Lucas, P and Horton, B, Comparative costs, chemical treatments and flystrike rates in mulesed and unmulesed sheep flocks as predicted by a weather-driven model, Animal Production Science, 53, (4) pp. 342-351. ISSN 1836-0939 (2013) [Refereed Article]
Copyright CSIRO 2013
The model indicated that unmulesed sheep would require more frequent treatment with longer lasting pesticides. Costs associated withflystrike were estimated to increase by $220 per thousand sheep per year (ewes) or $349 (hoggets) for Flinders Island, $445 or $512 (Gunning) and $363 or $844 (Inverell). For unmulesed sheep the model indicated that dicyclanil might be required rather than cyromazine to provide acceptable flystrike control at a lower cost. Despite this increase in preventive treatment for unmulesed sheep, the predicted number of struck sheep was higher for Gunning and Inverell, but not for Flinders Island, where the model did not always require routine preventive treatment for mulesed sheep. In regions with a flystrike problem, avoiding any increase in strike after ceasing to mules was estimated to double the cost of preventive measures for most shearing dates.
The date of shearing had a significant effect on total costs related to flystrike and in some cases shearing during the fly season increased costs and increased strike by interfering with the most efficient use of preventive treatment.
Crutching reduced costs in some cases, but in other situations the timing of crutching interfered with the optimum timing of chemical treatment and the model sometimes predicted worse outcomes than with no crutching. The timing of shearing, crutching and treatment must be carefully managed if both costs and the number of struck sheep are to be minimised. Control of flystrike was found to be most efficient when there was a single period of high risk of strike or two equal periods of strike risk, rather than one short and one long period.
|Item Type:||Refereed Article|
|Research Division:||Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences|
|Research Group:||Animal production|
|Research Field:||Animal protection (incl. pests and pathogens)|
|Objective Division:||Animal Production and Animal Primary Products|
|Objective Group:||Livestock raising|
|Objective Field:||Sheep for wool|
|UTAS Author:||Lucas, P (Miss Peri Lucas)|
|UTAS Author:||Horton, B (Dr Brian Horton)|
|Web of Science® Times Cited:||4|
|Deposited By:||Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture|
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