Length of formalin foot bath

Siamsa Sessions

Hi all,

Between lambings, I'm trying to set up a foot bath for the sheep in an old cattle crush. Not an ideal scenario but budget dictates!

The plan is to use formalin, which the sheep can just walk through rather than having to stand in it.

Can anyone advise as to how long the bath should be?

Does it need to be a few metres, for example, so the sheep take a few steps in it? Or do they only need to have each hoof touch the solution once, so a shorter bath would do?

Thanks.

ganmo

it has to be long enough so they cant jump it.

buffalobilly

got a jfc plastic one here it is 8 foot long handy just
drop it in crush and put 2 pallets up one side of it
and run them through it

Siamsa Sessions

buffalobilly wrote: »

got a jfc plastic one here it is 8 foot long handy just
drop it in crush and put 2 pallets up one side of it
and run them through it

Thanks folks. I'll set it up for 8 feet - even the few "characters" won't be able to jump that!

IH784man

If you are making it out of concrete I'd make it at least 16ft,sheep need to stand in it for a couple of minutes and you'll get through more sheep using a 16ft.

buffalobilly

IH784man wrote: »

If you are making it out of concrete I'd make it at least 16ft,sheep need to stand in it for a couple of minutes and you'll get through more sheep using a 16ft.

when using formalin i just walk them through it would not want to let them stand in it burn the feet of them

tomwaterford

buffalobilly wrote: »

when using formalin i just walk them through it would not want to let them stand in it burn the feet of them

In remember reading that,it's advisable to let them stand on concrete afterwards as grass weakens the effectiveness of formalin


Dunno how valid this advise is anymore??

Siamsa Sessions

tomwaterford wrote: »

In remember reading that,it's advisable to let them stand on concrete afterwards as grass weakens the effectiveness of formalin


Dunno how valid this advise is anymore??

Thanks Tom. We'll be leaving them "dry off" in the yard before going back out to the field. I'm guessing walking straight out into grass is along the same lines as walking them thru muck after the footbath, in that both lessen the effect.

casscass4444

Was talking to a lad with a lot of ewes lately and he reckons most lads don't leave sheep in a footbath long enough.running them through a waste of time he reckons but I suppose if you have good few you would be there all day

Username John

casscass4444 wrote: »

Was talking to a lad with a lot of ewes lately and he reckons most lads don't leave sheep in a footbath long enough.running them through a waste of time he reckons but I suppose if you have good few you would be there all day

All depends on what you use... formalin you should only run em through, others like zinc sulphate need time to soak in...

farawaygrass

Many here use formalin? Or out of the 3 options what would ye consider best? I remember helping the old man foot bathe sheep when I was young, and he was trying formalin. After going through the foot bath he they were directed into a shed with a concrete floor. So we'd have to go in and bring them out and put them through again. Stop-they'd be coughing in the shed and it would nearly knock me going in for them. Madness looking back

ganmo

farawaygrass wrote: »

Many here use formalin? Or out of the 3 options what would ye consider best? I remember helping the old man foot bathe sheep when I was young, and he was trying formalin. After going through the foot bath he they were directed into a shed with a concrete floor. So we'd have to go in and bring them out and put them through again. Stop-they'd be coughing in the shed and it would nearly knock me going in for them. Madness looking back

Only ever used formalin here, didn't have the patience for copper or zinc. Only use it outside its killer on the eyes and lungs

Username John

ganmo wrote: »

Only ever used formalin here, didn't have the patience for copper or zinc. Only use it outside its killer on the eyes and lungs

Same as that - only use formalin outside.

Don't have the facilities for anything else. And even the facilities I have aren't great for the formalin.

davidk1394

Either walk them through it a few times or leave them stand in it for about 2 minutes. Leave them out into a clean dry area if possible for their hooves to dry before you leave them out onto grass. The footbath we have holds 30 so it's ideal when we're injecting or dosing ewes or lambs

farawaygrass

davidk1394 wrote: »

Either walk them through it a few times or leave them stand in it for about 2 minutes. Leave them out into a clean dry area if possible for their hooves to dry before you leave them out onto grass. The footbath we have holds 30 so it's ideal when we're injecting or dosing ewes or lambs

We have a long foot bath too but with divides in it. It would cost a fortune to fill the whole bath with solution. With bluestone anyhow, it would neatly talk a full bag. I'd formalin cheaper?

Username John

farawaygrass wrote: »

We have a long foot bath too but with divides in it. It would cost a fortune to fill the whole bath with solution. With bluestone anyhow, it would neatly talk a full bag. I'd formalin cheaper?

Formalin is about 35euro for 25 litres, and the mix is 3%

*EDIT* : No, its not 25 litres, its a smaller drum, prob 15 litres? I'll have to check the size when I go home...

Once oyu know the size of your bath, you can work it out...

Its bad stuff tho, you'd want to be outside when using it, and wear gloves and the lieks when pouring it, as a spill could do a lot of damage...

davidk1394

Blue stone would rot the gates fairly quickly. 25 litres of formalin goes into our footbath anyway

ganmo

Username John wrote: »

Formalin is about 35euro for 25 litres, and the mix is 3%

*EDIT* : No, its not 25 litres, its a smaller drum, prob 15 litres? I'll have to check the size when I go home...

Once oyu know the size of your bath, you can work it out...

Its bad stuff tho, you'd want to be outside when using it, and wear gloves and the lieks when pouring it, as a spill could do a lot of damage...

I'd suggest a face mask or goggles too

Siamsa Sessions

Username John wrote: »

Formalin... the mix is 3%.

I read 10% someplace for the mix and then 2% someplace else.

Since tis such dangerous stuff I was going to go with the 2-3% mix. I'm assuming that'd be strong enough, would it?

nagshead

2-3% is loads but it does stop working quickly if the bath gets very dirty ideally run them through a water bath first .

Western Pomise

With this dry weather leaving sheeps feet quite clean would it leave less need to have sheep walk through a ‘a cleaning off’ mix first?

Have a few dry hoggetts quite lame....should I separate them out from rest of hoggetts and just run them through the formalin mix or run them all through?If I find these few lame ones have bad oozy foot infections from long grass would it be too sore on them to run them through the formalin footbath or would it help cure them even though sore for them in short term.
They are only lame around a week.Tomorrow will be first chance to get them in.

Thanks for any replies today.

stantheman1979

It’s too much effort separating them in this weather just walk them all through.
It might be overkill but we’ve 3 of the 8ft plastic baths. 1st with just water other 2 with formalin mixed about 5%. I find when it’s long they know they’re going to have to get they’re feet wet and take they’re time going through

Dinzee Conlee

Western Pomise wrote: »

With this dry weather leaving sheeps feet quite clean would it leave less need to have sheep walk through a ‘a cleaning off’ mix first?

Have a few dry hoggetts quite lame....should I separate them out from rest of hoggetts and just run them through the formalin mix or run them all through?If I find these few lame ones have bad oozy foot infections from long grass would it be too sore on them to run them through the formalin footbath or would it help cure them even though sore for them in short term.
They are only lame around a week.Tomorrow will be first chance to get them in.

Thanks for any replies today.

Depends on numbers IMO...

If you’re talking less than 10, pull em out and treat em... you’ll do a better job yourself and see exactly what’s going on...

If it’s a good few, and you would have a bit of a job pulling em out - then footbath em all...

I did the same 2 weeks ago, for a few that were lame and they came on much better after being treated individually (with bluestone) pared some, etc...

Western Pomise

Thanks for both replies,have one of the JFC plastic walk through troughs and can borrow another....a neighbour puts in a 10% formalin mix but that sounds strong compared to what ye are recommending.
If ye had a choice of formalin or zinc or bluestone mix which would ye use?
Would ye also inject the few lame ones as well as running them through the solution?

Have about 5 lame ones but they are in different bunches....with say 20 hoggetts in each bunch so will run them all through the mix....but catch lamer ones and put them through first.
Would the formalin corrode steel in cattle crush?...with sheep gates along the side.

charolais0153

Western Pomise wrote: »

Thanks for both replies,have one of the JFC plastic walk through troughs and can borrow another....a neighbour puts in a 10% formalin mix but that sounds strong compared to what ye are recommending.
If ye had a choice of formalin or zinc or bluestone mix which would ye use?
Would ye also inject the few lame ones as well as running them through the solution?

Have about 5 lame ones but they are in different bunches....with say 20 hoggetts in each bunch so will run them all through the mix....but catch lamer ones and put them through first.
Would the formalin corrode steel in cattle crush?...with sheep gates along the side.

Formalin wont corrode steel. Bluestone would corrode the galvanise anyway....if i had the time id use bluestone ot zinc sulphate but formalin s handier

Siamsa Sessions

charolais0153 wrote: »

Western Pomise wrote: »

Thanks for both replies,have one of the JFC plastic walk through troughs and can borrow another....a neighbour puts in a 10% formalin mix but that sounds strong compared to what ye are recommending.
If ye had a choice of formalin or zinc or bluestone mix which would ye use?
Would ye also inject the few lame ones as well as running them through the solution?

Have about 5 lame ones but they are in different bunches....with say 20 hoggetts in each bunch so will run them all through the mix....but catch lamer ones and put them through first.
Would the formalin corrode steel in cattle crush?...with sheep gates along the side.

Formalin wont corrode steel. Bluestone would corrode the galvanise anyway....if i had the time id use bluestone ot zinc sulphate but formalin s handier

Formalin is a good bit cheaper too

Dinzee Conlee

Western Pomise wrote: »

Thanks for both replies,have one of the JFC plastic walk through troughs and can borrow another....a neighbour puts in a 10% formalin mix but that sounds strong compared to what ye are recommending.
If ye had a choice of formalin or zinc or bluestone mix which would ye use?
Would ye also inject the few lame ones as well as running them through the solution?

Have about 5 lame ones but they are in different bunches....with say 20 hoggetts in each bunch so will run them all through the mix....but catch lamer ones and put them through first.
Would the formalin corrode steel in cattle crush?...with sheep gates along the side.

My understanding is formalin is the only one you can run them through...
Zinc they have to stand in it for a while, and I think the same with bluestone - but as said above, bluestone is a killer on sheds / galvanise...

Formalin is bad stuff tho - I assume your crush is outside? If so, should be ok... wouldn’t be a fan of using it inside...

Western Pomise

Crush is outside...not an ideal setup as it’s a cattle crush....when dosing sheep I tie sheep gates along the side of the crush up on the step iykwim ....will put in sheep tomorrow and see what’s the craic with the lame ones.

buffalobilly

Western Pomise wrote: »

Crush is outside...not an ideal setup as it’s a cattle crush....when dosing sheep I tie sheep gates along the side of the crush up on the step iykwim ....will put in sheep tomorrow and see what’s the craic with the lame ones.

Use old cattle crush here 2 I just put 2 pallets in beside the foot bath works a treat here

joe35

Theres a glue mix you can get to put in the footbath if using zinc or bluestone. I seen it an agri show last year.

We'd use formaline ourselves but we rarely footbath. We treat lame ones individually and keep lime at gateways and sheep paths or around licks. The father swears by it for keeping the spread of it down. We'd notice an increase in numbers affected if you hadn't lime down

early_riser

how much water do lads use in a 8ft plastic footbath for sheep ? just enough to cover hooves i usually put in, was in a lads yard the other day and he had it filled up to the top

Siamsa Sessions

early_riser wrote: »

how much water do lads use in a 8ft plastic footbath for sheep ? just enough to cover hooves i usually put in, was in a lads yard the other day and he had it filled up to the top

Doing green cert at the moment and Teagasc recommend just over the top of the hoof

stantheman1979

I fill the 1st with water and I’d have the formalin baths 3/4 full anyway. It’s a pain refilling it half way through