Fot Rot in Sheep

metalwood

Hi lads, I bought a purebred vendeen ram at the premier show about 2 months ago, checked his feet as you do and all was well. i put him straight to work and after a week started to get lame and I have been unable to clear his foot rot up he is getting worse. I have paired his feet 3 times and sprayed him with antibiotic spray he slightly improves and then back to been crippled. His back feet have grown in a banana shape, front is ok, but he has foot rot, you can smell it.

I dont have a foot bath and will need to invest in 1.........are they sucessful?

People say, its a bad idea to give long acting antibiotics to a ram? why?

I am looking for your help here as they say a lame ewe is a dry ewe...................a lame ram is 30 dry ewes.........thanks

johngalway

Is it Alamycin spray you're using? You probably already know this but he'll have to be standing on a dry area for 30 minutes after treatment.

Don't use a footbath myself as the spray clears it up for me usually after a couple of treatments, but I'll check up on them in my vet book if it's any help.

metalwood

yes johngalway its Alamycin im using but maybe the problem is that hes not standing on concrete after it, maybe ill take him to the yard for a bit thanks:)

johngalway

The Sheepkeepers Veterinary handbook says (basically)...

Foot rot is a flock problem, so all sheep need to be examined.

Stand infected animals in footbath made up of 10% zinc sulphate for five minutes, then stand on a dry yard for an hour or so. Then release onto a clean field (hmm wondering how many can do that).

Re-examine and repeat treatment one week and two weeks later.


It also has a bit on the spray treatments like the Alamycin you're using, that it's fine to use that if only a few sheep are affected and to repeat the treatment every two days until cured.

---

David C. Henderson (who done a great DVD on lambing), has a slightly different take on using zinc sulphate in The Veterinary Book for Sheep Keepers. He reckons you need to stand them in the solution for at least 30-60 minutes (I'd prefer that myself than 5 minutes which isn't a long time). He also mentions that the pasture they're to be released onto should be dry.... Methinks that standing them on the yard for an hour is what he was really getting at.

metalwood

i think you are right, ill have to invest and do all the sheep, thanks for the info

snowman707

remember it is best to move to cleaN pasture after treating as the foot rot bacteria can live in the soil for up 3-4 weeks & re infect again.

looks like the ram was force fed before sale this can lead to lameness problems later

we always try to source lamb rams at the end of the breeding season & hold these over for the next year, this ensures that the rams are fit (not fat) when needed for work

tedandbetty

as a breeder of pedigree sheep i am always watching rams for footrot.

first it is not easy cure!

in theory it should be possibel to eradicate it but i have never managed to do this as it a flock problem, and it can surive in the land or bedding for some weeks.

as someone already pointed out the spray needs time to dry to work properly.

what ever you do do not give him an injection as this can affect their fertility for 6 weeks or so afterwards.

if he has it in the back feed it will affect his performance.
it will also depend on how many ewes he has to service each week.

over pairing him will take him longer to recover so be careful.

the quickest way of getting him back in action is take him indoors for 2 to 4 days on a dry bed of straw this will give him a rest and his feet a chance to repair.
i know you may miss a few ewes during this few days but he be no good at all to you if he gets worse.

did you buy him at a sale? just before you send him out to work?

as already pointed out a lot a breeders fill them up with meal to look good at the sales. and the shock of going out to work along with a change in diet can affect them big time.

more and more farmers are comming wise to this and as a result i had a lot of farmers buy ram lambs for use next year which was great as i sold out of rams very quick this year.

tedandbetty

as a breeder of pedigree sheep i am always watching rams for footrot.

first it is not easy cure!

in theory it should be possibel to eradicate it but i have never managed to do this as it a flock problem, and it can surive in the land or bedding for some weeks.

as someone already pointed out the spray needs time to dry to work properly.

what ever you do do not give him an injection as this can affect their fertility for 6 weeks or so afterwards.

if he has it in the back feed it will affect his performance.
it will also depend on how many ewes he has to service each week.

over pairing him will take him longer to recover so be careful.

the quickest way of getting him back in action is take him indoors for 2 to 4 days on a dry bed of straw this will give him a rest and his feet a chance to repair.
i know you may miss a few ewes during this few days but he be no good at all to you if he gets worse.

did you buy him at a sale? just before you send him out to work?

as already pointed out a lot a breeders fill them up with meal to look good at the sales. and the shock of going out to work along with a change in diet can affect them big time.

more and more farmers are comming wise to this and as a result i had a lot of farmers buy ram lambs for use next year which was great as i sold out of rams very quick this year.

johngalway

I agree with the injections, not a good idea this time of year.

Also with the overly done show sheep. They look good in the ring but sure they're soft as you know what when they're put out to do the business. We bought a 1st prize ram in Westport one year, talk about problem after problem! He needed time to get used to a working farm, disaster the first year but sound the next.