The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Remy on October 11, 2012, 12:13:04 pm
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I brought all my sheep in on Tuesday to worm then and check their feet - I found that the vast majority of them had a degree of footrot, no doubt due to the wet weather we've had most of the summer and my fields not really getting a chance to dry out properly so the infection has spread. I know that some people cull their sheep with footrot but in my case it's not going to happen! Has anyone tried Footvax, is it worth it?
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Personally, I'm trying to do a strict regime of footbathing/treating and then moving to clean pasture regularly. I have read the current research (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/research/greengroup/farmersandvets/footrotinsheep/ (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/research/greengroup/farmersandvets/footrotinsheep/)), but I don't really like the idea of having to jab everything with antibiotics all the time, I don't think that that is a sustainable solution in the long term.
I think vaccination should be a last resort if other regimes aren't working.
I think we are all suffering with bad feet this year :(. Will it ever stop raining? I am looking forward to the frozen ground of winter. :(
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I've had two full-blown cases of scald this year and no rot and my ground isn't any drier than anyone elses.
I don't routineley trim feet and I think this helps, I also cull for feet, after getting the sheep better. I have never had one that didn't get better after trimming and then spraying with alamycin (mostly use the purple spray and that works fine in most cases, alamycin in persistant ones).
However, I don't turn them over all the time to see if there is any developing - I catch and treat limpers. I reason that if they get rot/scald, and then get better with no adverse effects (ie limping) then so much the better.
If you brought your sheep in and they weren't limping etc, then I'd just leave them alone.
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Remy, are you sure it is footot? I think you will find a lot of sheep may have soft feet after the wet year we have had but it doesn't mean they actually have footrot. What symptoms are you seeing/smelling?
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I don't routinely trim feet either but do it to those whose feet obviously need it, or when they come in for other things such as worming/vaccinating/shearing etc.
There were a lot of cases of holes between the shell of the hoof and the hoof itself, some of the holes seems to be full of mud/droppings and others had black spongy stuff in the hoof which I tried to trim away to clean white hoof as best I could and sprayed with Teramycin spray. Only a few were limping, but since I've had sheep (7 years) I've often had sheep that limp a bit then get better - and on inspection of their hooves there's been no rot or scald. My ram was practically on 3 legs over winter but I couldn't find anything whatsoever wrong with his feet, so surmised the problem was elsewhere further up the leg. He then totally recovered! ???
But going back to my original post, there was a lot of this black spongy growth which I am not 100% sure is footrot but assume it is - although I did have one ewe who had terrible footrot without a doubt as when you squeezed her hoof black liquid came out. The black stuff I found wasn't as bad as that, but I still think it's footrot .. if I'm wrong I'll be very happy!
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If it is footrot the feet would have a very distinctive smell - also I believe it is 'supposed' to start from the heel.
Our sheep do get pockets where the mud collects and when we were on lower, wetter ground their feet were 'mushy'. They did not however have footrot. I'm hoping this is all your flock is suffering from.
:fc: it isn't footrot but just a consequence of wet ground.
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Hmmm well none of them had heel problems, all this was at the toes. Dunno about the smell, I didn't get near enough, lol. I suppose it would be like horses' thrush smell would it? Can't mistake that! :P
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Mine have had scald... no sooner have I got one back up and running, another one starts limping. I have resigned myself to the need to get the foot baths out next week and run the lot through. The hooves are so soft I can peel the excess away using just my fingertips!!!!!!!! 1% formalin I think!
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Sounds more like the black tissue is just granulation tissue which forms when the wall separates and allows dirt in. If no smell etc as others mention I wouldn't worry about this. Just clear mud out and spray.
I have had a couple of serious limpers who could barely walk. There was heat on the side of the foot and when I dug out the dirt and trimmed back, released some lovely smelly pus. Once cleaned, sprayed, poulticed and antibiotics both were right as rain in a week.
Just the miserable weather unfortunately. Footbaths I think are an excellent idea to try and dry up the feet. I don't cull for feet although would consider it if a persistent problem. Got a Suffolk who is always limping. Drives me mad as she is too big and scatty for me to hold onto.
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"Lameness in Sheep" by Agnes WInter is a very good book on foot troubles
White line degeneration and abcesses formed can be a bit smelly also. So smell does not equal foot rot.
I have never had foot rot on my holding. As the flock is closed, it is not possible for them to get footrot. Hoorah!