Sheep farmers in Donegal are being advised that tomorrow, 5th April, is the date when peak Nematodirus roundworm egg hatching is expected in Donegal.
Nematodirosis is a severe parasitic disease of lambs which become infected by ingesting large numbers of infective larvae from grazing on contaminated pasture.
Each spring, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in collaboration with Met Éireann, UCD and Teagasc advises farmers of the predicted risk of disease, chiefly in lambs, caused by the roundworm Nematodirus battus.
This disease is best prevented by keeping the current year’s lambs off any pasture that was grazed by lambs or young calves (which can be carriers of infection) in the previous year. Enterprises with high stocking rates are particularly vulnerable.
The department advises that at-risk lambs (i.e. typically 6 to 12 weeks of age and grazing on contaminated pasture) should be treated approximately two weeks after the peak of Nematodirus egg hatching.
The analysis of March soil temperatures allows the period of disease risk to be accurately forecast. For 2025, the peak Nematodirus egg hatching for most of the country will occur in the early days of April.
Please see the map below for expected dates of peak Nematodirus egg hatching on pasture.
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