Ewe foot trouble

Owain2014 · Oct 20, 2017

Hi,

Had a bad year with regards the ewes and lambs feet. Scald, footrot and codd. We've tried a number of things, last of all being using draxxin and culling hard.
Things seem on the up well I hope so anyway. I'm thinking of starting footvax, something we have never done but can't have another season like this, do we footvax and cull hard still or continue with the draxxin for any that get lame and again cull hard.
Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks

Kevtherev · Oct 20, 2017

@neilo @GTB

ford4000 · Oct 20, 2017

Footvax has worked very well on one farm I know about, even with codd there lameness rate had dropped to 2% at weaning this year.
Myself I treated all the ewes here with micotil. Eliminated codd and lameness is hardly ever something I treat an ewe for now 3 years later, except just before lambing. I haven't even used the footbath since the micotil

clover · Oct 20, 2017

I was in a similar situation to you last year. Had been using lots of antibiotics, footbaths and culling hard but could not get rid of footrot and worst still CODD.
Footvaxed for the first time last summer. Did them again in February, and will probaly continue to do so for the forseable future.
The improvement has been incredible. No case of CODD since before lambing this year (and that was easily controlled) and no footrot, just a few cases of scald.
Footvax has definitely got a place in CODD eradication. Start straight away, but it has to be in conjunction with culling.

msheep66 · Oct 20, 2017

What would be the cost of using Micotil?

GTB · Oct 20, 2017

I was at a meeting the other night and one of the topics was lameness. The speaker from Farming Connect (yes I know!

) said that 'best practice' at the moment was to separate, treat with AB like Amoxicillin (x 2, 48 hrs apart) or Draxxin / Zactran / Micotil, spray the foot with terramycin spray, DO NOT TRIM!!!! and cull persistent offenders. She also spoke very highly of using footvax, both as a preventative treatment and a partial cure too. She recommended using an AB footbath solution like tylan, Lincospectin or lincosin.

From my personal experience I'd say the speaker was pretty much 100% correct. We used footvax for three/four years about ten yrs ago and got rid of all persistent offenders. We pretty much had no lame ewes for the next few years but it's come back this year. Got one lot of two tooth ewes in today and approx 5% lame with codd. Treated the lame ones with amoxicillin, terramycin spray and run the whole lot through a tylan footbath and gave them all a jab of footvax. If that lot doesn't cure them I'm giving up sheep farming!

Northeastfarmer · Oct 20, 2017

I’m very hard on culling sheep with bad feet but had 3 last month that were lamb...jabbed them all with draxxin and they’ve grand now

neilo · Oct 20, 2017

Owain2014 said:
Hi,

Had a bad year with regards the ewes and lambs feet. Scald, footrot and codd. We've tried a number of things, last of all being using draxxin and culling hard.
Things seem on the up well I hope so anyway. I'm thinking of starting footvax, something we have never done but can't have another season like this, do we footvax and cull hard still or continue with the draxxin for any that get lame and again cull hard.
Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks

Do you have a closed flock, or do you buy in replacements?

I can't see much point in culling hard on lameness, if you are buying in sheep that might be just as prone to it to replace them. If a closed flock, then culling them out will improve things drastically IME. I'd certainly look at using Footvax in a flock buying replacements, and also for a few seasons to help you get on top of the problem. I'm pretty sure it doesn't protect against CODD, but you can apparently get sheep with FR & CODD (poor buggers), so controlling FR must help a bit there.

Owain2014 · Oct 21, 2017

Ye s it's a closed flock, only thing we buy in are breeding tups really

Bill dog · Oct 21, 2017

Sounds like footvax would be a good place to start . I’ve been using it 2 years now, and it’s set me on the right road! Still a few with Codd, but deal with them as I find them , black tag them ( future dates with terminal only!) should I deal with a black tag again, white tag to cull .

Woolly · Oct 21, 2017

Do you recommend culling persistent offenders with scald, or just with footrot / codd?

neilo · Oct 21, 2017

Woolly said:
Do you recommend culling persistent offenders with scald, or just with footrot / codd?

I'd have thought that would depend on how big a problem you have. Perhaps start with persistent footrot cases and build on that?

On CODD, is there any evidence to suggest that some sheep are genetically more susceptible than others? All the work I know of has been done with FR, so might not necessarily apply in the same way with CODD. :scratchhead:

I do remember suggesting the same thing on here a few years ago, when someone was convinced that antipodean genetics, sold as being more resistant to FR, wouldn't get lame. The next year, the same poster was detailing how he had struggled with CODD in his flock.

Kiwi Pete · Oct 21, 2017

neilo said:
I'd have thought that would depend on how big a problem you have. Perhaps start with persistent footrot cases and build on that?

On CODD, is there any evidence to suggest that some sheep are genetically more susceptible than others? All the work I know of has been done with FR, so might not necessarily apply in the same way with CODD.
I do remember suggesting the same thing on here a few years ago, when someone was convinced that antipodean genetics, sold as being more resistant to FR, wouldn't get lame. The next year, the same poster was detailing how he had struggled with CODD in his flock.

Have just been reading up on CODD - are there particular areas, climatic conditions etc that 'bring it on'?
Sorry - not too OT I hope - is it one of those nasty issues that affect some farms and not others? Looks nasty!
There seem to be farmers over here that really struggle with feet issues and look at the neighbour's practically identical sheep with envy, as you suggest it's as likely bought in as anything?
Sorry has been a while since the CODD has caught my attention on here and I thought I'd pounce in it

as the 3 seem to be related.

GTB · Oct 21, 2017

neilo said:
I'd have thought that would depend on how big a problem you have. Perhaps start with persistent footrot cases and build on that?

On CODD, is there any evidence to suggest that some sheep are genetically more susceptible than others? All the work I know of has been done with FR, so might not necessarily apply in the same way with CODD.
I do remember suggesting the same thing on here a few years ago, when someone was convinced that antipodean genetics, sold as being more resistant to FR, wouldn't get lame. The next year, the same poster was detailing how he had struggled with CODD in his flock.

Farming connect speaker the other night, (sorry I've forgotten her name) thought there was a strong correlation between reducing footrot, scald and codd. Pretty sure she quoted figures for one farm where even codd had been virtually wiped out after treating with footvax plus the usual individual treatment and culling repeats.

Woolly · Oct 21, 2017

Whilst we are on sheep's feet, a lot of our ewes have a gap between the horn and the inner foot, rather than the text-book horn sealed to the sole. Obviously not ideal as it collects mud etc. But doesn't seem to be a particular problem. How common is this?

Is it genetic, dietary? Any way to promote better foot growth?

TIA

andybk · Oct 21, 2017

Woolly said:
Whilst we are on sheep's feet, a lot of our ewes have a gap between the horn and the inner foot, rather than the text-book horn sealed to the sole. Obviously not ideal as it collects mud etc. But doesn't seem to be a particular problem. How common is this?

Is it genetic, dietary? Any way to promote better foot growth?

TIA

(shelly hoof) look at your selenium and TE levels , had an issue with this in lambs , they are a lot better this autumn , will take quite a while after treatment to see improvement as the old horn needs to grow out

neilo · Oct 21, 2017

andybk said:
(shelly hoof) look at your selenium and TE levels , had an issue with this in lambs , they are a lot better this autumn , will take quite a while after treatment to see improvement as the old horn needs to grow out

I think there is a genetic element too. Aren’t Lleyns supposed to be prone to it? :scratchhead:

hendrebc · Oct 21, 2017

neilo said:
I think there is a genetic element too. Aren’t Lleyns supposed to be prone to it?

Some will be not all. The varition in lleyns is massive some are really good some are ok some are downright awful

neilo · Oct 21, 2017

hendrebc said:
Some will be not all. The varition in lleyns is massive some are really good some are ok some are downright awful

I have very limited experience of Lleyns, but Shelly Hoof seems to be a common complaint I’ve heard on here, & elsewhere.

With the population size and variation within the breed, you’d think it would be fairly easy to breed out, if the will was there.

ford4000 · Oct 21, 2017

Kiwi Pete said:
Have just been reading up on CODD - are there particular areas, climatic conditions etc that 'bring it on'?
Sorry - not too OT I hope - is it one of those nasty issues that affect some farms and not others? Looks nasty!
There seem to be farmers over here that really struggle with feet issues and look at the neighbour's practically identical sheep with envy, as you suggest it's as likely bought in as anything?
Sorry has been a while since the CODD has caught my attention on here and I thought I'd pounce in it as the 3 seem to be related.

CODD is thought to caused by treponemes as they were found in 70% of codd infections. similar thing to digital dermatitis in cattle, so probably codd can be caught from cattle with digital dermatitis

newest research also shows that the infection can survive for days in the presence of oxygen on foot trimimg equipment etc. so it would be interesting to know how long it would be able to survive in sheep pens, gateways etc. and infecting stock

Ewe foot trouble

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