bcnewe2 Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I have one ewe (of course she is one of my favorite ewes) that is suffering from foot rot in 1 hoof. They picked it up from that last farm where we were renting. I've gotten it cleared up on everyone else and DH is scraping the paddock that they are currently living in so hopefully the leftover bacteria(s) is getting scraped off as he works, and he has allot of scraping left to do to get the drainage right. But this one ewe I can't seem to get a handle on. I went searching for a foot rot vaccine and all I could find is FUSOGARD which is a cattle vaccine. But I'm finding it on sheep sites. Do shepherds use the cattle vaccine on sheep? Or is there a different vaccine. I know I should probably cull her but I like her and she produces nice lambs. If I can get her cleaned up before lambing and keep her that way she gets to stay. The others haven't had it since coming here and being treated the first time. Do some sheep build up an immunity to it? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Sorry Thats hard. I don't know if I would call it an immunity. But resistance yes. I have exposed my flock to just about everything and whoever gets anything is culled. But This doesn't help your favorite ewe! One other thing I have noticed sheep the walk alot have healthier feet. Is it truly hoof rot or is it scald? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Unfortunately its foot rot. Smelly icky stuff it is. I feel I haven't given her a fair enough chance. They are stuck in a smallish padlock except the short daily grazing they do with the dogs till I get the fencing done. The previous farm was infected with it. I thought we might squeak through being winter while I was there. To much snow and wet helped set it in. I totally agree that roaming, walking sheep are rarely effected. This is the first time I've ever had to deal with true foot rot in my own flock. She'll probably have to go but were going to fight hard first. I have a small tightly managed flock. If we get her through it we might be ok. I've heard the vaccine can help a bit with getting it under control. But I've also heard everything under the sun as treatment. I'm using formalin as a treatment with lots of cleaning trimming and picking at it, but the hoof wall keeps making pockets where the mud gets in and sets her up for more fungus. Poor dear, the inside of her hoof is just about gone. I'm going to try stuffing cotton gauze soaked in cooper tox up in the hoof and wrapping it. But its been so wet I'm afraid to try it till I can keep her dry for a week or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Yeah, that is what everyone reccommends Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I used FootVax with some success a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthfieldNick Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 We use this for foot rot. 1 (25.69 gram) pkt Terramycin powder dissolved in 4 oz water. Add rubbing alcohol to 32 oz. We squirt that on the foot right after trimming and cleaning. Repeat every 7-10 days. An old dish soap bottle makes a handy squished. Have you thought about using a sheep hoof boot to keep her foot out of the mud? I'm not sure if covering the foot is a good idea, though. Wash and bleach your trimming equipment after each time you do her feet! Good luck. We have a goat that gets foot rot occasionally. He's an old pet wether... Otherwise, he'd be in the freezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 yeah I'm debating on the bootie now. Just seems like it'd hold the moisture in. So I'm going to try the wrapping method with coppertox soaked cotton pads. From what I understand coppertox is a drying agent so maybe it'd be ok in the boot. I could confine her but she'd bitch forever since she'd be alone. Don't really want to pen her up with others, seems like in such a confined area the other one would get it. She's way beyond antibiotics but I really didn't try them directly on her hoof. Formalin is about the strongest thing you can use. I was using it diluted with water, now I"m using it straight. It's a 30% solution but I know it stings, she lets me know...plus I've gotten it on myself a few times....it's a known carcinogen but what isn't these days. If we'd stop getting rain or it'd freeze for a while I think I could get a handle on it. But as it stands or she stands the mud gets up in her hoof and we start all over again. Yep washing the equipment is a must! Why does it have to be your favs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Neary Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Here http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AS/AS-596-footrot.pdf is a publication on footrot control in sheep. mn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 it's a known carcinogen but what isn't these days. If we'd stop getting rain or it'd freeze for a while I think I could get a handle on it. Plenty of things aren't carcinogens. I hope you'll at least be careful and wear impermeable gloves. Your life isn't worth that of a sheep, even if she is a favorite. That said, I had some favorites among my karakuls. All from the same breeder. All had constant foot problems. I hated to do it, and I hung on to them for several years, but eventually I culled them. Once they were gone (this was repeated scald), I had no more foot problems in my flock. I'm still sorry about them, but it was worth it to me to protect everyone else. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thanks for the link Mike. I have used foot baths but I'm not set up for them in the cold and haven't yet figured out a good system here. I've been treating her with weekly trimming or at least making sure the hoof has not folded over creating that warm tight bacteria growing space. Every time I think I've got it clear, I find more hoof wall folded over. The farm where they were infected from has had success with using formalin so I am doing the same thing figuring its the same bacteria(s) I check the other sheep to make sure its contained to her and so far it hasn't reinfected them. They have all been clean since June. When I found it on several sheep, I used footbaths with zinc sulfate. @julie, I sure do use gloves, but one time she kicked and it splashed on my arm above the gloves. I keep safety in mind. If I don't get it cleared up she will go but I'm still working on it. She is about 4 or 5 and has never had it before, so I'm hoping if I get it cleared up she'll stay clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Neary Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 treat her with oxytetracycline, 4.5 ml per 100 pounds. Give her a couple treatments if needed. There is, I believe, a 30 day withdrawl. Isolate her from the other sheep, if possible. I really hate formalin, as it gives me an ungodly headache and it is a known carcinogen. Don't trim her so often. Let the tissue grow back some. This will be okay if you can get her in a barn or some other dry place. Good luck, footrot is a pain! mn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 One thing i did that i thought helped a bit was to put powdered lime out in a place where the sheep would walk (around my mineral feeder) in a good thick layer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I've used the lime too. IIRC a friend of mine used the LA-200 in four doses, similar to what Mike mentions. I think she did two doses 3 days apart and then two more doses a week later, four days apart. I don't know if I have that exactly right, but it's close.... J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I started with a dose of LA-200 but didn't do more as a follow up. I think I will put a thin layer of lime in a clean stall and let her whine about being alone, while doing the oxytet regimen. She would be out of any mud and maybe by the time I finish the ground will be frozen enough that the mud won't come back so quickly. I try not to trim her to much but the hoof wall keeps giving out and then it bends over and traps the hollows in her hoof and it seems to start over....or I'm not getting it all open so air can get in there. Hard to see when there's so much mud, and yucky footstuff. The barn is really open with good ventilation so no headaches or reactions from the formalin that I've noticed, except the burning where it splashed on my arm. Only having to do her is probably a good thing. Rain and DH doing all kinds of drainage, digging tractor stuff around the barn and their paddock is keeping us in mud but also keeping the top layers of mud/dirt scrapped away so the other sheep aren't getting reinfected. Thanks for the ideas, Big BlackHeaded Momma thanks you too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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