[crobertson]

Just looking for some advice as one of our six shearlings (texel type) is suddenly limping. I can't think of any obvious reason, all of the others are fine but she does seem quite sore and kneeling to graze. They will run from one side of the field to the other if they see you coming and as they're shearlings they are a bit hefty so it could be a sprain / strain. We are also installing a water trough so there is a small dip in the ground where the new pipe is so it could have jolted the leg.
I can't decide on which course of action:
1) Leave it for a day or two to see if theres any improvement if its a sprain / strain (im conscious not to run her round to much to pen them)
2) Round them into a pen and check hooves / spray if required but this may make a sprain / strain worse.

Not had any hoof problems since we've had them last year.

Thanks in advance

[shep53]

Option 2  YOU NEED TO LOOK & FEEL , smell or heat ,could be just scald

[Old Shep]

Yep you need to get hold. tip over and check the feet.  Texels often have overgrown hooves which need trimming otherwise mud gets trapped and infection/ footrot starts.  You need good foot clippers and some terramycin spray.  If you haven't trimmed feet before do you have someone who can show you?  You will need to do it often.  The other foot problem is scald - soreness between the hoof cleats - terramycin spray for that too.

[crobertson]

Thankyou - We already have hoof trimmers and have experience of trimming hooves. I will pen them up in the morning. I imagine (as we have done previously) found good hooves, with no swelling and no obvious problems but what is the generic course of treatment e.g. if we find hoof problems - trim and spray ? - swelling - what would we do ? etc etc

Thanks for the help
Claire

[Womble]

Hi Claire, As Shep and er, Shep say, t's quite likely to be scald (basically a sheep version of Athlete's foot), in which case it will probably clear up quite quickly with a squirt of blue spray, eg cyclo. This video is quite good at showing what to look for.

Generally no trimming unless hooves are very overgrown, and even then the advice nowadays is to get the ewe walking normally again (e.g. by giving antibiotics in the case of footrot), before doing any trimming. NB, this may be different to what 'old school' farmer neighbours will tell you, which caused me a bit of confusion when we first had our sheep. HTH!

[Bionic]

With 6 sheep you can't exactly call m an expert but I have found that one or other of min limp from time to time.
I always do as the others have suggested. Look at feet to see if I can see/smell a problem. To date I  have never had a foot problem  . I have Ryelands and this isn't generally an issue with them.


After the feet I try the legs. Is there any warmth? Does there appear to be any tenderness? Are they eating ok?


If I come up negative after that then I just keep an eye on them for a few days. Usually they are running around with the others after that and you wouldn't notice the difference.

[crobertson]

Thank you for the replies I will have a look this morning. On this subject what are people's opinions regarding hoof trimming. Some older farmers believe in regular trimming - is this something we should be doing ? ? Others have said don't trim unless absolutely necessary. For the past year we've just checked the hooves occasionally but if the ewes are not lame and the hoof looks ok then we've left it (only trimming the odd bit to keep an even hoof shape).

Thanks

[Bionic]

The older farmers round here are regular trimmers. But for me, its the easy life. If they aren't overly long and there aren't any problems then I leave well alone.

[Fleecewife]

The recent best advice is as Womble says - don't trim routinely, treat any foot disease then tidy up afterwards if necessary.
This research however, was carried out on large flocks, where the sheep are brought in at regular intervals for other reasons, but have their feet checked at the same time, and trimmed 'to be on the safe side' until the next gather.  This caused a spread of disease from shears used without cleaning between animals, plus if the feet were trimmed so hard that they bled then infection could get in from the soil/dung.  You can see why the routine trimming was done, to be as efficient as possible, but it's believed now that this causes more problems than it cures or prevents.

I don't think anyone else agrees with me ( ) but I feel that the case is a little different with small flocks of relatively tame sheep.  Here, we can see our stock all the time, and will notice if any animal is limping, or favouring a foot, so we have a look at the feet, and if there is overgrowth then we trim it off - not going too close, but enough to prevent soil being trapped under the overgrowth.  Because we have only grass here, no rocks or hard standing, and because we live in a wet area, we find there is often a little of this overgrowth, and that it proceeds to rot only when there has been somewhere for soil to be trapped.   So we wouldn't look at a foot and say - no redness between the cleats, no rotten smell, therefore we won't trim off this raggedy bit of hoof.  We would trim it carefully.
You can't easily do that with 2000 sheep to get through in a day.  I'm sure though that a good shepherd will catch up and look at the feet of any limping animal even in a large flock - that's what dogs and quads are for.

So basically what I'm saying is - use your common sense to interpret the advice 

[Marches Farmer]

I agree.  We vaccinated against footrot in 207 and haven't seen footrot or scald in the flock since.  Before then I always used to put the footshears in a plastic container of diluted Jeyes fluid between sheep.  Some of my sheep have clees that need trimming regularly, others never do.  I no longer trim the "bulb" at the back of the clee as I consider this holds the hoof wall under tension.  If this is trimmed back too far it's easier for mud to lodge under the sides of the clee and cause shelly hoof. 

[SallyintNorth]

Following on from what Fleecewife says, if you're not sure, leave well alone.  If there's clearly an overgrown flap, and you feel confident to snip it off and want to do so, then do - not too close! - using a clean knife or shears.

I was told to never cut across the toe; if the toe needs trimming, make the cut following the line of the side of the hoof forwards, so you are always trimming alongside and never cutting across.   And do not trim the side walls flush to the sole; think of the sheep walking with her weight on the hoof, not the sole.  Thinking about it that way stops you cutting too close.

If the hoof material is soft, trim with great caution.  She's probably better with a flap coming across under the sole than with that cleared and the soft hoof wall then getting pushed away from the structure of the foot, making a gap for nasties to get in.  So if it's a big soft flap, I would probably not trim the whole thing off; I might leave 1/2" wrapping under the foot and just keep an eye on her.  And if they've got soft hooves, I'd be giving them a rock salt lick or a mineral drench, and/ or putting them on less soggy ground if I can.

[crobertson]

Well we got them in a pen and checked the hooves but they generally look ok. There was nothing trapped in between, no smell, no soreness - there was a small bit of hoof (shelly hoof) but no dirt trapped etc and in my opinion not enough to warrant how lame she is. However, her left 'knee' does seem very slightly swollen compared to the other and a bit tender when touched but no heat.
We gave the hoof a good wash / clean and have brought her and a buddy into an outbuilding so I can keep a closer eye on them......... Any suggestions ??

[shep53]

Wait and watch or speak to vet and get pain killer/ anti inflammatory  ?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

How wet has the ground been lately? I was thinking could be scald or an ulcer? It may be worth getting vet to have a look. Sorry I have just read your last post, it could be a ligament injury. How old is the animal and has she done anything out of the ordinairy like jumping for example? What I did with the buffalo when I had a calf with a sore swollen knee I treated him naturally, and it worked! I gave him natural anti inflamatories, it was garlic, infused in warm water and turmeric, plus I made up some comfrey oil and rubbed that onto his legs and put fresh comfey leaves in with some grass once daily which i fed him. plus I dosed him twice daily with 2-3 syringes full ofwarm water , turmeric and crushed garlic with a few drops of cider vinegar all whizzed together and it healed him. Fresh comfrey leaves in some grass once daily and the water, garlic and turmeric, with cider vinegar don't use too much. He healed in about a week and rather enjoyed me massaging the oil into his knee. If you don't want to go down the natural route I would suggest getting the vet in and giving AA's. It could be another underlying condition though, so a vet would be the best option in case its not just ligament damage. The swollen knee in my calf was just where he had twisted it when running, no bones broken at all just muscle damage, thankfully!

[Womble]

^ That's quite a potion WBF, and if it doesn't work, at least you'll have the tastiest leg of mutton ever!