Farm Animals

Sheep Dag Prevention and Flystrike Risk

Dagging (accumulation of feces on wool) increases flystrike risk in sheep. Prevention through selective breeding, nutrition and management reduces this serious welfare threat.

Key Facts

Flystrike occurs when blowflies lay eggs on soiled wool and maggots hatch and invade skin tissue
Sheep can die within days of severe flystrike as maggots consume living tissue
High-dag sheep are at significantly greater flystrike risk than clean-fleeced animals
Worm burdens cause scouring which wets the breech area dramatically increasing dag accumulation
Selective breeding for low-dag trait reduces management burden and inherent flystrike susceptibility

Welfare Considerations

Flystrike causes extreme suffering as maggots consume living tissue producing toxins that rapidly cause systemic illness. Affected sheep show severe distress and can deteriorate to death within 48 hours. Prevention through regular inspection, dagging, insecticide treatment and worm control is far preferable to treating established strikes. Farmer vigilance and rapid response are welfare-critical.

What You Can Do

Inspect sheep daily during warm weather for early flystrike signs including restlessness and wool discoloration
Apply preventive insecticide treatments to susceptible areas before the blowfly season begins
Control worm burdens through targeted selective treatment to reduce scouring and dag accumulation
Dag sheep regularly around the breech to remove soiled wool and reduce flystrike risk
Select for low-dag genetics when making breeding decisions to reduce inherent susceptibility