Sheep Farmers
A group specifically for sheep farmers or for those interested in sheep farming and on all matters sheep!
Organizer:
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Dealing with lame sheep
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Dealing with lame sheep
As well as costing an arm and a leg in treatment, sheep with lameness don’t thrive to their full potential and the loss in production can make quite a dent.
Identifying the cause of the problem is relatively easy, here is how you can spot lameness:
1) Sores between the digits at the back of the foot, no smell from the sore and sheep have become severely lame very quickly. This is most likely to be scald.
2) Hoof horn lifting, foul smell, rotting in hoof, usually starting around the outside of the hoof. This is most likely to be footrot.
3) Infection breaking out between the coronary band and the hoof (i.e. where the hoof meets the hair on the leg). Severe lameness and no smell. This is likely to be Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis (CODD). You should seek veterinary advice.
4) Injuries and infections in the joints are characterised by swelling, heat and tenderness in the affected area.
Keeping an eye on your flocks and watching out for lameness in key! The earlier you spot it, the easier it is to treat.
Running your sheep over an area with loose round stones every so often can help clean the feet, preventing sores between the digits.
Ideally, sheep should be foot bathed every time they are in for handling and/or drafting particularly in wetter months. This means that the sheep will be foot bathed once every other month. With this approach, lameness levels can be kept very low, provided that there is an effective footbath on the farm, just make sure the bath as the right solution concentration!
The key to managing lameness is early intervention. Flocks with good handling and foot bathing facilities generally have far fewer problems.
We came across this handy treatment recipe list – https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/sheep/lameness.pdf its Irish but still applicable here but if anyone else has any tips and tricks please share!
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