Do you know your sheep weight?

Many farmers could be giving the wrong dosage of wormers or antibiotic because they are assessing an animal’s weight incorrectly.

This is according to XLVet’s chief executive Andrew Curwen, who set visitors the challenge of assessing the weight of two lambs by eye.

“Both the Dorset and Dorset x Zwarble lambs were born in the same week and are now five-and-a-half months old.

“However, although they both look identical, in reality there is an 11kg difference between them.”

This can make a huge difference to treatment efficacy with the main danger from under-dosing. “The most expensive medicine is the one that doesn’t work,” he said.

“The question is: Do you have an effective way to know the weight of your stock?”

It is difficult to determine weight simply by eye, so weighing the animal is essential to get an accurate picture. And when weighscales are being used, ensure equipment is calibrated correctly.