Footbathing

[GreenerGrass]

Went to an interesting talk last night on lameness, having recently battled to get sheep to stand in a footbath I came across this:

However the contact details for Kevin don't work. Question is has anyone made something like this or know where for sale. Basically it raises the bottom of the footbath, I know it's not exactly mobile, but it could make footbathing less of a chore. Still a ballache, and a lot of time but so is having lame sheep and having to catch anything limping within 48hrs. I appreciate it's not viable for larger flocks, as too slow.

But has to be a reasonable chance of eradicating footrot if you can get them fully immersed for the right time period, on concrete and then onto clean pasture, provided your flock is closed?

Zinc Sulphate they have to stand for up to half an hour (2 mins scald only).

 

[primmiemoo]

I haven't footbathed sheep for years - no longer seems needed - but when I did, I just put straw in the bottom of the bath to prevent slipping and to give a visual base, let them learn it wasn't a plunge sheep dip, and allowed enough time. Upholstery sponge worked very well, too, and made the process more economical.

If you're keeping a closed flock, you should find less need for footbathing over time, because you'll be either vaccinating against footrot, and then selecting out ewes and replacements with a tendency to foot problems either with poor foot conformation or poor resistance to the bugs.