32 Georgia State College of Agriculture 



other sheep, shake the head and strike the ground with the fore 

 feet. The whole flock may stampede and run to shaded shelter. 

 The noses are kept close to the ground when bot flies are present. 



The presence of larvae in the nasal chambers is denoted by 

 sneezing, a catarrhal discharge and watery eyes. In some in- 

 stances the infested sheep, when lying down, will point the nose in 

 the air and gradually turn the head around and backward. When 

 heavy infestation is present, the animal walks with the head down 

 and lifts the hind feet high. Attacks of staggers and giddiness 

 may also be observed. 



Treatment. Preventive treatment consists in smearing the noses 

 of sheep with a mixture of black pine tar and grease preferably 

 rubbing it in well with a stubby brush. This is practicable only 

 when the flock is small. Herds may be kept housed during the 

 heat of the day or herded on dusty ground, the dust raised by the 

 sheep being offensive to the flies. Sheep on range may be protected 

 somewhat by the following means. With a two inch augur bore a 

 number of holes six inches deep into a fallen tree or other timber. 

 Fill the holes nearly full of salt. Smear the surface of the log or 

 timber around the hole with the tar and grease mixture. This 

 should be done once a week during hot weather. The sheep in at- 

 tempting to get the salt have the noses smeared with the grease 

 and tar and are thereby in a measure protected from infestation. 



Surgical Treatment. This consists in the removal of the grubs 

 through an opening in the facial bones and can only be undertaken 

 by a veterinarian. This is only practical in the case of valuable 

 breeding stock. Another treatment recommended consists in the 

 injection into the nasal cavities of 3 or 4 ounces of benzine imme- 

 diately followed with flushing out the cavities with warm water. 



Blow Fly (Blue bottle fly), (Musca vomitoria). 



This species is about four times the size of the house fly. The 

 eyes are brown and the body and abdomen bluish-green. 



Life History. The -female deposits eggs in manure and in the 

 wounds of sheep and other farm animals. During hot weather the 

 eggs hatch in a few hours and the larvae (maggots) burrow into 

 the flesh. Small shear wounds, castration wounds and other in- 

 juries may be followed by severe maggot infestation which may 

 cause the death of the sheep in a few days. When the larvae have 

 reached full development they drop to the ground and in a few 

 days pass through the pupal stage of development and emerge as 

 adult flies. 



Treatment. Preventive treatment consists in the application of 

 fly repelling preparations to all wounds. Oil of tar and fish oil are 

 recommended. When infestation with maggots is present the wool 

 around the wound must be clipped away and the wound carefully 

 cleansed. Chloroform, benzine or gasoline applied into the wound 



