[Mrushing]

Was fine the morning of 11/3. By the evening, we noticed he was limping and laying down a lot. We were outside all day, so I’m pretty sure this was a quick thing. The hoof is completely cracked vertically, like a huge chunk is going to come off. It wasn’t bleeding at first, but I think our cattle spooked him and he ran, and it started to bleed today. Vet said to soak his foot in epson salt (yeah, that went really well) and wait for a call back tomorrow to talk about an antibiotic. They think it was an abscess. Can’t find a lot of info online, but I wonder if it’s something else. We also squirted something on it, said it was a fungicide/bactericide. Any advice? I’m desperate. Don’t want him to be down much longer.

 

[BadOregon]

Best you can do is try to keep it clean. Being a hoof, it is nearly impossible to bandage and keep it on. It obviously is bothering him, or he wouldn't be
lying down. Do you have an area you can keep him contained so you can keep an eye on it?

If he were mine, I might attempt to cover it with gauze and vetwrap, but a lot depends on how tame he is and whether you can keep it on.
Vet said wait till tomorrow? Tomorrow is Sat., are they really going to call you back?

Is there heat in his foot/leg? Any swelling? It looks to me like he caught it on something. I am not a huge fan of using antibiotics unless absolutely
necessary. However, I might suggest a tetanus shot/booster. Being a foot, that would be my biggest worry.

 

[Mrushing]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! His leg doesn’t seem any warmer than the others. But yes, the vet here is open on Saturday for a 1/2 day. I don’t think he will let us wrap it… it wasn’t even bleeding before we tried to catch him and I think that irritated it when he was fighting on the way down. But, we may try to wrap it tomorrow depending on how he looks. We will definitely check into the tetanus shot.

 

[Wolf mom]

If you can't soak it in a bucket, will he let you dribble Epsom salts over the wound while he's laying down? I'd try to get a large sock on it and a plastic bag on top of that then wrap the top of the sock and bag with vet wrap. Keep changing it a few times a day. ( At least 4-5 if you can for the first few days) If he seems to be keeping it clean, stop using the plastic bag. While you are changing it, keep dribbling Epsom salts or at least clean lukewarm water over it to keep it clean. Let it heal from the inside out. Do not put anything on/in the wound. Oh, and keep him contained. This will help over the weekend unless you have a farm vet on call.

 

[Mrushing]

We were able to keep his foot soaking for about 6 minutes before he kicked the bucket. Im sure we can try harder to keep that from happening. Thanks for the advice, I think we will try the sock and wrapping if we can get him calm enough. Does this issue seem like it will heal okay? We are only a year into having sheep, so this is our first hoof issue. Do they look substantially overgrown for this to have happened?

 

[Hiro]

Do you have vet wrap? If so, put epsom salt in the wrap, wrap his hoof and keep him in a stall.

The hoof doesn't look overgrown to me from what I can see.

 

[Adirondackian]

I think it will definitely heal if you keep him contained, keep his bedding clean, and give him time. Thats quite a wound so be patient. Dont worry about him laying down, he knows exactly what to do.

 

[Pony]

I think it will definitely heal if you keep him contained, keep his bedding clean, and give him time. Thats quite a wound so be patient. Dont worry about him laying down, he knows exactly what to do.

THIS.

You've received good advice on how to handle your boy's hoof.

Hope you'll stick around and share his progress with us.

 

[Mrushing]

Definitely will give an update! The vet called back and recommended 6ml of Noromycin 300 LA, which we’ve got on hand. Not sure if I should follow through with that, or wait and see. I don’t think it’s infected, and told them it wasn’t hot to the touch or oozing anything but blood.

How contained should I keep him? We’ve got a 10x10 barn stall we can shut the door on. But right now he has access to a small portion of the field, maybe a 30x40 area.

 

[BadOregon]

Barn stall would be my suggestion.

 

[Mrushing]

UPDATE: The piece of cracked hoof fell off a little over a week ago I believe. He immediately started walking better. We were soaking his foot in epson salts and that seemed to keep too much debris from comparing in the crack. We have been monitoring him for infection since we didn’t end up giving him the antibiotics, but I think we are on the path of healing. 😁 thanks all for the help.

 

[Pony]

UPDATE: The piece of cracked hoof fell off a little over a week ago I believe. He immediately started walking better. We were soaking his foot in epson salts and that seemed to keep too much debris from comparing in the crack. We have been monitoring him for infection since we didn’t end up giving him the antibiotics, but I think we are on the path of healing. 😁 thanks all for the help.

Thank you SOOOO much for the update!

Glad your boy is doing better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[haypoint]

Just my random thoughts. You are very lucky to have a Vet that gives recommendations over the phone. There's no money in phone conversations and most Vets won't diagnose based on the producer's version of the problem. Then, after you get the gift of free advice, you refuse to follow it. I'm glad the sheep is doing better. I wonder how you'd handle it if, after ignoring the advice, the foot got far worse. I'd like to listen in to the conversation, " Hello Doctor Jones, I ignored your free advice the other day and the sheep got worse. Can you give me more free advice, in case I want to follow your advice, this time?"

When I hear of a sheep with a bad limp, my mind goes to hoof rot. I think that because it is too common, frequently ignored, difficult to cure. The bacteria in rotting hoof can get into your pasture's soil and you'll be fighting it forever. Another reason to quarantine newly purchased livestock.

 

[Mrushing]

Point taken. To be fair though, we see our vet for a variety of animals. Sheep, she (and myself) has less experience with. That is why I sought out a forum with others who have actual experience with them. Also, doctors/vets/medical personnel are not only there to treat, but also to give advice and make suggestions. As I mentioned, the vet thought it may be an abscess. But considering there was no discharge, I made the suggestion that it was an injury. That’s why we decided to forgo and antibiotic and keep a close eye on him.