Foot rot

[Rob30]

Does anyone have some good ideas on how to deal with foot rot? We have been struggling for a year now. We thought we had it beet, but this week I found 4 ewes limping in our clean flock. So far we have done everything by the book. Including long acting antibiotics and foot baths. We stayed out of the clean paddock.
Next step is staunchening infected ewes so they can stay on clean floors and can be treated routinely. Much like dairy cattle.
We have thought of dispersing the whole herd and starting fresh in the spring. But cull ewe prices are so low we would loose our shirts, and would not get enough money to replace half the herd.

[beoircaile]

If it truly is foot rot, it has a distinctive smell. How do the hooves look? Are you trimming too close? How wet is your pasture/paddock? How much rain have you had?

Can you get Dr. Naylor's Hoof n Heel? It's a basic zinc solution and works really well on feet. We use it whenever we trim feet as a precaution. I've known people to use barn lime in an area the animals have to walk through to help.

[Dodgegal79]

The foot rot organism lives in the soil, and for a lot time. You will to treat these sheep and keep on top of all of them with regular foot baths and trims. Also give the ones affected a shot of penicillian. It would be a good idea to seperate the one affected but better yet to run the clean ones thorugh a foot bath into a clean pasture. Foot rot is nasty to treat and get rid of, some sheep are chronic. Good luck

[haypoint]

Because it stays in the soil, once you have it, it takes a lot of work to get rid of it. Keep the infected ones confined so they don't spread it to the pastures of the rest of your flock.

[Ross]

You can run the entire flock through a footbath daily if you set it up at the yard gate. Hoof trimming will help and you can switch antibiotics. I'll guess you were using LA PenG? Try a sulfa like Borgol or Trivetrin. You'll have to ask a vet for a LA method as i don't think there are LA versions.

[wendle]

Try Hoof Phast in your foot bath. It's supposed to work quickly and stay on the hoof for a few days. I would use double strength like the label says, and soak them for about half an hour. Make sure you trim back any bad parts of the hoof before bath. After the bath the sheep need to be on a dry clean place if possible that hasn't had any infected sheep for at least 2 weeks. I would also keep any limpers separated , for months , until they go through a few clean checks. I'm not sure how long they can have foot rot in their hooves without symptoms, but it is a long time. You will probably have some that keep getting hoof problems, those will be culls. You might also try vaccinatine them for foot rot at the same time you do the baths. Be diligent, and foot bath often.
Be sure your sheep aren't spending lots of time in damp areas, like eating where they have developed ruts that turn into puddles, winter time feed lots can be pretty bad this way. There's some good info on the internet on eradicating foot rot. Good luck.
http://www.midstateswoolgrowers.com/HoofCare.asp

[Somerhill]

The flock at the eastern Ohio research station had a terrible time with footrot a few years ago. They did what you did - trim, footbaths, antibiotics. The last step is to cull the repeat limpers. These are the ewes that get an infection walled off in the hoof, and they are the ones who keep re-infecting the rest.
So rather than cull everyone and start over, how about just culling the ones who have not responded to the treatment? Since you have limpers again, it might be smart to cull the limpers, and put the rest of the flock through a footbath and another shot just in case. Are you using LA200 or some other long-acting drug?

Lisa

[Roboat]

It's important to make sure that the ewes are running through the foot bath every day! It need to be in a place where they can not avoid it! We use Kopper Kare solution! Its bright green so you know whos been treated and it works wonderfully! Make sure you are trimming the the rotted parts of the hoof away. This getting rid of the dead bits it can help clean up the hoof and make sure that the solution gets into the worst parts. Good luck!

[RandB]

We have a couple of sheep who get it whenever the ground gets too wet. I know we should cull them, but they are kind of pets, and were excellent mothers over the years. Anyway, we just got done treating them for a bout of it. The one thing that has worked best for us is injections of LA-200. It is usually available at feed stores, or you can order it. For an adult sheep we give 5 cc IM, then 3 days later another 5 cc. In conjunction with the shots we trim up the feet well and treat with Dr. Naylors or similar foot treatment. This time the 2 of them were very bad, they didn't even want to stand or walk much. DH penned them up, and did the above, and gave them a 3rd injection after another 3 days, just to be sure. This morning he trimmed the feet one more time, then released them. They were running around, and one was even butting all the other ewes. They feel great now.

[Rob30]

I have tried most of the suggestions made. We have used zink soaks, kopper kar, proper hoof trimming, LA200, LA pen, seperating limpers. We currently are running 2 herds. One infected one not. But the clean herd just sprung a bunch of limpers. They were put on clean pasture after the soak and LA200.
We found the LA200 works best plus trimming and kopper kare. Not impressed by the zinc soak. Maybe it helped, but with out swabing and microscopic analisis, who knows.
This year is one of the wettest on record here, which isn't helping. Not sure, but I think this may be better treated in winter when the ewes are confined. That way we can watch and treat ewes better.

[RandB]

Good luck Rob30, sounds like you are doing everything you can. The wet weather is probably the biggest cause. Lame sheep can drive you crazy, eh?