Author Topic: The Sheep best buy...? (Read 5349 times)

Tim W · « **Reply #15 on:** November 01, 2013, 07:08:32 pm »

Quote from: Padge on November 01, 2013, 07:33:18 am

Quote from: Tim W on October 31, 2013, 07:44:03 am
Working dog-----what he does in 5 minutes would take everybody on this forum all day to achieve

That's as maybe but the majority of those on here only keep a few as a hobby and not the full blown enterprise you operate

5 sheep or 500 a dog will do the work of 20 people in 50th of the time and usually with 100th of the cursing and swearing

Padge · « **Reply #16 on:** November 01, 2013, 08:05:05 pm »

We have a dog Tim......she's far cleverer around the sheep than he is.......she's done a grand job of training him.......tho we've not quite got to the not swearing or shouting at the family stage

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2013, 08:32:25 pm »

Best buy ever was Footvax. One dose sorted the flock since 2007. Saved the cost of the vaccine in purple spray in the first year. Got rid of scald too. Happier sheep. Happier me.

Hillview Farm · « **Reply #18 on:** November 02, 2013, 09:34:04 am »

Quote from: Marches Farmer on November 01, 2013, 08:32:25 pm

Best buy ever was Footvax. One dose sorted the flock since 2007. Saved the cost of the vaccine in purple spray in the first year. Got rid of scald too. Happier sheep. Happier me.

I have had a little scald, How does footvax work? Is it a single dose yearly?

Dougal · « **Reply #19 on:** November 02, 2013, 06:29:43 pm »

The dogs first, second would be a texel ram I bought for the improvement he made to my stock the third would be the 12volt shearing machine... very very handy!

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #20 on:** November 02, 2013, 06:55:25 pm »

I have had a little scald, How does footvax work? Is it a single dose yearly?
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Scald starts with infection by Fusobacterium necrophorum. When this initial damage is invaded by dichelobacter nodosus full blown footrot is the result. We trimmed the feet, dipping the footshears in iodine between each foot, then vaccinated and moved the sheep onto fresh pasture. 16 days later we checked the feet again and moved them onto fresh pasture again. Job done! We do run a closed flock and treat and quarantine incoming rams and so have never needed to repeat vaccinating. Only thing I'd do differently is to vaccinate after the flies have died off, as the oil adjuvant caused irritation to the young ewes and they rubbed the site raw and we had to gather them and spray the wound every couple of days for a fortnight.