[dizzykizzy]

Hello, I just found you by searching for forums!
Hope it is ok for me to post a question..
We have 10 sheep, some pure Ryeland, 2 Jacob cross Ryeland, 1 little Kerry Hill and the rest are Jacobs.
One of the Ryeland cross Jacobs became very lame suddenly(she is nearly 3). We caught her and her foot looked bloody round where it joins her leg. Bathed in hibiscrub and sprayed with Teramycin(sp) but got the vet next day as she wasn't looking any better. he gave her antibiotic and painkiller injections and left us another antibiotic which we used 3 days later. Now another 4 days on she is much brighter, coming in for her feeds with the others but still not weight bearing on it and yesterday she was covered in snow at teatime when the others weren't so I think hadn't moved much.
I called the vet again and they have left a different antibiotic out for me but is this normal? Does it take a while or should she be much better by now?
Thanks for reading/any help appreciated!

[Calvadnack]

Hi DizzyKizzy

I've had differing results and lengths of recovery depending on the sheep.  I've found that if she doesn't recover quickly (2-3 days) bringing the sheep in where you can keep the feet clean and dry does help.  Another good spray with the teramycin, allowing it to dry thoroughly might also be worth it.  I'm assuming that the vet gave the feet a close trim so that there are no gaps to trap mud.

[woollyval]

I rescued a ewe a few years ago in terrible condition, almost dead, with such bad feet she could not walk. One foot in particular was very bad as an abcess had formed which burst above the hoof just where you describe and also between the claws of the hoof. What I did was jab with a 5 day course of antibiotics, bathe foot every day in hot salt water and dry thouroughly then pack hoof with lint or dry animalintex(which draws out pus) and bandage well with the vetwrap bandage that sticks to itself......and then used a bit of gaffer tape to stop it coming undone.
After about 10 days of this she was putting weight on the foot slightly and after a month walking well on it but limping.....3 months later I sold her in the breeding ewes at market and got a very good price for a very nice Bleu de Maine ewe!

[dizzykizzy]

Thank you both for your help. We have jabbed her with the different antibiotic though she did look a lot better this afternoon. I will see how it looks tomorrow and consider bringing her in but I think it might distress her more.

[shetlandpaul]

if she is still limping being her in for a week or so and let her rest it. it makes medicating the sheep easier and you can treat the foot in cleaner dryer conditions. plus you take an infection risk out of the herd. have you treated the other sheeps feet just to be on the safe side.

[dizzykizzy]

Hi Paul, the vet advised me not to bring her in just yet and also said that I didn't need to treat the others unless they were showing signs. He said there is a vaccination but advised against that unless we end up with a bigger problem.
She is much better today, actually running on it though isn't what I would call sound in horsey terms!

[shetlandpaul]

thats great to hear, always best to avoid it if you can.

[Emma]

My ram has got exactly the same thing. We have injected him with painkillers and antibiotics and he is slowly progressing. . . I am using foot fot spray aswell and have been 4 about 10 days now, i use it twice a day on him and i clean out his feet before applying the foot rot spray. But my vet advised me to keep him in. Hope you're sheep gets better soon.

[shetlandpaul]

i think it depends how bad it is. mine had an abscess and could not weight bear.