29/04/2026
⚠️ NEMATODIRUS WARNING ⚠️
🪱 The current SCOPS Nematodirus Forcesast for West Cumbria shows that hatching is imminent.
☀️ The recent weather is providing perfect conditions for a mass hatch.
🤷🏻♀️ What does this mean?
🐑 6-12 week old lambs are the most vulnerable.
🟢 Fields grazed by last years lambs are highest risk.
🧭 South facing slopes and sheltered costal ground tend to hatch earlier than shaded or higher pastures.
🌅 A sudden warm spell after recent cooler nights can trigger a mass hatch so disease can appear fast.
🤔 What to do this week?
✅ Check the SCOPS map for the nearest weather station to your farm and compare with your own fields.
✅ Prioritise monitoring lambs on last years lambing fields and lowland pastures.
🧐 Watch for sudden onset of symptoms:
🔴 Scouring
🔴 Dull or depressed
🔴 Stopped sucking
🔴 Looking ‘tucked up’
🔴 Loss of body condition
🔴 Dehydration
❗️IMPORTANT REMINDERS❗️
💩 Faecal Egg Counts won’t show Nematodirus risk as disease is caused by immature larvae not eggs.
⏰ Timing matters more than product choice, white drenches (BZ) remain the recommended option.
⬇️ Check the SCOPS forecast using the link below:
https://www.scops.org.uk/forecasts/nematodirus-forecast/
SCOPS is an industry led group that represents the interests of the sheep industry. It recognises that, left unchecked, anthelmintic resistance is one of the biggest challenges to the future health and profitability of the UK sheep industry.