[Womble]

One of our ewes was holding her foot up yesterday, so I gave it a quick clean and a squirt with blue spray. However, I was still really suffering from a cold, so failed to properly recognize what was going on. She's was still limping today, so I caught her again to take a better look:



I think this may be 'shelly hoof', but I'm not sure. Basically the outer hoof has become detached from the inner / pad, forming a pocket that's filled with dirt.

Actually, it was only when I dug out most of the dirt that I realised how deep the 'pocket' was, so no wonder she was in pain (note the cute pleading look  ):



Her other front hoof isn't much better I'm afraid



So what do I need to do to return her to full health?  It looks as though I have the choice of either cutting back the vertical portion of the hoof to where it's still properly attached, OR cleaning out the hole really well and filling it with something to stop the mud from getting in until everything grows back properly. TBH, if it was my foot, I'd fill it with Sticks Like Sh*t, since that's what we use to repair everything else round here, but I'm not sure it's licensed for veterinary use!? 

What do you think folks? 

[Me]

I would trim it back until attached

[Womble]

Thanks! So will it grow back attached from there then?

[Sbom]

Same here, it'll soon grow back.  I've noticed my zwartbles have dreadful feet compared to my other sheep, must be a dairy thing......

[moony]

I'd trim it back as well.

[Anke]

If you can add some seaweed to their concentrate, or offer as a lick that may help. I have it in some of my sheep, but I normally just clean out and trim just a little bit.

[Deere]

Spray Engemycin, inject alamycin (if limping) but don't trim.

The hoof will protect the foot whilst it grows back properly. Keep an eye on it and clean it out and respray if necessary. If its possible hard dry ground will speed up recovery, a luxury at this time of year!

[ScotsGirl]

I agree with all said and just wanted to add great photos. After shots would be good for beginners to see what it should look like after trimming.

[Katrina]

Also Womble can I ask how you did such a good job cleaning it out? I have a sheep with a similar problem, but struggled to get the mud etc out.

[Womble]

Thanks All,  I nearly trimmed it this afternoon, but wanted a second opinion before getting carried away with the footshears! Is this Shelly Hoof then, or something else?  I couldn't find any decent photos of it online.

Spray Engemycin, inject alamycin (if limping) but don't trim.

That's good advice for footrot, but unless I'm wrong, this lameness is a physical ailment due to getting dirt and stones impacted under the outer hoof, rather than a bacterial infection. I've noticed no inflammation, heat or smell, so I'm not sure what antibiotics would achieve here? 

Katrina - I just scrubbed it with a hoofbrush and water (Asda sell them for a quid each, but they call them tile and grout brushes for some reason  ), then used one blade of the footshears to dig out the mud. The cavity on this hoof was so open that it was very easy to clean out. The other foot wasn't nearly so straightforward.

I'll have a go at trimming tomorrow, and will try for some before and after photos as suggested. Bear in mind that I'm a beginner with sheep myself though, so the results may not be perfect!

If you can add some seaweed to their concentrate, or offer as a lick that may help.

Do you know which particular minerals the seaweed is providing Anke?  I've been thinking of getting some mineral only licks, as the only ones I've got at the moment are the molassessed high energy buckets, so I wasn't planning on putting them out until about 6 weeks before lambing (is that correct?).

[SallyintNorth]

The "don't trim" advice is because it's just so easy to cause more damage, and they've found that on balance, no trimming is better than over-trimming.  And it's always a bad idea to draw blood (unless you have decades of experience and really know what you're dealing with and when the pressure really does need to be relieved.)

If she were mine, I would trim off some of that flappy hoof at the sides to reduce the likelihood of her getting dirt and stones trapped in there again.  I don't ever cut across the front, at all, ever (I leave that to the one who has decades of experience and really knows what he's dealing with etc etc)

Sometimes cavities like this arise because the sheep has had a foot infection and recovered from it, but it lifted the hoof and now with the dirt inside it can't grow back flush.  On our farm, a ewe is allowed to get an infection and recover from it, and we don't mind helping her.  Once.  If she comes again, she's out.  She'll be spreading germs to the others, and she'll be passing on her bad feet genes to her offspring. 

I hate to say this, but that foot in the pic has had a lot of trimming on more than one occasion.  Let's hope that was overzealous maintenance by her previous owner, and not an indication that she's a persistent limper..

[Backinwellies]

Looks like Shelley hoof to me ..... from a vet talk I went to there is little known about it, except it is probably genetic and may have nutritional connection.

a quote ....Foot trimming recommended for shelly hoof

“Shelly hoof is a tricky lesion and is the only lesion that, as a vet, I recommend trimming for.

“Many sheep display the all too familiar cavities up the side of the hoof, which often require trimming to open up the cavities and to prevent impaction with soil.

“As a general rule, if the sheep is not lame, leave the feet alone, and if you do need to trim due to shelly hoof, do not trim into tissue which bleeds.”

[Marches Farmer]

It's Shelly Hoof.  Hold the blades of your footshears flat on the middle of the clee and only trim what's proud of that (which will be very little on this hoof).  Try to keep her on fairly dry ground through the winter, which will allow the hoof wall to stay dry enough to comfortably bear weight.  The detached area will probably grow out over the drier months.  Doesn't look to me like there's anything else wrong with it.

[Womble]

Help - still a beginner! - What's a Clee? 





What I *think* you're saying MF is to hold the blades flat onto the bottom of the sole of the foot, and only trim what's projecting below that. That's obviously going to still leave quite a big 'pocket', albeit not in contact with the ground quite as much. Is that correct?

...allow the hoof wall to stay dry enough to comfortably bear weight.

Do you mean "this will allow the bit of the outer wall that's still attached to stay dry and hard enough to bear weight"?

I hate to say this, but that foot in the pic has had a lot of trimming on more than one occasion.  Let's hope that was overzealous maintenance by her previous owner, and not an indication that she's a persistent limper..

Oh I do hope you're wrong Sally  , but I know that's a pretty rare occurrance! (What makes you say that, from the photos BTW?) Bonnie is a lamb I bought in September, so she hasn't been around for long enough to have been trimmed that often! I didn't do anything with her feet when I bought her, as they'd clearly just been done (though I didn't think overdone). There was a slight pocket in evidence IIRC, but it has got far worse over the past few months I'm afraid. She's not been tupped though, so that's one thing less to worry about.

TBH, the Manxs feet were in far worse condition when I got them. The only difference is that theirs seem to be improving with time, whereas the Zwartbles seem to be going the other way  .

I've noticed my zwartbles have dreadful feet compared to my other sheep, must be a dairy thing......

Perhaps as Z-people we should start concentrating more on good feet and teeth, and less on nice blazes and socks then! Whoops, did I really just say that out loud? 

[Rosemary]

Perhaps as Z-people we should start concentrating more on good feet and teeth, and less on nice blazes and socks then! Whoops, did I really just say that out loud? 

Indeed