Live mass gains and wool production of merino sheep: three treatment programmes for parasite control

A trial is described comparing the live mass gains and wool production of three groups of Merino sheep treated either at four-weekly intervals, strategically or not at all for the control of helminths and Oestrus ovis during a 19 month period. The group treated at four-weekly intervals had the greatest gain in masass was not greater than that of the group treated strategically. At both shearings the four-weekly treated group produced more wool than did the strategically treated group. The latter group produced more wool in total than did the untreated group. The seasonal incidence of nematodes, cestodes and Oestrus ovis on the trial farm was determined by the slaughter of tracer lambs at regular intervals.