of. Look, Andrew,
what would I do if I find sheep or lambs
or ewes that have been fly stroke?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah, they are a very sick animal. So any animal
you see that fly struck, we want to treat them individually,
So get them in. If you use the preventative chemical,
then those maggots and there may be resistant to the
chemical that we've used, so you want to make sure
you kill those maggots. So ideally we want to clip
(21:36):
the wool from around the area, click the maggots, sell
them in a bag and kill them, or put a
chemical on them to kill them. But we don't want
them to breed. Don't just bury that sheep will get
rid of that. Now bury that wool. We want to
do that, and then we go to treat them like
a sick animal. They're going to be dehydrated, they may
need some antibodic therapy. They may need some cream on
the wall or at least kept out of the sunlight
(21:58):
so that the area doesn't get sunburnt and more disk
and more damage. So you do look after them. If
you are using your chemical and you getting fly struck animals,
there is resistance to the chemicals in Australia, to a
number of the chemicals, but in New Zealand we know
that the d flebenzeron and the triflumoron products that some
(22:19):
of our flies are resistant to those chemicals. So if
you are getting fly struck animals, you know, not long
after the treatment, then certainly do do come in and
have a chat to make sure we're using the right
products or to investigate whether there is some resistance to
that product developing, because yeah, that's quite important. But those
animals are sick, so we really do need to give
(22:39):
them some good individual care.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, fantastic. Well, I find that I have learned so
much about fly strike in the last week while Andrew,
thank you so much for that. Look, I just want
to one final comment before I let you carry on
with your day. The first time I meet you via zoone,
like we're chatted on the phone and stuff before. But
you you know, I love worms. I love parasites. Is
(23:03):
that kind of a line you might pull out in
the pub sometimes if you're meeting new people.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Oh yeah, it's great if you're a deedity one who's
got a saw tooth, but you say you're into parasites.
No one ever sees that I've got a parasite. I
want you to have a look at it.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
It is a unique specialty.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Yeah, parasites are so cool.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Do you want to just quickly expand on that something
about movies?
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Yeah, that's it all in these movies, And like an alien,
we got this thing jumping out of the body. All
parasites has been doing that for millions of years. Yea,
so cool. I did some work on liver fluke in
that life cycle, the little thing that hats it out
of the egg from the liver fluke each infects a
little mud snail, and that poor little mud snail just
lucked out and got chosen by the parasite to be
(23:50):
an intermediate host for it, and it makes the snail
very ill, and the parasite multiplies up inside it and
leaves it. There's no benefit for the snail. It's just unlucky. Pa.
I don't really care about others very much. I've got
a very single focus and it's just to reproduce.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Yeah, well I used they nail their life's goal. Hey, Andrew, Look,
thank you so much for that. I know I could
do a whole nother chat with you around worms and parasites,
but look, I really do appreciate your knowledge and your
advice around fly strike. I know, as I mentioned at
the start, it is something that really does affect Kiwi farmers.
So the more knowledge we can get out there thanks
(24:28):
to you and your team at PGG Rights and the
better our farmers are going to do. So really appreciate
your time.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Thank you, Awena, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
There we go. Andrew Dowling me a technical expert for
animal health and nutrition as part of PGG Rights AND's
Animal production technical team. The final episode and this three
part animal health focused podcast series we'll be airing on
December eleven, or catch you back then, Keep your stocks
thriving with PGG rights and powered by the country
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