Sheep Lame

Silver 1234

What is the best cure for footrot in sheep. Thanks

razor8

Cull them!

Username John

Cant argue with Razor8 to be honest...
But its easier said than done at times, when you're trying to build up numbers or similiar.

I use formalin in a footbath, use bluestone as well, for once off treatments...

Thread which may be of interest - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76107610

Vandy West

If you search foot rot on this site there were some useful threads in the past.

Popular opinion seems to be to run all the sheep through a footbath as foot rot is contagious so others could have it without showing signs.

Bought a ram last year who had footrot and a friend advised this treatment if your only have one sick or don't have a footbath.

-clean out any dirt between the toes or between the hoof edge and the toe with a stiff hand brush.
-trim back any loose or rotten hoof with hoof trimming shears (hoof should be flat at bottom)
-spray with some footrot spray (purple stuff in blue/white can is easiest to get, but if you go to a vet they have better sprays)
-take a pinch of blue stone (not sure of the real name but you can get in the co-op), rub it into between the hoof edge and the toes and hold the toes together for 30 seconds.
-probably best to do all the hoofs while you have the chance.
-leave them on concrete for an hour or so to allow the spray to dry.
-Repeat as often as you can until they stop limping.

New to sheep myself, so look at those other threads to be sure.

reilig

The old way was to mix the bluestone with a bit of butter and pack it into the hoof after you trimmed it. The butter did 3 things. It helped to keep the bluestone in place for several days. It prevented scalding. It helped to cure any rawness caused by the footrot or by the bluestone.

Vandy West

Thought this might be interesting to any sheepheads (and somewhat related to the op)

Had a ewe lamb hopping on three legs (one front leg up) for the last month, tried treating for foot rot, injections and antibiotic injection - nothing worked but still seemed to be doing ok otherwise, gaining weight, eating, moving around ok (on 3 legs). There was no smell of foot rot or other signs that i could see.

Went to the Vet and he gave me an new one-jab all-singing all-dancing antibiotic, which is supposed to be great (only down side is can be fatal to humans if you jab yourself) anyway gave the ewe lamb the shot yesterday (i survived) and will see how it goes.

But before i gave the shot i came across this article about false foot rot, which describes how sometimes instead of foot rot, the sheep actually has a problem with the scent gland between their toes (which was news to me) and this scent gland becomes full with puss, etc. Before i gave her the injection i checked and the affected hoof and another one both had a scent gland filled with pus.

http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/27/27-5/Laurie_Ball-Gisch.html

Just wondered if anyone else heard of this, and also if the ewe does get better what was more likely the problem, foot rot or the scent gland????

signed confused.com

rancher

Vandy West wrote: »

Thought this might be interesting to any sheepheads (and somewhat related to the op)

Had a ewe lamb hopping on three legs (one front leg up) for the last month, tried treating for foot rot, injections and antibiotic injection - nothing worked but still seemed to be doing ok otherwise, gaining weight, eating, moving around ok (on 3 legs). There was no smell of foot rot or other signs that i could see.

Went to the Vet and he gave me an new one-jab all-singing all-dancing antibiotic, which is supposed to be great (only down side is can be fatal to humans if you jab yourself) anyway gave the ewe lamb the shot yesterday (i survived) and will see how it goes.

But before i gave the shot i came across this article about false foot rot, which describes how sometimes instead of foot rot, the sheep actually has a problem with the scent gland between their toes (which was news to me) and this scent gland becomes full with puss, etc. Before i gave her the injection i checked and the affected hoof and another one both had a scent gland filled with pus.

http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/27/27-5/Laurie_Ball-Gisch.html

Just wondered if anyone else heard of this, and also if the ewe does get better what was more likely the problem, foot rot or the scent gland????

signed confused.com

I footbath the sheep 5 to 6 six time per year and only have to individually treat 2 or 3 percent of the flock, some would be limping with a blocked gland, a lot of people say they have foot rot when it's most likely scald... routine fotbathing saves a lot of hassle

kboc

rancher wrote: »

I footbath the sheep 5 to 6 six time per year and only have to individually treat 2 or 3 percent of the flock, some would be limping with a blocked gland, a lot of people say they have foot rot when it's most likely scald... routine fotbathing saves a lot of hassle

do they run through the bath or do they have to stay in the liquid for a period of time?

Thanks

rancher

kboc wrote: »

do they run through the bath or do they have to stay in the liquid for a period of time?

Thanks

I use zinc sulphate and leave them standing in it for 5 mins and then 30 mins on dry concrete, as far as I know you're not suppose to leave them standing in formalin....I hate that stuff,dangerous when it splashes up into your face,

razor8

I footpath when they go into shed and that’s it for the year. i leave them standing in formalin for 5 mins and then out on concrete for another 5mins. use lots of straw once their in and their feet will be grand

I cull hard every year and its really paid off, if a ewe has a sore foot and I have to trim foot and she reoffends then she’s on the trailer for the mart for someone else to look after

flatout11

if its small numbers or a bad outbreak treat them with an antibiotic injection - can be costly though, ideally for a walk through footbath there should be 2 the first water filled to clean the feet the second with either formilin (needs to be replaced after a day or so) zinc or blustone, TBH i dont think there is major differances in how effective of any of these , personally i wouldnt leave sheep standing in formalin its a contact based substance, so leaving them in it wont increase its actions