[Fishyhaddock]

Having  really done my back in this time lifting rocks I have decided it may be time to bite the bullet and buy a turnover crate for doing the sheeps feet. If not I fear I may have to sell my ever increasing flock if I injure it again.


Just wondering what people's experiences are with these bits of kit and are they ok for sheep with horns as my flock is almost exclusively Wiltshire Horns.


Cheers folks.

[hexhammeasure]

if you can get the bu...ers to go in the crate! after the first time it took more work to push them in than it did to tip manually. It works well for mules but I stopped using it for the heavy suffolks as they kept getting a foot trapped when turning back down, with their weight you don't really have a controlled descent

[Hillview Farm]

I found them good but you still have to put your back into it when actually turning them over. I found it hard to bend over a sheep for long periods of time but the actually tipping isn't too bad so a crate would suit me

[Tim W]

My experience with wilts in a crate is that it's a nightmare---the horns especially

We routinely trimmed (200 wilts & 600 Lleyns) annually and then about 20 years ago I got sick of it and just stopped---the sheeps feet have improved since---I think more harm is done than good by routinely trimming feet

Best way to view feet is to just cull anything that needs trimming/treating

I now run 900 ewes and treat maybe 3 or 4 for footrot/long hooves every year

I cull any problem sheep on first offence and also foot score rams to select for proper structure

[ZaktheLad]

I find the whole cull if it needs feet trimming slightly bizarre - after all, would you say the same for all equines, who if they do not have routine trimming will grow hooves like carpet slippers?  Should they all therefore be culled as they can not manage without regular foot trimming? The idea is ridiculous.

I understand that horses in the wild do not have their feet trimmed, but domesticated horses and indeed the same is true of sheep, have been bred (and inbred) to suit our own lifestyles, kept in situations outside of where they might naturally have chosen, and therefore is it not a little OTT to cull a sheep because it's toenails have grown slightly and need a trim on the odd occasion? 

I agreed that anything with a persistent hoof issue should not be kept, but culling on first instance of an overgrown/long hoof that only needs a slight clip to rectify 

[Marches Farmer]

We have a W M Ironworks crate that works pretty well - you might need someone's help just to make sure the head was correctly lined up before turning them over.  I find the crate a real benefit as you can do almost everything - crutching, dagging, vaccinating, foot trimming, checking teeth and udder or testicles, tagging  - while you have them captive.  The only things I don't  use it for are drenching and pour on, which I do in the race.  We bought a Modulamb system a couple of years ago and wish we'd done it much sooner.

[Foobar]

I find the whole cull if it needs feet trimming slightly bizarre - after all, would you say the same for all equines, who if they do not have routine trimming will grow hooves like carpet slippers?  Should they all therefore be culled as they can not manage without regular foot trimming? The idea is ridiculous.

I understand that horses in the wild do not have their feet trimmed, but domesticated horses and indeed the same is true of sheep, have been bred (and inbred) to suit our own lifestyles, kept in situations outside of where they might naturally have chosen, and therefore is it not a little OTT to cull a sheep because it's toenails have grown slightly and need a trim on the odd occasion? 

I agreed that anything with a persistent hoof issue should not be kept, but culling on first instance of an overgrown/long hoof that only needs a slight clip to rectify 

Horses originate from areas that are sandy, hence in the wild they hooves wear down perfectly.  Sheep are designed to live ... well ... anywhere they please.  So I don't think the two are comparable.


I've thought about a turn over crate, but couldn't justify the cost as I don't need to turn them that often now (after culling persistent offenders! )  I liked the design of the new(ish) IAE rollover one though - it didn't seem as if you needed too much effort (or space) to work that one.

[Tim W]

I find the whole cull if it needs feet trimming slightly bizarre - after all, would you say the same for all equines, who if they do not have routine trimming will grow hooves like carpet slippers?  Should they all therefore be culled as they can not manage without regular foot trimming? The idea is ridiculous.

I understand that horses in the wild do not have their feet trimmed, but domesticated horses and indeed the same is true of sheep, have been bred (and inbred) to suit our own lifestyles, kept in situations outside of where they might naturally have chosen, and therefore is it not a little OTT to cull a sheep because it's toenails have grown slightly and need a trim on the odd occasion? 

I agreed that anything with a persistent hoof issue should not be kept, but culling on first instance of an overgrown/long hoof that only needs a slight clip to rectify 

Just depends on
1) how much work you want to do
2) how far down the selection route you have got

Some people say the same about lambing---if she needs help once that's ok, (in fact many people seem to be happy to lamb ewes every year)---me , I can't be catching ewes to help them lamb. I don't have the time or inclination ---the sheep have to work for me not the other way around

[onnyview]

We have a Ritchie clamp which you do not turn over, you simply put foot on pedal as the sheep runs through and the sheep stops in its tracks. You can trim feet, drench and apply click etc. works for all sizes of ewes, rams and smallish lambs. We have Radnors and the tups are horned, works just fine.


Hope this helps.


Allison

[SteveHants]

I understand that horses in the wild do not have their feet trimmed, but domesticated horses and indeed the same is true of sheep, have been bred (and inbred) to suit our own lifestyles, kept in situations outside of where they might naturally have chosen, and therefore is it not a little OTT to cull a sheep because it's toenails have grown slightly and need a trim on the odd occasion? 

Why would you clip its feet if it wasn't limping anyway. Choose function over form - the sheep don't care if their foot looks weird as long as it functions as a foot, not some arbitary notion of what a human thinks a sheeps foot should look like.