CODD eradication

[clover]

Evening all,
My first post, although I've been around since the start. TFF has been so valuable to me over the years - thank you!
Like many other, I'm tearing my hair out with CODD. Lambing time last year was not a pleasant time as it flared up. I have culled hard this autumn, with any suspect ewes gone. I Footvaxed 6 weeks ago (for the first time) in the hope that it would help in my quest to reduce lameness.
I though that everything was under control, but i have identified two ewes in the last week with early stages of CODD. So far i have been treating individual ewes with AB and lincocin sprayed onto feet, but it seems that i wont eradicate it unless i treat all ewes (if eradication is at all possible?)
My question is how do people go about treating with lincocin in a footbath? Ive read on here that treating every day for a week could eradicate it.
Is it necessary to stand them in, or walk? If stand, how long? How critical is it to keep the solution clean? It will soon be full of shite if they stand long, so i guess letting them stand on a concrete yard for a while before would help?
If standing, would you put 50 / 100 / 200 through before replacing solution?
All advice/tips gratefully received.
Thank you all.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Welcome.
It's a nightmare!
I can't answer your specific questions about Lincocin but I was involved with the trials Joe Angell did with micotil. (As was at least 1 other member on here)
Theoretically it is possible to eradicate it with blanket micotil treatment, and whilst this isn't heralded as responsible use of ABs it was interesting that another farmer local to me who also was involved with the trial said their AB use had dropped off the scale since because they'd had so few feet problems. I've not seen them lately to know if that has been maintained long term.
However, it didn't eradicate it here and I've had a lot of trouble in the last few months. This was mirrored on other farms in the trial and Joe's conclusion was it wasn't reliable enough to be responsible use of ABs. Whether this was down to poor biosecurity or cattle perpetuating the disease was unclear.

Joe did say good general foot care and policy had a part to play in controlling it as there was a high incidence of codd being present alongside footrot or scald. Seems logical they would allow the codd entry into the foot.

His paper is linked on here somewhere if you do a search.

I'm not sure about culling with codd. Repeat offenders yes, but Joe suggested there was some evidence that once sheep had it and got over it, there may be some level of immunity there. I'd be interested to chat to him again and see if he's learnt any more about this since the trial.

Sorry I haven't answered your particular questions yet have rambled on but it's a real challenge if you have it on farm.

 

[Lovegoodstock]

I mainly lamb 1100 ewe lambs out and sell as shearlings, so culling doesn't really aid my situation, a system we have done for nearly 100 years but agree getting harder due to increased stocking intensification. I do ewe lambs 2/3 times on arrival, then finally, when hopefully no problems once with formalin. I stand ewes for 30 seconds, this is done in sept when dry, out of a concrete pen and then obviously standing on concrete to dry, don't find bath actually gets dirty but with topping up, I start a third of bottle of linco to 20 gallons, I probably do 200-300. Seem fine until towards lambing, march, then spray linco, draxin, remove hoof if its as good as done or at least half way, and in an ideal world during lambing a box on own or with a couple of others, but reality they get put on own field post lambing. I admit hassle and ongoing, but don't spend vast amounts, almost every shearling is sold, and sell around 160 this year for various breeds so decent sheep, cant be poor condition, biggest mistake this year that came apparent, always done the same but for some reason problem this year, run the only 250 ewes I have through same shed when weighing lambs, and start drawing mid may by late june I was getting too many, don't know how contagious it is, well I do, but how long it can live in shed bedding, but seemed to increase problem

 

[reverand]

Like pbh said and from my experience too, I think an immunity builds up. I had a terrible year probably about 6 years ago were I'd say 40% had it to some degree. Now I might get 1 or 2 cases a year

 

[llamedos]

A few years ago, before we moved I had my tiny flock on some other ground, and around half of them had recurring CODD but it never progressed to anything other than pustules at the top of the hoof line with severe lameness, and always seemed to be after heavy spell of wet weather, but in that weather I tended to graze them on the same piece of ground so they didnt compact other areas.
I simply treated topically, and they seemed to come right, but it would recur like a bad penny. Non shed their hooves, a couple had slight separation.

On the piece of ground, there had always been a bare patch of earth, I had no idea why it was like that, nothing grew on it, and this patch was on the run the ewes chose to use to get to feeders/gateways etc and they would lay on it after feeding.
That piece of bare earth came up in conversation, and it turned out it was where the previous owner had for years turned out his footbath His pens had been just above it.

I spread bag after bag of hydrated lime, on the area, and on all paths leading to it/from it. I have never had CODD since.
The ground was harbouring the bacteria responsible I think.
Or, did they just become immune

 

[Jackson4]

Bloody sheep problems eh I would imagine you could cull for it as some sheep seem to be alot more affected than others but by the time you've culled for CODD, footrot and all the other things you might have no sheep left. I have some good fit sheep with good mouths and udders etc going tomorrow, they were the last few borderline girls with bad scald/footrot which i kept and they have gone down again with CODD (a month after treating for the first time) and the beginings of footrot, which must be in the foot really as they were given a chance before.

As for one disease letting another in.. hmm i'd say footrot depends on some sort of help to get in, if you have a scalded foot and there is footrot about then its bound to get in and the level of immunity of the sheep to fight it will say how severe it will be, however i've had hundreds of sheep and lambs with superb feet, in all weather, all year coming down with CODD if they have never been exposed to it. CODD doesnt seem to be as weather/conditions dependent.

I use betamox LA and cyclo spray, but if i was to try with these repeat offenders of CODD i think zuprevo is your best bet but at £4 per 45kg its expensive.. 2 shots of betamox 2 days apart may do it. Think about keeping 2 separate groups, one group you could put severely affected ones in, at least it would be easier to catch and treat repeats and give you piece of mind its not spreading. Good luck anyway.
PS. Why the hell dont they get on and develop a vaccine! Fricking heck when you luck and see its bloody students and such doing these trials and studying it etc such an awful and debilitating disease which cost the industry big bucks and ab resisitance looming...why arent we putting some of the money made in this industry towards a vaccine?! How difficult can it be all the techniques must be well known.. isolate the 20 trepenomes, kill them or weaken them for a live vaccine then inject them in the sheep Christ you gotta do everything yourself

 

[Grassman]

I had a lot of trouble getting rid of codd for a couple of years.
And now it's gone!
I am not really sure what got rid of it.
I culled some repeat offenders but only those that I could get fit to take to market. The really bad ones got better eventually.
The ewes all lambed indoors without any issues but any slight limping and I was on it quickly with terramycim spray and alamycin la. Gone through summer and just odd sheep limping with scald or a bit of footrot.

Now the bad bit. I followed the idea of not trimming bad feet and just a terramycim spray and injection.
This did not clear up badly infected feet. The vet came to look and trimmed them all as he does not agree totally with the no trim idea! These sheep got better after a few weeks.

 

[Beef farmer]

Codd is easy, tylan powder footbath often.

 

[milkloss]

We had some trouble and footvax did help get on top of it. Culled hard and plenty AB use to get them fit but it worked in the end.

 

[neilo]

Bloody sheep problems eh I would imagine you could cull for it as some sheep seem to be alot more affected than others but by the time you've culled for CODD, footrot and all the other things you might have no sheep left. I have some good fit sheep with good mouths and udders etc going tomorrow, they were the last few borderline girls with bad scald/footrot which i kept and they have gone down again with CODD (a month after treating for the first time) and the beginings of footrot, which must be in the foot really as they were given a chance before.

As for one disease letting another in.. hmm i'd say footrot depends on some sort of help to get in, if you have a scalded foot and there is footrot about then its bound to get in and the level of immunity of the sheep to fight it will say how severe it will be, however i've had hundreds of sheep and lambs with superb feet, in all weather, all year coming down with CODD if they have never been exposed to it. CODD doesnt seem to be as weather/conditions dependent.

I use betamox LA and cyclo spray, but if i was to try with these repeat offenders of CODD i think zuprevo is your best bet but at £4 per 45kg its expensive.. 2 shots of betamox 2 days apart may do it. Think about keeping 2 separate groups, one group you could put severely affected ones in, at least it would be easier to catch and treat repeats and give you piece of mind its not spreading. Good luck anyway.
PS. Why the hell dont they get on and develop a vaccine! Fricking heck when you luck and see its bloody students and such doing these trials and studying it etc such an awful and debilitating disease which cost the industry big bucks and ab resisitance looming...why arent we putting some of the money made in this industry towards a vaccine?! How difficult can it be all the techniques must be well known.. isolate the 20 trepenomes, kill them or weaken them for a live vaccine then inject them in the sheep Christ you gotta do everything yourself

On vaccination, the issue is FAR bigger in the dairy industry and the potential market for a vaccine much greater. If there has been no vaccine developed for DD, then I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a sheep vaccine.

 

[bovine]

Away from home so replying off phone - they are working very hard on a cattle vaccine, same bug so should work in sheep. Can't eradicate. Treatment must involve injectable antibiotic in affected animals - amoxycillin for early cases, macrolides (Micotil, Zactran, Draxxin, Zuprevo) for more established cases with topical treatment.

Worse in first year and immunity builds. Mixed infections common (hence Footvax helps).

 

[clover]

Thank you for your advice.
Looking forward to the day we have a vaccine...