Sheep Dag and Breech Strike Prevention

Dags and breech soiling predispose sheep to potentially fatal blowfly strike. Targeted prevention programmes protect flock health and welfare significantly.

Key Facts

Dags are accumulations of faecal material on the wool around the breech
Dagged sheep are at dramatically increased risk of flystrike from blowfly larvae
High-worm-burden flocks produce more dag due to diarrhoea
Crutching — shearing the breech area — is a key preventive measure
Faecal egg counting and targeted selective treatment reduces dag-forming worm burdens

Welfare Considerations

Dags and the flystrike they predispose to cause significant suffering. Flystrike involves maggots feeding on living tissue, and affected sheep show signs of acute distress, wool-pulling and rapid deterioration. Prevention is far preferable to treatment. Effective dag management requires a combination of nutrition, worm control, breed selection for breech wrinkle resistance, and timely crutching. Farmers who monitor flock breech condition scores regularly can intervene early.

What You Can Do

Implement a SCOPS-based integrated worm management programme on your farm
Schedule crutching before the summer flystrike season begins
Monitor breech soiling scores at each handling and act on high-risk animals
Use licensed insect growth regulators or synthetic pyrethroids for prevention
Select breeds and genetic lines with less breech wrinkle and skin fold